Is Electric Central Heating now a viable option?

Most unlikely if your gas is around 3-6 p/kwh and electricity 10-13 p/kwh.
You can try to reduce this difference by taking into account the higher cost of the new gas boiler, the annual service/maintenance of the gas boiler and maybe the shorter life expectancy of the gas boiler. If you use it during an E7 period, you could also factor a portion of lower priced electricity in and get closer.
But the answer is still likely to be No at the moment.

The only way to get closer (and maybe even make a small saving) is if you considered an electrically driven air to water heat pump. Unfortunately, most of them cost more to purchase than a gas boiler at the moment, so mains gas is still the right answer if you have it.

Of course, energy price differentials may change again, and equipment costs get closer.

Cardew wrote: »

Agree with the post above.

Even taking into the instalation costs and servicing requirements, IMO heating on daytime electricity is still more expensive unless you have a very small property and are out much of the time.

However if you do go for electricty, why a boiler? Simple £30 oil filled radiators or convector heaters will give exactly the same amount of heat for your ££££s as a boiler/radiator combination and cost a fraction of the instalation costs.

Totally agree with you there again Cardew.

I have gone though the same decisions as the originator of this thread. As might have read, I had a quote for a replacement boiler and got anything from 1.5 - 4k (BG). I have got a 2 up 2 down end terrace house. I thought there had to be a cheaper way as my gas bill was 50 a month (18 months ago), my electric was 40 a month and though I could heat/cook/hot water for less than that gas over a year and I find I can with still living in the same comfort.

Both b&Q and British gas said it is worth spending at least 1k+ on a boiler which should last about 10 years then you've got the cost and commissioning of the boiler which has to be done by a corgi engineer. Working depreciation in to the equation at £10 a month and the breakdown cover £15 a month, it came clear to me when doing the sums 50+10+15 = 75 a month all in all.

My electric DD is about 80 month (standard rate) which may sound alot but I have no gas and associated costs. Im heating with £30 convector heaters I got from Argos. OK I had to pay out about 500 in electrical and plumbing work but I got the installation done by a qualified electrician and plumber. The advantage is the heaters and tankless water heater will required zero servicing and should last about 15 years as the only thing with the heaters that could go wrong is the thermostat fail, just means £30 for a replacement heater. The redring powerstream has been heating my hot water so far with no problems and no sign of failure.

The best way I found to work out which type of electric heater is best for you is to buy one and use it to heat your room as you see fit (The reason for this as some prefer oil filled radiators, some prefer convection. Also see how many units it uses) Do the sums (no of units used x pence). To heat my bedrooms, kitchen and front room it costs me about £2 extra a day - this doesn't include water and cooking.

I have chosen convector heaters as it reacts alot quicker than oil filled radiators. Thermostats are importance so it only clicks on and off until the room is at the desired temperature.

This was a Daily Telegraph article published 3 years ago that I posted on MSE(bear in mind that the prices are well out of date now - but the principle still applies)

On the level: what gas really costs
(Filed: 12/10/2005)
Ask Jeff
There's a lot to be said for wiring-in electric panel heaters or night-storage heaters, writes Jeff Howell

A month ago I wrote about switching energy suppliers, and have since been asked by several readers for my views on the most economical energy source. I get a steady trickle of letters with this query anyway, but the recent rises in gas and electricity prices, press stories about diminishing stocks of natural gas, and the increase in the crude oil price following hurricane Katrina have all led to a greater concern about energy supplies and prices.

Most readers in urban areas will have natural gas piped into their homes, and might assume that this is the cheapest fuel. But over the past few years I have viewed a lot of new housing developments (many as a judge for The Daily Telegraph/What House? awards), and I have been struck by the fact that most new houses and flats these days tend to be fitted with electric panel heaters rather than gas-fired central-heating systems. On the one hand, this could be seen as a cynical ploy by the developers to cut costs. After all, wiring is cheaper than pipework, and there are no boilers, pumps or radiators to break down or leak, requiring remedial call-backs. On the other, it might be a blessing in disguise for the new owners. Sure, they are paying more per unit for electricity than for gas, but their annual maintenance costs will be practically zero, whereas gas-fired central heating incurs considerable maintenance and depreciation costs. So let's have a closer look at the subject.


Fuel prices vary across the country, and different suppliers have different charging practices (some add standing charges, and some operate a sliding tariff, with the first hundred or so units being more expensive). But roughly speaking, a standard "unit" of electric power, a kilowatt-hour (kWh) - which will heat a one-bar electric fire for an hour - costs about 7p. Off-peak electricity ("Economy 7") costs about 3.5p per kWh. Natural gas piped into the house ("town gas") costs about 2p per kWh, but gas boilers might be only 75 to 80 per cent efficient, giving a truer cost of nearer 2.5p. Heating oil and LPG (liquefied petroleum gas, or "Calor Gas"), using similar boilers, currently provide heat at a rate equivalent to 4.5p and 4p per kWh respectively.

On the basis of fuel costs alone, gas, oil and LPG are cheaper than standard-rate electricity. But this does not take into account the costs of buying and installing boilers and fuel tanks, nor the annual maintenance costs, nor the fact that boilers have a finite life. The trade price for a new gas boiler is about £600, but you'll be lucky to find a gas fitter who will supply and install one for much less than £ 1,500. Big companies such as British Gas routinely charge £3,000 or more.

Old gas boilers had few moving parts and could be expected to last for 30 or 40 years, but the new ones are packed full of electronics and might last 10 years or less. So let's budget £200 per year in boiler depreciation. Then there's an annual servicing cost of at least £50 - and some readers are still paying £180 or more to British Gas for annual breakdown cover, even though this does not include a proper strip-down service. So readers who think that gas is the cheapest fuel should remember to factor in £250 to £400 per year as an extra "standing charge" when they do their calculations. (Add to that the annual landlord's gas safety certificate - £50 - and the Government's proposal that in future every home might also have to have an annual gas safety inspection.)

Electric heating, by comparison, is practically maintenance-free, and has a conversion rate of energy into heat of 100 per cent. For readers with an existing gas, oil or LPG heating system, the most economical option is probably to keep it going. But for those considering a change of fuel, or starting from scratch, there's a lot to be said for wiring-in electric panel heaters or night-storage heaters, or even simply plugging oil-filled electric radiators into the existing wall sockets.

paceinternet wrote: »

Some properties may be larger and some need to be heated for more hours a year, and many others will need less. But most important is to work through something like this and create an estimate your situation.

Amen!

Electrical heating, of any kind - let alone heat pump or storage heating - is certainly worth considering for a small modern flat occupied by a working couple.

Modern storage heating(for all its disadvantages) brings larger properties into the equation and are reasonably priced to install.

However if you do go for electrical heating on a daytime tariff, then it is important to remember that you will get exactly the same heat from cheap panel/oil/convector heaters as expensive electric boilers with radiators or some of these electrical systems that cost a fortune and are marketed in the most disgraceful manner.

paceinternet wrote: »

It must depend on how big your house is and how comfortable you want to be for how many hours.

Example, there is some basic guidance for room heating which says you need 40 w/sqm for a very well insulated and draft free house rising to 80 if it is less efficient.
A house of say 150 sqm on 2 floors would need a minimum of 6 kw (rising to 12 kw for our less efficient example) per hour. Say you have the heating on 5 days a week for 8 hours, and weekends 2 days for 15 hours. Total 70 hours a week. Say the heating season is roughly 6 months, 180 days. You are now up to 12600 kw hrs. At 10p that is £1,260, at 12p that is £1512 per 6 months, which may be all you need for the year.

OK, this may be topside for most people, but certainly not everyone. But then it shows you that if that was all done by mains gas at 5 or 6p per kwh or even a heat pump at average 300% efficiency so 4p per kwh, you do have a lot of money available for servicing and capital depreciation.

Some properties may be larger and some need to be heated for more hours a year, and many others will need less. But most important is to work through something like this and create an estimate your situation.

The consumption figure you arrive at is probably not unreasonable for an average house, though an average UK dwelling is more like 90 sqm rather than 150 sqm.

The number of hours the heating is on are largely irrelevant IMO. Most UK houses will retain enough heat during the night or working day that it doesn't make a huge amount of difference. Any guidelines on heating capacity per square metre are likely to be a rule of thumb to ensure good heating response, not to accurately predict consumption

Though it appears to have worked reasonably well in this specific example, I don't like figures based on floor area. Heat loss isn't related to floor area, but to the outside surface area of the building. The ratio of floor area to surface area is not linear, even for a square floor plan, let alone taking into account building shape, party walls, or number of floors in a property.