Hot Water Heater breaker

[Lori]

Thank you. Sorry to be so stupid.

I called EDF as our contract did not appear to have changed as they said it would. This, of course, was confusing the hell out of us as EDF CALLED us to say the change took place at midnight the day we asked for it (1 nov). It did not. EDF apologized profusely. They have made the change and it will take affect tonight at midnight - or so they say.

Then, EDF confirmed on Option Base, the breaker should remain on marche forcée, not auto. So, tomorrow morning, we will set the breaker on marche forcée and see how it goes. I'll also check again in my espace client to confirm the contract change is noted...

Good grief ...

[Wilbro]

If for any reason we have had to turn off the water heater overnight then when restarted put into switch forcee and that night it starts up and puts itself back into auto mode without us doing anything more.

[Lori]

If for any reason we have had to turn off the water heater overnight then when restarted put into switch forcee and that night it starts up and puts itself back into auto mode without us doing anything more.

Yes, that is how it works for us when we are on the Heures Creuse subscription with EDF.

Our new hot water heater will not work on a Heures Creuse subscription, so we've changed to Option Base (no creuse hours). On this option, the breaker stays on marche forcée and should not move out of it. It doesn't mean it is constantly working (the hot water heater), just that it remains electronically connected (unlike heures creuse).

[RobertArthur]

As from August 2010 the day/night time tariff has been changing. Rule of thumb: only for families with children, eletric heating, etc.

From this website a translation:

" For a home that consumes 15% of its electricity during off-peak hours, the bill for the basic option is €3,374. For the same home, the bill for the Peak/Off-peak option is €3,510. Therefore, with 15% of consumption during off-peak hours, the basic option is more advantageous.

For a home that consumes 45% of its electricity during off-peak hours, the bill for the basic option is €3,374. Under the Peak/Off-peak option, the bill for the same home would be €3,244. So, with 45% of consumption during off-peak hours, the Peak/Off-peak option is more advantageous, saving €129.52 a year. "

[RobertArthur]

@ Lori, something puzzles me, your remark: " our new hot water heater will not work on a Heures Creuse subscription." My understanding has always been that you always can switch off/on electric equipment. Is your new boiler the fruit of new technologies? Or are your plumber and Atlantic recommendig it because the heures creuses/pleines tariff is too expensive in your case?

[Polarengineer]

I have thrown out all that HP/HC stuff and installed a wifiswitch. I now switch on the water heater a few hours before I/we shower and then shut it off again afterwards. This is a more efficient use of the heater as it is switched on when the water is cold (ie. there is a large temperature difference giving the best heat transfer rate. Running the heater when the water is already warmish will end up using very slightly more electricity).

[RobertArthur]

@ Polarengineer, okay, you're going to save more than one penny. But on the other hand: a hot water tank temperature should be between 60°C to 65°C, below you run the risk to get in touch with legionella and other nasty creatures. The modern chauffe-eau has a much better insulation than those of around 2000. Thermal losses will not be very high with a modern CE of a well known French producer. A familiar question: how to weigh up risks when making decisions.

[Polarengineer]

this I know RA. my current setup includes a tank with two coils, one for the stove and one from the solar panels. I have tried to ensure there is no thermosyphoning in the pipework, but there is a tooter or bell in the solar control that keeps the panels from freezing and I'm not certain it is controlled properly. fortunately the solar panels send the water temperature way over the bug limit on a good day, so there is some bug control. in the winter, we let the stove and the electric heating whack the temperature every so often. If you don't hear from me on here for a while, I could be down with a bug from the water, but I'll keep my eye on things.

[Lori]

@ Lori, something puzzles me, your remark: " our new hot water heater will not work on a Heures Creuse subscription." My understanding has always been that you always can switch off/on electric equipment. Is your new boiler the fruit of new technologies? Or are your plumber and Atlantic recommendig it because the heures creuses/pleines tariff is too expensive in your case?

We have an Atlantic Linéo Connecté (you can turn it on / off or see how much hot water you have by using their app with wifi). It is one of the most up to date models Atlantic sells. It is meant to heat water 'on demand.' However, it needs to be continuously connected to electricity. Meaning, there cannot be a time frame when it is turned off. If you have Heures Creuse, your hot water heater will be switched off during Heures Pleine. This type of heater cannot operate that way. It also has the option of "ECO" which, when selected, over two weeks time the boiler measures when hot water is being demanded. It then sets those usage times to run based on your usage.

None of this has anything to do with money. And the heures creuse here is between 22h30 and 6h30 - a time frame where we use nearly 0 electricity (short of the things that always run - fridge, freezer, clocks, etc.). OH did the calculating and we may actually save money by getting rid of heures creuse. Even if we don't, I don't care.

It is a really nice and very practical new style hot water heater. I'd like it to work properly. So, this is supposed to do the trick.

[RobertArthur]

Lori, thx for your wake-up signal. Back to school again for me, recycling yesterday's information does have its limits.