Electric Heating Options

2

Comments

  • amtrakuk
    amtrakuk Posts: 630 Forumite
    insulation is an important factor, also check for drafts. I was wondering why there was a screaming draft under the door and my heaters were clicking on and off so much last year. It turns out the old gas flame affect fire was sucking all the heat out of the room. I held a cigarette about 2 foot from the fire and instead of the smoke going up it went sideways and into the fire. At the moment i have removed the fire and have bin liners taped across the recess (Classy I know). I have been doing some research and found a reasonably priced solution - chimney balloons http://www.chimney-balloon.co.uk/ it should stop the drafts and look a bit more presentable than bin liners across the recess!
  • I believe that you can get double glazing that is suitable for listed properties, it would be worth speaking to your local conservation officer about this. Rehau are the company I came accross at work, they make traditional looking sash windows that meet current safety standards and can be used in listed buildings. I came accross them because they had been used in a conversion of an old listed hospital building to flats.
  • sashman
    sashman Posts: 318
    First Post
    Forumite
    KatP wrote: »
    I believe that you can get double glazing that is suitable for listed properties, it would be worth speaking to your local conservation officer about this. Rehau are the company I came accross at work, they make traditional looking sash windows that meet current safety standards and can be used in listed buildings. I came accross them because they had been used in a conversion of an old listed hospital building to flats.

    Williams

    do check with the local authority, before considering windows. As a manufacturer I know how difficult the authorities can be, some will accept secondary, some will accept replacement windows double glazed, but English heritage are only interested in the preservation of buildings not conservation/energy efficiency etc they want the building and the windows to remain just as they are ....draughts and all, it all depends on the local inspectors view of EH as to whether they follow EH guideance or not!

    sashman
    Buying quality goods which last, should be an investment that saves money. :T
    Buying cheap products which fail, wastes money and costs twice as much in the long run. :mad:



  • SallyD wrote: »

    At least they're being honest about the price!!!

    The radiator size is basically the BTU output of those radiators. A typical house will require around 30000 BTUs to heat. That is equivalent to around 10 of those 3100 radiators. For a 'modern insulated house', they claim that they will cost 7.5p each to run, per hour. That is thus 75p per hour to run in total to heat the whole house. That's £7.50 per day if it's on for 10 hours a day. That's £225 per month purely on heating...does that sound economical to you?
  • i had kensington radiators on my favs--but webpage is now no longer available

    have they ceased as a company thx

    cardew i hav a small-1 bedroom flat edinburgh---what type of central heating system would you recommend.small convectional heaters do the job--but dont look right if i want to sell or rent flat
    £48515 interest £181 (2009)debt/mortgage-MFIT/T2/T3
    debt/mortgage free 28/11/14
    vanguard shares index isa £1000
    credit union £400
    emergency fund£500
    #81 save 2018£4200
  • Cardew
    Cardew Posts: 29,036
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post Rampant Recycler
    Forumite
    Only you can decide what you want.

    I suspect with a small one bed flat, where appearance mattered, I would go with wall hung radiators(panel heaters) with their own thermostat, timer and remote control.

    This sort of thing gives you an idea.

    http://www.dimplex.co.uk/products/domestic_heating/installed_heating/panel_heaters/index.htm

    You can always have a £20 fan heater in a cupboard to bring out if you really need to boost the heat.
  • mal4mac
    mal4mac Posts: 126 Forumite
    Depends on your situation. If you are single (or with a better half who likes to experiement!), don't mind mild background noise, have some tolerance for cold, and don't mind appearing a bit eccentric, the £20 fan heater might be the optimal solution. Cost wise - they last for decades without you needing to call out any plumbers :) So initial cost & maintenance cannot be bettered. Because you can direct the draught of heat onto yourself you are maximising the heat being transferred to you--with panel heaters much of it just drifts to the ceiling and quickly out the gap at the top of the door or through the ceiling without touching you. Get yourself a nice, large, heat absorbent arm chair to absorb & maintain the hot air that misses you. Also, you get instantly heated by a fan heater, no need to heat up the room when you aren't in it. You'll probably get so heated up you will quickly move onto half power, or turn it off frequently. The key is to think about heating *just* you and forget about heating the house. Wear two good pullovers, plug every draught gap, .... Get a seriously good four season qualofill sleeping bag for winter bedtimes. Think like a swede when in the bathroom (sauna/icy air. Good for you!) Heat *just* the amount of water you need to have your weekly :) shower and use kettle to heat just the amount of water you need to wash dishes/face.
  • JonesA
    JonesA Posts: 1 Newbie
    Hi Cardew, you seem to be in the know on heating matters i wonder if you can offer me some advice?
    I have recently moved into an open plan barn conversion in a rural location. There is no gas available. The heating consists of four
    Independently controlled under floor heating circuits. The under floor heating was installed a long time ago and doesn’t reflect the heat upwards properly making it very costly and inefficient. As the flooring heats the concrete block the house stands on it works almost like a massive storage heater and needs to be left on all the time in order to be warm which costs the earth. The electricity bills are huge and we need an alternative way of heating. We have a log burner in the living room which we use in the evening but it isn’t large enough to effectively heat the whole house.
    We are out all day and back in the evening. Can you suggest what would be the cheapest way of topping up the heating using electrical appliances. I know you mention storage heaters are good as they use the cheap rate at night but could electric radiators be more effective if they were only on in the evening?
    Cardew wrote: »
    There are lots of threads on this problem.

    The first and most important thing to remember is that all forms* of electrical heating are 100% efficient, So it doesn't matter what type of heater you get, oil filled radiator, convecter heater, these fancy new kalirel type systems, etc you get exactly the same amount of heat for your money.

    There is absolutely no running cost advantage for any of these heaters and it is the most expensive way of heating available.

    Storage heaters are cheaper only because you store heat obtained at cheap rates. However as discussed on here at length, they do have problems of 'leaking' heat and you need to plan ahead. However if on E7 you do get cheaper hot water.

    So there is no doubt that storage heating on economy 7 will be cheaper than any other form of electrical heating for most people.

    * Heat pumps are cheaper to run, but probably not practical for a flat.
  • tori.k
    tori.k Posts: 3,592 Forumite
    If you are a competent diy'er make up some shutters for the windows, my DS & BIL lives in a listed Georgian property the window shutters dont half make a difference
  • Cardew
    Cardew Posts: 29,036
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post Rampant Recycler
    Forumite
    JonesA wrote: »
    Hi Cardew, you seem to be in the know on heating matters i wonder if you can offer me some advice?
    I have recently moved into an open plan barn conversion in a rural location. There is no gas available. The heating consists of four
    Independently controlled under floor heating circuits. The under floor heating was installed a long time ago and doesn’t reflect the heat upwards properly making it very costly and inefficient. As the flooring heats the concrete block the house stands on it works almost like a massive storage heater and needs to be left on all the time in order to be warm which costs the earth. The electricity bills are huge and we need an alternative way of heating. We have a log burner in the living room which we use in the evening but it isn’t large enough to effectively heat the whole house.
    We are out all day and back in the evening. Can you suggest what would be the cheapest way of topping up the heating using electrical appliances. I know you mention storage heaters are good as they use the cheap rate at night but could electric radiators be more effective if they were only on in the evening?

    As stated(frequently!!) the important point is that all the heaters will give out the same heat for the same running costs. So a £10 -£20 fan heater will suffice,(you can get them up to 3kW and they have a thermostat.) and can be easily moved from room to room or buy a couple.

    Cheap oil filled radiators at about £30 might look better, or wall mounted panel heaters.

    I would doubt that storage heaters would serve your purpose. Much as you get cheap heating, you will lose a lot with them 'leaking' during the day and they lack the flexibility of plug in heaters. Also you pay extra for all other electricity.
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 342.4K Banking & Borrowing
  • 249.9K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 449.4K Spending & Discounts
  • 234.6K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 607K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 172.8K Life & Family
  • 247.4K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 15.8K Discuss & Feedback
  • 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards