Boiler question....when should my immersion be on??

[mrvillicus]

Hello, im new to this site so I apologise if this has been asked a lot before. I have a 14 year old house which has a Potterton EP2002 boiler, last year we had the immersion tank replaced because it kept leaking. We have lived here 3 years and have not had the boiler serviced. Underneath the boiler is a programme unit where I can set a time for the CH and HW to come on, or switch either to once etc.

My question is, should my immersion heater be on all the time? I understand the tank is used to store water which would be heated up with the immersion. What i have been doing is switching the boiler on when i have a bath or need hot water.

I know there may be a really obvious answer to this question but for some reason I just cant get my head round it.

Immersion used for constant hot water?
Boiler used when hot water is needed upon demand?

 

[SimonJohns]

Immersion should be used as a backup

 

[ADM360]

usually if you are using the boiler as your heat source for the hot water then you would not need to use the immersion heater, this would be in case of emergency! boiler break down, so you can still get hot water! you can use the boiler to heat water on demand or have it time to come on at sutable times, usually twice a day.

Hope this is of some help!!

 

[GasManMike]

Your boiler should be set up to heat your cylinder before the periods that you generally use most of your hot water (normally mornings and evenings but depends on you). A well insulated cylinder should retain its heat for most of the day. The immersion is normally used as a back up (boiler broken) or to help heat up the cylinder if your using alot of hot water (have guests staying - lots of baths/showers etc) using the immersion to heat your cylinder all of the time would be an expensive way to do it.

 

[mrvillicus]

ok well thankyou for your help guys!!

 

[shorticus]

think of it like this
gas = primary fuel ergo should be cheaper
electricity = secondary fuel (i.e. it's mostly generated from primary fuels) ergo should be more expensive
but, if you have an eco supply of some description then things are different