Electric heating

ancientmum · 9 August 2017 at 10:38PM

I am hoping for some advice on updating the heating in my new flat. There is no gas supply in the building and currently there are old slimline storage heaters in each room. The one in the bathroom looks broken, and I would like to replace it with a towel rail type one anyway. There is a lagged hot water tank with immersion heater and economy 7 tariff.

I have ordered a brochure from a certain German based storage heater company, but my son has been talking about an electric combi boiler, which I have never heard of before.

Does anyone have any experience of either these systems?

matelodave · 10 August 2017 at 8:33AM

E7 and storage heaters are a lot cheaper to run than any German company's heaters which are not storage heaters and will be running on peak rate leccy, so beware.

Likewise an electric combi runs on peak rate electricity as it cannot store heat during off-peak times so will increase your heating costs dramatically.

You'd be better off getting the existing storage heters checked over and try a winter with them first before spending lots of money.

ancientmum · 10 August 2017 at 8:58AM

Thank you matelodave. I may do that. I am used to gas check so was worried about excessively higher bills. Will have a rethink.

Ebe_Scrooge · 10 August 2017 at 9:19AM

I agree with the points made by Matelodave - electric heating is generally the most expensive in terms of fuel costs, and the only way you can reduce the bills really is to make as much use as possible of cheaper off-peak rates. If you're stuck with electric heating, with no realistic alternative, then getting the existing setup checked over is the most sensible first step.

There is a chance that replacing very old storage heaters with newer ones might just possibly save you a bit. But bearing in mind that all electric heating costs the same to run, and factoring in the cost of replacement, it's unlikely. Remember, a 2KW fan heater that costs a fiver from Argos will burn the same amount of electricity as a fancy German 2KW space-age super-dooper heater with go-faster stripes that costs £200.

Similarly, the combi boiler. A combi boiler heats water on demand, so you're not heating water that you don't need. In theory it sounds a great idea - and can, indeed, be ideal for some circumstances. However, in an all-electric setup, you're likely to be running it on peak-rate power. If you have an immersion that can make use of E7, and the tank is properly insulated ( which should easily keep the water hot for many hours ), then again you're likely to see little - if any - saving. Especially if you factor in the cost of buying and installing the boiler in the first place.

So yeah - what he said LOL !

footyguy · 10 August 2017 at 4:38PM

ancientmum wrote: »

I am hoping for some advice on updating the heating in my new flat. There is no gas supply in the building and currently there are old slimline storage heaters in each room. The one in the bathroom looks broken, and I would like to replace it with a towel rail type one anyway. There is a lagged hot water tank with immersion heater and economy 7 tariff.

I have ordered a brochure from a certain German based storage heater company, but my son has been talking about an electric combi boiler, which I have never heard of before.

Does anyone have any experience of either these systems?

How does a storage heater 'look broken'??? :huh:

Did you have a full electrical survey carried out before you purchased the property? :huh:

There's not much that can go wrong with a storage heater (unless vandalised/mistreated)
If it is proven to be faulty, why not see how much it would cost to repair? :huh:

A storage heater is a storage heater, no matter which country it is made in.
What's wrong with the national favourite? Dimplex (which is actually Irish, but also supply in Germany)

An electrical combi boiler sounds like all the worst parts of a heating system in one.
i.e. the cost of electrical heating combined with the wet side of a typical gas central heating system (it's the wet side that almost always is the cause of malfunctions and ongoing maintenance requirements)

ancientmum · 11 August 2017 at 9:27AM

Thank you for the kind advice.

frugalmacdugal · 11 August 2017 at 9:59AM

Hi,

I never understand why folks get fearful of moving into a property that's all electric
/E7.

You just need to know how to use it properly.

Water heater/immersion.

If tank is well insulated it will hold the heat until evening, so just set your timer to come on for an hour in the morning before cheap rate stops, if you need a boost during the day then stick it on for half an hour.

Heaters.

These store heat overnight on the cheap rate.

There's an input and output.

Don't go mad and turn your input up to max, instead start at low, see how things feel next day, if not warm enough then up a bit, until you're happy with temp.

Watch weather forecast for next day and adjust accordingly at night for the next day.

Output, releases more heat if needed, but more heat out more input needed, I've never used the output.

If using output, make sure you shut down at bedtime as no point heating an empty room.

You don't say if storage heaters in bedroom, if there is I wouldn't bother with them, again heat in an empty room during the day.

If there is a panel heater in bedroom, and you need a warm bedroom, then panel heater on for half an hour before going to bed to take the chill off.

Oh and I wouldn't bother with that 'certain' German company, you want heat not something to sit and look at for it's aesthetics.

Electric heating

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