[permaculture-oceania] Electricity usage of electric hotwaterheaters

[jedd]

On Monday 12 June 2006 6:22 pm, Mike Morris wrote:
 ] If anything it might
 ] conceivable /prolong/ the life of the system since the thermostat
 ] (which switches the heating element on/off) would be subjected to
 ] fewer expansion/contraction cycles per unit-time, so would live
 ] longer.

 Hi Mike,

 That was my initial thoughts on the subject, though the effect
 of larger cycles might offset the benefits from having fewer of
 them.  Under normal operation, as you say, it oscillates between
 hot and warm (or cold, if/when you completely empty the thing).

 With a switch-off approach, the whole device -- element, tank,
 sealant, screws, etc -- all oscillate between -5C and 20C each day
 for a week or two, in my case, and then get to stay at 50-60C for
 a few days, and then the cycle repeats.

 I'm happy to follow in Robert's footsteps, but I'll keep an eye out
 for any other info on what it does to life expectancy of the device.

 (Un)happily, I recently had to replace the element in this particular
 HWS, so it's a convenient starting point.   It was fascinating to see
 that after all the decades of design work, you still end up with a
 floor full of water when you go to replace the element.

 Jedd.