Help needed! Electric vs Oil Central Heating

twill6464

Hi everyone,

I'm hoping to rack your brains about which is the best type of heating - electric or oil for a small (50 sq m) cottage in cornwall which is currently being renovated.
It's not very well insulated at all and I cannot get mains gas. I've been told that an electric boiler (combining a hot water tank) will be £1500 cheaper than a new oil fired boiler. The electric boiler is a heatrae sadia and uses conventional radiators and can use economy 10.

Please please can I have your thoughts as I have no idea which is better!!

Thanks in advance, Tom

Cardew

Tom,
Welcome to the forum.

If you look in this forum you will find loads of threads on just this subject, plus threads on heating systems other than oil and 'conventional' electric heating. Heat pumps - log/pellet burners - storage heating etc

Oil is still considerably cheaper to run than electric.

A litre of oil contains 10.2 kWh of energy. With a modern boiler you can get efficiency as high as 95% so with oil at say 65p litre that is approx 7p for a kWh.
You can compare that with the price you get can get electric, don't forget if you get E7 or E10 you pay extra for all your other electricity.

Bear in mind that electric boilers feeeding radiators give out exactly the same heat for your money as a £30 oil filled radiator or convection heater - so why bother spending loads on an electric boiler.

Storage heaters are cheaper to run and install, but of course have disadvantages in operating - leak heat during day etc.

paceinternet

It would be interesting to know what your E10 rates are?
Also, could you live comfortably with the heating only on during E10 time slots, or would you need to use some heating in between?
You therefore need to do those running cost calcs.

What Cardew says is correct for most people who need their heat during electrical standard rate hours at around 11p per kwh. You may find that if a big enough %age is during E10 hours at 4-5p per kwh and a small amount at 11p, then the total costs are closer. The hours of use would roughly need to be 66% at 5p and 33% at 11p to be the same as oil at 7p (all per kwh).

Using Cardew's numbers for oil, you could also consider "what if" oil prices. Some people have been getting it at between 50 and 60 p per litre during the last few weeks, but many were also expecting it to rise again to the 65 + level.
What are prices in Cornwall, and what do you think is going to happen next?

Cardew

As Paceinternet states there are so many unknown factors that it it impossible to accurately estimate what is best even at current prices; let alone future trends in oil and electricity prices.

Oil boilers need servicing, electrical appliances don't!

Will Oil CH will enhance the value of your property now? and in the future?

For a small cottage an Air Source Heat Pump might provide the majority of your heating - Cornwall is pretty mild in comparison to most of UK.

JEFF_OF_YORK

I too have the dilemma of choosing between oil & electric in a rural house. It is a mid terraced, well insulated loft & d/g windows/doors. Currently has solid fuel fire which heats up 3 rads but very inefficient. Want to add 2 rads. I want to stay with wet central heating but need to know what's best taking into account the very latest fuel price rises (as at 22nd Aug 2008). Do I go for electric boiler, cleaner & cheaper to instal or more costly oil installation (cost of storage tank etc), which may prove cheaper to run per hour. The floor area up & downsatirs is 44m2. Grateful for any advice.

samtheman1k

If you have the space, and are willing to have a higher initial outlay in return for cheaper running costs, then look at ground source heat pumps, or air source for a lesser install cost.

twill6464

Hi everyone, thanks for sound advice! paceinternet you made me think quite hard about what is best! oil is quite expensive in cornwall at about 60.95p last time i bought it in July. Economy 10 in my area was about 11 or 12p per Kwh when averaged out but I would need heating to come on during peak times in the early morning as E10 off -peak stops at 5am and doesn't start again till the afternoon. An airsource heat pump is a possibility but just too expenisve right now. the electric boiler also works out £1200 cheaper than the oil boiler+tank so the oil will take a while to pay back the extra outlay even if it works out cheaper to run?
Jeff of York - good to hear i'm not the only one in this situation. life would be so easy if we had mains gas!!!!
so....currently leaning towards the electric even though it's less efficient.....

stunnie

Hi,

I am having exactly the same issues with a 50 sq/m cottage in Perthshire.

I have LPG gas at the moment but need to move the boiler and am not keen on the big tank in the front garden. Current heating is from electric storage heaters.

One question - does anyone know if it's possible to combine electric boiler supplying central heating to radiators/shower etc with wood burning stove?

Thanks,

s

Cardew

twill6464 wrote: »

Hi everyone, thanks for sound advice! paceinternet you made me think quite hard about what is best! oil is quite expensive in cornwall at about 60.95p last time i bought it in July. Economy 10 in my area was about 11 or 12p per Kwh when averaged out but I would need heating to come on during peak times in the early morning as E10 off -peak stops at 5am and doesn't start again till the afternoon. An airsource heat pump is a possibility but just too expenisve right now. the electric boiler also works out £1200 cheaper than the oil boiler+tank so the oil will take a while to pay back the extra outlay even if it works out cheaper to run?
Jeff of York - good to hear i'm not the only one in this situation. life would be so easy if we had mains gas!!!!
so....currently leaning towards the electric even though it's less efficient.....

Agree with your logic on weighing up the saving on capital costs of installation against the potential savings on running costs.

Although I appreciated you stated you want 'wet' radiator CH, why not consider some of the new 'combined' Dimplex type storage heaters/convection heaters?
Or even save almost all the installation costs and get simple oil filled radiators at £30 or so. How will you tell the difference between them and electric wet CH? They all have individual thermostats and can be put on individual timers.

Personally I just can't see the advantages of having an electric boiler wet CH system.

Also I am pretty certain that heat pump systems will come down in price in future years.

Cardew

stunnie wrote: »

Hi,



One question - does anyone know if it's possible to combine electric boiler supplying central heating to radiators/shower etc with wood burning stove?

Thanks,

s

There have been a couple of threads on that question.

I have a Baxi type open fire linked into a Gas CH that I had installed in a house I had built - and I wish I hadn't bothered

The main problem is safety. Your wood burning stove heating water is a potential bomb(if the water boils) and you need 'fail safe' systems.

Swinters_2

I have found a site that supplies the whole packge for electric radiators sales, support and installation. My problem is that I dont know too much about electric radiators i was refferred to that site by someone who swears by electric radiators. Are they worthwhile and do they save you money, I like the idea of them because they dont have any pipes and can be worked with a remote control.