Smart Meter - Electricity use and showers

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  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 0 Newbie
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    Grenage wrote: »
    Aye, unless your house has the insulation value of a packet of crisps, it could easily cost the same (or less) heating the whole house with GSH vs 1 room with electric.
    The insulation of the house is irrelevant. The amount of energy required to heat a space is the same regardless of whether you use gas or electricity, the issue is the price you pay for it.
  • Grenage
    Grenage Posts: 2,899 Forumite
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    It's not irrelevant. If a house is very poorly insulated, and the occupants spend most of their time in one room, it could easily work out cheaper running an electric heater (or turning off the other rads).
  • Furts
    Furts Posts: 4,474 Forumite
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    Grenage wrote: »
    It's not irrelevant. If a house is very poorly insulated, and the occupants spend most of their time in one room, it could easily work out cheaper running an electric heater (or turning off the other rads).

    My thoughts are along these lines. The cheapest way to heat my home is a couple of electric mini oil filled rads. These would give an output of 2kW. When the gas boiler is in use it has an output way in excess of this - 30kW maximum.
  • Apodemus
    Apodemus Posts: 3,384 Forumite
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    martinsurrey wrote: »
    If you can afford it, replacing an old boiler now will save you a lot going forward. The difference between a 50% efficient old boiler and a 90% modern condenser will save you a fortune..

    But only if you are very careful/lucky in your choice of boiler as many condensing combis won't deliver these higher efficiencies for the hot water portion of their function. And that is leaving aside that, in actual use, many installations won't get anywhere close to their quoted efficiencies either! Too many threads on this topic for us to go back down that rabbit hole again! :)
  • Niv
    Niv Posts: 2,469 Forumite
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    Apodemus wrote: »
    But only if you are very careful/lucky in your choice of boiler as many condensing combis won't deliver these higher efficiencies for the hot water portion of their function. And that is leaving aside that, in actual use, many installations won't get anywhere close to their quoted efficiencies either! Too many threads on this topic for us to go back down that rabbit hole again! :)


    Well if you are going down that road there is also the argument that buying a 20% more efficient boiler is great at reducing fuel cost but how long does it take to pay off that new boiler with your 20% energy saving...
    YNWA

    Target: Mortgage free by 58.
  • ST1991
    ST1991 Posts: 515 Forumite
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    Thanks everyone for your input!

    Sorry if i seemed stupid, it isn't something i've ever really thought about before but this is the first house we've purchased so we're trying to keep all costs to a minimum, or at least try to save some somewhere.
    WHAT!!!!! That's about 1400W! My boiler uses 29W at full load, and 6W average. My guess from that figure is that you've left something else on in the house as well as the boiler.

    Our boiler really does use that much electricity whilst in use! I had tested it a few times just to make sure the fridge hadn't powered up at the same time, and it uses that much as soon as it starts up. It is a very old boiler, i think 30 years old, so not sure if that has something to do with it.
    Current one is off the combi. My electric costs are well down!

    That's good to know! In that case i think we will probably look to put a shower running from the boiler in once we re-vamp the bathroom.

    And a new boiler once the current one dies, if ever. Although it is inefficient i don't see the point of replacing it until it is broken. We don't really use much gas anyway, maybe heating the house for 2-3 hours a day in the winter, as it doesn't take long for the house to heat up and stay nice and toasty on the evening.
  • [Deleted User]
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    Grenage wrote: »
    It's not irrelevant. If a house is very poorly insulated, and the occupants spend most of their time in one room, it could easily work out cheaper running an electric heater (or turning off the other rads).

    If your boiler is more than 28% efficient, then it's cheaper to use gas irrespective of whether your house is insulated, and irrespective of how many rooms you heat.
  • [Deleted User]
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    Furts wrote: »
    My thoughts are along these lines. The cheapest way to heat my home is a couple of electric mini oil filled rads. These would give an output of 2kW. When the gas boiler is in use it has an output way in excess of this - 30kW maximum.

    No, the boiler has a thermostat, so the amount of heat it produces is determined by the amount of heat required to warm the house to the desired temperature. For any given temperature rise, the amount of energy required to heat it is dependent on the fabric of the building, not the method of heating.
  • Grenage
    Grenage Posts: 2,899 Forumite
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    You're stating things that are obviously true, but not contradicting anything I've said; I am confused as to your point.
  • [Deleted User]
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    Niv wrote: »
    how long does it take to pay off that new boiler with your 20% energy saving...

    About the lifetime of the boiler. By the time it's due for replacement, the energy savings just about break even with the cost of installation.
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