pros & cons: gas v's electric

splodger_seedswapper

hi guys and gals

i am having trouble in deciding what really will be the way forward - re my energy usage in the future.

i live in a small housing association property and they have offered me the chance to have a heating upgrade.

currently the property is all electric - and has economy 7 - night storage heaters which are at least 20 years old - needless to say, the storage heaters are not very good and do not give off much heat at all (and yes i do have therm on apt settings)

the HA has offered me an upgrade to gas if i want it - but it can't be done until at least jan or feb - will take at least 3 weeks to do work - will be horrendously disruptive having this work done whilst still living in the place and potentially very cold.

would the long term benefits of having gas be worth the upheaval of having it installed?

i am concerned that the continual hike in prices might make gas a much more expensive fuel to opt for in years to come, especially if renewable energies are promoted more

should i stick with electric and just get brand new storage heaters? or is gas still my best option long term?

your thoughts / input would be very much appreciated :beer:

WelshPaul

splodger_seedswapper wrote: »

hi guys and gals

i am having trouble in deciding what really will be the way forward - re my energy usage in the future.

i live in a small housing association property and they have offered me the chance to have a heating upgrade.

currently the property is all electric - and has economy 7 - night storage heaters which are at least 20 years old - needless to say, the storage heaters are not very good and do not give off much heat at all (and yes i do have therm on apt settings)

the HA has offered me an upgrade to gas if i want it - but it can't be done until at least jan or feb - will take at least 3 weeks to do work - will be horrendously disruptive having this work done whilst still living in the place and potentially very cold.

would the long term benefits of having gas be worth the upheaval of having it installed?

i am concerned that the continual hike in prices might make gas a much more expensive fuel to opt for in years to come, especially if renewable energies are promoted more

should i stick with electric and just get brand new storage heaters? or is gas still my best option long term?

your thoughts / input would be very much appreciated :beer:

Gas is better as you can turn it of and on as and when required, downside is gas is not cheap now.

slipthru

WelshPaul wrote: »

Gas is better as you can turn it of and on as and when required, downside is gas is not cheap now.

Yes but it's still cheaper than electric.

I would def get gas it will be worth the hassle.

splodger_seedswapper

i guess i'll have to opt for the gas install - i just hope that a few years down the line the prices are not so huge that it becomes unaffordable

Pincher

Is the HA putting the gas boiler and radiators in as well?
Are they also going to service, repair and replace if it goes wrong?

Just putting a gas meter and supply pipe into the flat takes maximum a day, so three weeks would imply you are getting the full works. For free!?

Get your head examined, pronto.

splodger_seedswapper

it's going to be a complete heating upgrade - so gas installation, new boiler, all the pipework, rads etc - the full monty to be fitted - and the old electric storage heaters to be removed

the housing authority pays for it all and will do all the servicing and repairs - other than possibly putting the rent up a bit - there should be no extra cost to me (other than the running costs, naturally)

lilac_lady

Pick the gas installation. The disruption will be worth it. I think electric heating makes your skin very dry.

HappyMJ

splodger_seedswapper wrote: »

i guess i'll have to opt for the gas install - i just hope that a few years down the line the prices are not so huge that it becomes unaffordable

You guess you'll have to.....It's free and you sound so reluctant. Go for it.

Just look at your bills. Take the night usage on your E7 storage heating. Say it's 6000kWh @ 4.5p. Worst case scenario you will use double that on gas at 3p. It'll cost a little more overall for standard heating (£30 a year max) but your house will be so much warmer all the time. You will also save a little on the day rate on the electric bills due to a lower rate being charged and no further need for peak rate heating at 15p per unit.

Make sure you switch tariffs after they have installed it and you will save even more.

Pincher

Have you been throwing away winning lottery tickets because shopping is just too much hassle?

WillowCat

splodger_seedswapper wrote: »

i just hope that a few years down the line the prices are not so huge that it becomes unaffordable

A lot of the UK's electricity generation is via gas power stations. As the price of gas increases (and on average it will, ignoring short term fluctuations) the price of electricity will also rise.

I was just going to add that if you live in a super insulated house then the difference in capital cost for gas v electric, and the requirement for annual servicing can be a factor for choosing to stay electric. Then I read that you don't actually pay for those costs.......

You'd be crazy not to take them up on their offer.

splodger_seedswapper

Pincher wrote: »

Have you been throwing away winning lottery tickets because shopping is just too much hassle?

ha ha ha - i hate shopping (but can't afford lottery tickets either)

gas it is then - i have actually provo' booked it - i just wanted a second (or more) opinion

thanks to all that replied - much appreciated