Renting - Electricity V Gas

preciousb

Hello

Looking to rent a flat in the city centre where i am based.

They mention that the flat has no gas and everything runs on electricity.

How would electricity costs stack up in comparison to gas? Which one would be cheaper.

Is it expensive to rent a flat with just electricity? Not sure what my bills would be. Ive also read the provider for the flats is Utility Warehouse.

Thanks in advance

HappyMJ

In a small flat E7 electricity and gas costs are close, however, electric is usually more expensive. If you do take the flat on then leave utility warehouse. In my area they are one of the most expensive suppliers.

preciousb

I know its hard to estimate. But how would you put a figure on the electricity. Am just working my budget out. We are a married couple.

Is there an average estimate that anyone can give me?

BitterAndTwisted

My sister rents a new, town-centre, one-bedroomed "apartment" with electric heating and it appears that the place is particularly well-insulated as even in the depths of the last winter the heating wasn't required to be on all evening to be comfortable. I'm not sure but I think her winter-quarter bill was about £200. As in all things, the true answer is "it depends".

mkaibear

preciousb wrote: »

Hello

Looking to rent a flat in the city centre where i am based.

They mention that the flat has no gas and everything runs on electricity.

How would electricity costs stack up in comparison to gas? Which one would be cheaper.

Is it expensive to rent a flat with just electricity? Not sure what my bills would be. Ive also read the provider for the flats is Utility Warehouse.

Thanks in advance

Ballpark figure I've always worked on is "electricity is twice as expensive as gas for the same calorific value" - as in to heat the whole place to the same temperature with electrickery would be twice as expensive as doing it with gas central heating.

Economy 7 and storage heaters make it cheaper to run on electricity but still not the same as gas.

In absolute terms you will pay more. As others have said, though, in relative terms it depends on how well insulated the property is, how easy the rooms are to heat (where heaters are located, for example).

We (Mrs mkaibear and I) rented a flat which was leccy heating only, then moved to a flat with GCH - our bills went down by about £20 a month over winter (obviously not over summer!). Hope that helps a bit

MX5huggy

Have a look at the energy performance certificate, the data used for the price of the electricity is a bit out of date but should give a guide.

If its a mid floor modern flat, it should be ok. If its a top floor Victorian flat then leave it.

dodger1

I live in a one bedroom flat with electricity only. My direct debit is £62 per month. I am retired so spend more time at home than a working person so I use more electricity. Hope that helps.

HappyMJ

preciousb wrote: »

I know its hard to estimate. But how would you put a figure on the electricity. Am just working my budget out. We are a married couple.

Is there an average estimate that anyone can give me?

What are your current bills? I'd start with that.

The "average" for an "average" household is to use 3,300kWh per year but the average household tends to have gas for central heating, cooking and hot water. So you need to figure out where you are compared to the average. I've seen figures that small flats use about half so about 1,650kWh then you need to add something for heating, cooking and hot water. I'd guess you have 2 rooms heated for 6 hours per day using a 2kw output heater for 6 months of the year. That would add 2(rooms)*6(hours)*2(kw)*7(days)*26(weeks)= 4,400kWh. Some storage heaters are bigger than that. A hot water immersion usually uses 4.5kWh per night (enough hot water for 2 people) so add another 4.5*365= 1,650kWh. Then add a bit for cooking maybe another 3kWh per day = 1,100kWh per year. Adding all that up I get 8,800kWh per year averaging out at 12p per unit and using some cheaper night rates that'll be around £88 per month. But in reality it could be anything....

IronWolf

The killer for electric only is heating. Electric heaters cost a bomb. My friend was in a similar flat and spent about £70 a month on electricity, although he did use heaters quite often (was winter)

motherofstudents

My mother has storage heaters (which she hates) and pays £60 per month all year round.

sarahevie

my sis lives in one of these brand new city centre apartments with her boyf (1 bed) then have lived there since Aug 2009 bills averaging £40 a month all year round.

They both work quite long hours, but she doesn't like being cold. They are on the 6th floor which I think makes a difference too