Marina electricity usage/cost

[Chiara’s slave]

Sorry? Wheres that from?

 

[Bobc]

Come to Yarmouth, it's in with the berthing fee there. And the price for a night isn’t unreasonable. We try to pay them back for their kindness by not taking the piss. We don’t leave a heater running, just put one on when we are there.

Was there Friday, and they are charging full wack (not reduced winter rate). They claimed that they needed to because of rising costs. £3.30/m without electric.

Stand and deliver!

 

[[2574]]

Just checked our marina electric account. Obviously I am being naive about the increased costs, but a bit of a shock to see our marina (Premiere) charges 32p kw/hr, meaning our small 750 watt cabin heater is costing nearly £6 a day!! I got them to switch it off temporarily while I think of a cheaper way. Probably will replace the heater with a 220 watt dehumidifier on a timer for four hours a day, equating to approx £4.00 a week. How does 32p kw/hr compare with other marinas, much the same I guess.

I run a Meaco ddl junior 24x7 on humidistat. It has a heater element. It’s consuming 2kw/day and maintaining 60%rh. Have a bar heater on a thermostat switch set at 5deg C, it’s not yet switched on this winter.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

Was there Friday, and they are charging full wack (not reduced winter rate). They claimed that they needed to because of rising costs. £3.30/m without electric.

Stand and deliver!

Really? We are in there on a long term visitor rate , inc power. You might have seen us, right under the office windows

 

[capnsensible]

Is the place crammed with people , heaters on, EV's on charge etc

Packed at this time of year. Fair amount of liveabiards, when we were heater on most evenings and breakfast time.
Don't know about evs.
Free unlimited water too. Plus of course reasonable strength wifi.

 

[Momac]

Packed at this time of year. Fair amount of liveabiards, when we were heater on most evenings and breakfast time.
Don't know about evs.
Free unlimited water too. Plus of course reasonable strength wifi.

Sounds perfect
I do get water at no extra cost but the marina removes the taps on the pontoons at the first sign of frost

 

[ylop]

Good question. Our de-humidifier can be run permanently, which I would do for some 4 hours a day, but it has an auto button, with a humidity setting of our choice, and I too wonder what is the best option. Also, what is the best humidity setting, about 45%?

I think aiming for 45% RH might be trying to get things too dry, at UK winter temps you could be quite a bit higher and have no risk of mould. Mold Chart for Temperature and Humidity Monitors – Stetten Home Services in my experience above 60% stuff can start to feel a bit damp and it takes longer to get a heat in. I guess if you were hoping to run it hard for 4 hours a day and get the RH low enough that for the next 20 hours it is still below 60% you may need to aim for <45% though. Depending on air temp, size of dehummer, volume of boat, how ventilated it is etc - that might be a challenge.

 

[Rafiki]

Just checked our marina electric account. Obviously I am being naive about the increased costs, but a bit of a shock to see our marina (Premiere) charges 32p kw/hr, meaning our small 750 watt cabin heater is costing nearly £6 a day!! I got them to switch it off temporarily while I think of a cheaper way. Probably will replace the heater with a 220 watt dehumidifier on a timer for four hours a day, equating to approx £4.00 a week. How does 32p kw/hr compare with other marinas, much the same I guess.

Set it on a timer ( plug into the socket very cheap) , and use only early morning say 3 to 6. Better still use a thermostat and a timer.

 

[Momac]

Also, what is the best humidity setting, about 45%?

I use the lowest setting which is 60%rh on my dehumidifier. Just trying to prevent mould, which it has done so far .

 

[Plum]

Just checked our marina electric account. Obviously I am being naive about the increased costs, but a bit of a shock to see our marina (Premiere) charges 32p kw/hr, meaning our small 750 watt cabin heater is costing nearly £6 a day!! I got them to switch it off temporarily while I think of a cheaper way. Probably will replace the heater with a 220 watt dehumidifier on a timer for four hours a day, equating to approx £4.00 a week. How does 32p kw/hr compare with other marinas, much the same I guess.

Last week I visited Waterside Marina, Brightlingsea, and they charged me £2 for which they put 2.75KWh on the meter!

Www.solocoastalsailing.co.uk

 

[RupertW]

My Meaco dd8L on a low setting uses about £1 per day in recent use.

That’s a lot more than ours when the boat is left sealed and unattended. Makes sense if you are cooking and doing washing.

 

[nicho]

I think aiming for 45% RH might be trying to get things too dry, at UK winter temps you could be quite a bit higher and have no risk of mould. Mold Chart for Temperature and Humidity Monitors – Stetten Home Services in my experience above 60% stuff can start to feel a bit damp and it takes longer to get a heat in. I guess if you were hoping to run it hard for 4 hours a day and get the RH low enough that for the next 20 hours it is still below 60% you may need to aim for <45% though. Depending on air temp, size of dehummer, volume of boat, how ventilated it is etc - that might be a challenge.

Thanks, very helpful. I thought 2 hours in the morning and two hours in the evening might be the way to go. Trial and error I suppose

 

[dunedin]

Thanks, very helpful. I thought 2 hours in the morning and two hours in the evening might be the way to go. Trial and error I suppose

Some of the dehumidifiers like to go through a wind down routine. Not sure if it would damage them being shut down twice a day by the timer?

 

[Greemble]

I use the lowest setting which is 60%rh on my dehumidifier. Just trying to prevent mould, which it has done so far .
View attachment 146266

What's the operating temperature of that device?
Does it still work below 10 degrees C?

 

[Momac]

What's the operating temperature of that device?
Does it still work below 10 degrees C?

That's a little unclear from the instructions
But it has continued to extract water from the air while on an otherwise unheated boat over the winter months since I have first owed it in 2017.
Admittedly those winters a have been mild,

The following is from the instructions

 

[ctva]

Maybe it’s a daft question but why do you need a heater on the south coast on all or part of the day?

We’re on the west up north and have the heater on a thermostat which comes on at 2c for frost protection only. We also run a dehumidifier at a low setting. As a compressor one it works well enough over 5c. Never any damp issues.

 

[Greemble]

That's a little unclear from the instructions
The following is from the instructions

View attachment 146271
View attachment 146270

Cheers.
Just wondering, as the last one I had stated it needed to be above 16°C (if I remember correctly) to work, but this was around the turn of the century.
It sounds as though the new versions are much better.

 

[northwind]

Maybe it’s a daft question but why do you need a heater on the south coast on all or part of the day?

We’re on the west up north and have the heater on a thermostat which comes on at 2c for frost protection only. We also run a dehumidifier at a low setting. As a compressor one it works well enough over 5c. Never any damp issues.

Why do you worry about frost protection? Boat is in the sea, frost may land on the deck, but inside is protected by the temp of Seawater, unlikely to see any actual freezing inside.
Damp issues are more likely due to poor ventilation or leaks.

 

[st599]

I thought by law they can only charge what the marina pays itself plus a service charge. we are currently paying 17.4p but for how long who knows have not been told, we pay quarterly, and marina is in administration so who knows. we run our Ebberspacher D5 diesel heater an hour each day to take morning chill off and a 1000w fan heater only if needed after that . we have a dehumidifier running 24/7 in 'smart' mode that cuts it in only above a certain humidity level,

Yep, but with more caveats due to their pricing structure. They can build in estimates of occupancy for visitors berths.
https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/sites/default/files/docs/2005/10/11782-resaleupdateoct05_3.pdf

Sorry! Spent 1 night in Yarmouth in the summer with Blind Week. The price was EXTORTIONATE, maybe I'm just being a tight northerner?

That's one of the cheaper ones - try Lymington.

 

[ctva]

Why do you worry about frost protection? Boat is in the sea, frost may land on the deck, but inside is protected by the temp of Seawater, unlikely to see any actual freezing inside.
Damp issues are more likely due to poor ventilation or leaks.

Good point but it’s fresh(ish) water in the Crinan Canal. Somestimes seen 6” of ice round the boat.

Agree re the dampness which is why the dehumidifier is great.