is electric central heating/hot water much more expensive than gas?

clare2_2

Hello, I am due to move into a new rented flat this month and have just discovered that instead of the gas central heating and combi boiler I have had previously it had electric heating and an immersion water heater...
Is this going to cost me a lot more money to heat my home and have hot water? I have never used electric before so have no clue...
Thankyou

paceinternet

Electrical energy will cost roughly 3 times as much as gas (once you get past the tier 1 units).
Although if there is no gas in the property, you will not have the T1, standing charge part of the gas bill to pay. Roughly £80 per year.
No gas boiler servicing cost to deal with.
Make sure you are on the best tariff to suit your level of kwh.
So depends how much you will use as to how much more expensive it will be.

amtrakuk

Do you know if you have economy 7, using storage heaters? Generally you can tell these as the storage heaters as they are a large metal box standing about 10-15 cms from the wall, also although they are against the wall they stand on "feet". Although I don't have experience with these I hear they can be fun to use.

Regarding the how water cylinder. Make sure there is a good thick jacket (thicker the better) around it.

Friend of mine has Economy 7 in Reading has an electric water cylinder, 1 meter wide Storage heater for the front room and a 50 cm wide one in the hallway. 9.5Kw electric shower with a bathroom fan heater in the bathroom. A panel heater in the bedroom and kitchen. His electric bill is about £80 a month all in.

I have gone down the all electric route (standard/Non economy 7) for my 4 bed house use about £80 a month for electric also.

Good tip

As energy providers like giving new accounts a stunning deal, some set your DD as low as £25 a month, Economy 7 or standard rate it is always worth overpaying - Request to set your DD to say £80 a month. That way you wont get a shock when your winter bill comes in as there will be substantially less adjustment to your DD.

queenschmoo

I moved to a flat (new build, 2007) with only electric heating in December. It has not got Economy 7 enaabled, and is shockingly expensive. We spent GBP107 in 16 days of heating only two rooms, and not on full power. We were also away for about 4 days and switched everything off. The panel wall heaters cannot produce enough heat to heat up the rooms effectively anyway, I don't think they can get the temp higher than about 15 degrees. I have given up heating all but one room, as I cannot afford to heat the flat at this rate. Do not move to a place with electric heating, unless you are very rich.

shegar

queenschmoo wrote: »

I moved to a flat (new build, 2007) with only electric heating in December. It has not got Economy 7 enaabled, and is shockingly expensive. We spent GBP107 in 16 days of heating only two rooms, and not on full power. We were also away for about 4 days and switched everything off. The panel wall heaters cannot produce enough heat to heat up the rooms effectively anyway, I don't think they can get the temp higher than about 15 degrees. I have given up heating all but one room, as I cannot afford to heat the flat at this rate. Do not move to a place with electric heating, unless you are very rich.

Good advise.

Katie-Kat-Kins

queenschmoo wrote: »

I moved to a flat (new build, 2007) with only electric heating in December. It has not got Economy 7 enaabled, and is shockingly expensive. We spent GBP107 in 16 days of heating only two rooms, and not on full power. We were also away for about 4 days and switched everything off. The panel wall heaters cannot produce enough heat to heat up the rooms effectively anyway, I don't think they can get the temp higher than about 15 degrees. I have given up heating all but one room, as I cannot afford to heat the flat at this rate. Do not move to a place with electric heating, unless you are very rich.

Either your heaters are broken or your insulation is awful!

Our storage heaters are capable of heating our house to tropical levels! It costs a fortune but they can!

Electric heating will be more expensive than gas, but you will save on a second lot of standing charges (though this will be offset against the loss of duel fuel discount) and the cost of maintaining and servicing a gas boiler.

If you have storage heaters you should have E7 or E10 normally which make it cheaper. If you are heating your home with non-storage electrical heating then it will be very expensive. With storage heaters the key is understanding how they work and using them correctly - it takes a while to get your head round the way they work if you are used to gas.

You will need to keep your house well insulated and avoid drafts.

shegar

Katie-Kat-Kins wrote: »

Either your heaters are broken or your insulation is awful!

Our storage heaters are capable of heating our house to tropical levels! It costs a fortune but they can!

Electric heating will be more expensive than gas, but you will save on a second lot of standing charges (though this will be offset against the loss of duel fuel discount) and the cost of maintaining and servicing a gas boiler.

If you have storage heaters you should have E7 or E10 normally which make it cheaper. If you are heating your home with non-storage electrical heating then it will be very expensive. With storage heaters the key is understanding how they work and using them correctly - it takes a while to get your head round the way they work if you are used to gas.

You will need to keep your house well insulated and avoid drafts.

When I had storage heaters we were well insulated, cavity wall, double glazing but never was it tropical.!! The highest temp about 19 degrees, I lived with them for 18 yr and in that time we never got use to them I got to know them but hated them...as with maintenance of gas boiler ... 50 quid a year approx to service thats nothing of an extra to the price of running storage heaters. ..

JennyR68

shegar wrote: »

When I had storage heaters we were well insulated, cavity wall, double glazing but never was it tropical.!! The highest temp about 19 degrees, I lived with them for 18 yr and in that time we never got use to them I got to know them but hated them...as with maintenance of gas boiler ... 50 quid a year approx to service thats nothing of an extra to the price of running storage heaters. ..

Snap, except we endured 20years. Gas is not an option for us as none on street so we've changed over to electic radiators. Which for us is actually cheaper to run than the storage heaters despite using standard electric plus added benefit of much less units used so you get the enviromental feel good factor too.

Cardew

queenschmoo wrote: »

I moved to a flat (new build, 2007) with only electric heating in December. It has not got Economy 7 enaabled, and is shockingly expensive. We spent GBP107 in 16 days of heating only two rooms, and not on full power. We were also away for about 4 days and switched everything off. The panel wall heaters cannot produce enough heat to heat up the rooms effectively anyway, I don't think they can get the temp higher than about 15 degrees. I have given up heating all but one room, as I cannot afford to heat the flat at this rate. Do not move to a place with electric heating, unless you are very rich.

Agreed.

Despite the posts from people who would have you think otherwise, there is no more expensive way of heating a property than with electric heating.

Storage heaters on an Economy 7 tariff can provide cheaper heating(than electrical heating on a 24/7 tariff) for some people, and it should not be forgotten that hot water is also a lot cheaper.

However for some people the heat released during the day can be wasted as it is not required, that together with the increased price of daytime units can make 'normal' electrical heating cheaper.

Inactive

Cardew wrote: »

Agreed.

Despite the posts from people who would have you think otherwise, there is no more expensive way of heating a property than with electric heating.

.

Wrong, oil heating is far more expensive.


Night rate Storage Heating can actually work out to be as cost effective as gas, depending on many factors.

The difference is certainly much closer these days.

JennyR68

queenschmoo wrote: »

Do not move to a place with electric heating, unless you are very rich.

I'm certainly not rich by any stretch of the imagination. In a well insulated modern house on a decent tariff you should be able to use electric heating quite affordably. I live in a 3 bed semi, all electric, not on E7, and at this time of year I would expect to be paying less than £140 for a months total electric usage. And that is with heating on 24/7.

Sounds like something was seriously adrift with your heaters!