Electric Central Heating (NOT Night Storage)

i have had a thermal store just fitted to replace my 12 Kw Redring Powerstream.

I am using standard rate electric, the Navitron 172 litre store being heated by 2x 3Kw immersion heaters set to 70 degrees. The cylinder has 100mm of insulation.

Results are VERY impressive! Can run nearly two baths of 50 degree hot water at mains water pressure before the hot tap starts to cool off! OK it takes about 1.5 hours to fully recover the heat from exhausted but 150+ litres of hot water is more than I will ever need at one time.

I have tried doing an electric standing heat loss comparison by not using any hot water for 24 hours, Redring heat loss (zero) vs Thermal Store. I would say the standing heat loss is negligible, I assume paying the extra for 100mm insulation is worth it!

Apart from proper hot water at 50 degrees at the tap at mains water pressure I like the fact this seems to be the safe alternative to an unvented cylinder. As there is no stored unvented hot water there is no need for safety valves, annual inspection etc so the system is inherently safe. And hot water only takes literally a couple of seconds to reach the farthest tap!

Another option I am considering is reinstating my wet central heating radiators. The radiators are still on the walls (bar 2) and the pipework is still there. As there is a coil half way up the thermal store above the lower heating element Im planning of upgrading the lower element to 6Kw and plumbing in the coil to the radiator circuit including an expansion vessel, fill link to the cold supply and pump linked to a room thermostat. This truly shows the flexibility of a thermal store!

Oh from what a friend recommended and I did, it might be worth throwing in a bottle of Fernox into the cylinder. With this I expect 15-20 years service from the cylinder.

samtheman1k wrote: »

Using purely electric to heat your hot water is viable, especially in summer, it's when you use it to heat your house [in winter] that you start using some serious kWh and some serious ££££!

True. I set my electric DD at a reasonable level £80 a month. The credit buildup over the summer covers the heating in the winter.

I seemed to remember when I used to have gas in the house my Duel Fuel DD was over £100

Just to give you and idea of the price of our wet-electric system

It's a 12 Kw Boiler, If we were to use it for 2 hours am (off peak), 1 hour afternoon (to heat water while we are working), 2 hours evening peak time (say 5-7pm) over 30 days this is £190, not including other electric usage or the standing charge. We can easily rack up bills of £300 in the coldest parts of winter,our DD is set to £122 per month, and we finished paying last years arrears last month :-(

We do have high ceilings (4m high) and lost of windows (secondary glazing) as it is an old sandstone victorian flat (2 bedroom)

I certainly couldn't recommend wet electric to anyone given its running cost!

hendersonb wrote: »

Just to give you and idea of the price of our wet-electric system

It's a 12 Kw Boiler, If we were to use it for 2 hours am (off peak), 1 hour afternoon (to heat water while we are working), 2 hours evening peak time (say 5-7pm) over 30 days this is £190, not including other electric usage or the standing charge. We can easily rack up bills of £300 in the coldest parts of winter,our DD is set to £122 per month, and we finished paying last years arrears last month :-(

We do have high ceilings (4m high) and lost of windows (secondary glazing) as it is an old sandstone victorian flat (2 bedroom)

I certainly couldn't recommend wet electric to anyone given its running cost!

That sounds pricy but about right.. In the winter I use about £125 of electric a month however in the warmer months I use about £35 a month.

Some tips I can suggest;

Shop round on a regular basis for the cheapest supplier, This summer I changed to Scottish power (T1 at 16.1p and T2 at 6.1p per Kwh) in the Leeds area.

Only heat the rooms you use. I heat the Bedroom, Kitchen and Front room to a temperature where it is just comfortable, the other rooms I set the heaters so they feel chilly but not cold.

Does anyone of you could help me with the issues below please:

As a new flat owner, I want to replace an existing electric immersion storage heater tank into something smaller. my plumber suggested me to install a wet central heating at the costs of £4500 (labour and materials) for a 32qms purpose build studio flat in Middlesex, London. He
recommended me the Fusion E10 Combi boiler unit 14.4kw/150L COMB14150 model.

Is there any other smaller and cheaper boiler can I have? Is it a reasonable price for 2 plumber to take 2 days to finish the job and £2500 as labour and pipes material fees (£2000 for the boiler unit)?

Many thanks in advance.