"AJH" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 27 Jan 2008 09:57:52 +0000, David Hansen
wrote:

On Sat, 26 Jan 2008 22:45:10 +0000 someone who may be AJH
wrote this:-

I'm convinced he never saw any savings simply because he left
his gas dhw system configured as before.

Changing the settings on other water heating systems is part of the
installation process of anybody who knows what they are doing.

I know but the installers didn't do it because the basic operation was
a hard sell with a grant kickback for the installers.

The net effect was it was only while we had the opportunity to talk in
hospital in the weeks prior to his death ( whilst we socialised in his
later life he distanced himself from his kids and didn't confide in
us) that he said he had monitored his gas use and couldn't see the
solar contribution. A visit back to the house, which still had two
lodgers, so showed the reason was simply that the dhw timer was still
topping the tank up at 23:00 after most washing activity was finished,
and then in the morning the gas came on at 6:00 at about the time the
lodgers were getting ready for work and stayed on till 10:00. Hence by
the time the panel was able to provide heat from its non optimal SSE
orientation the tank was still full of hot water. By late afternoon
the panel was shaded when the evening wash period started.

That sounds like a serious lack of insulation.

Apart from the price I'm sure it was a reasonable installation if run
properly but most punters just expect to turn a tap or push a button
and get instant results.

Yes. But what DOES give instant (economic) results?