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What's cheaper? Gas or electric?
NightSprite
Posts: 25 Forumite
in Energy
OK, I'm trying to juggle some numbers and keep the cost of keeping warm this winter.
My flat in parts is fairly OK and is not bad. I've only really started having to use the central heating this week but that's gas and I'm worried about the cost. I really don't need the central heating on for all the rooms! The bedroom seems to maintain a cosy balance and the kitchen holds the heat from the morning sun. The only room that suffers is the living room and that's what I use the CH for.
The trouble comes from the fact the boiler is in the kitchen and that is the only thing maintaining the heat. So if the kitchen is warm, say from the oven then, the boiler assumes the flat is warm and switches off. I think that's how it works! Only by having the dial way up does the boiler stay on long enough for the living to get warm.
So I was thinking for the living room alone I could use an oil filled electric heater I have got. I think it is 1Kw. It has a thermostat of its own and it's wattage can be lowered. Nifty thing, was a gift when I lived in my old flat where the landlord was a bit stingy on heating!
Anyway, I was wondering would it be cheaper to use that a couple of hours a day/night instead of running the gas CH for the same length of time.
I know information is key here so, electric I'm with NPower and gas I'm with British Gas. Yes, I know not ideal but due to a screw up when I moved in I'm lumbered unless I move electric to BG. I'm tied to them for a while!
My flat in parts is fairly OK and is not bad. I've only really started having to use the central heating this week but that's gas and I'm worried about the cost. I really don't need the central heating on for all the rooms! The bedroom seems to maintain a cosy balance and the kitchen holds the heat from the morning sun. The only room that suffers is the living room and that's what I use the CH for.
The trouble comes from the fact the boiler is in the kitchen and that is the only thing maintaining the heat. So if the kitchen is warm, say from the oven then, the boiler assumes the flat is warm and switches off. I think that's how it works! Only by having the dial way up does the boiler stay on long enough for the living to get warm.
So I was thinking for the living room alone I could use an oil filled electric heater I have got. I think it is 1Kw. It has a thermostat of its own and it's wattage can be lowered. Nifty thing, was a gift when I lived in my old flat where the landlord was a bit stingy on heating!
Anyway, I was wondering would it be cheaper to use that a couple of hours a day/night instead of running the gas CH for the same length of time.
I know information is key here so, electric I'm with NPower and gas I'm with British Gas. Yes, I know not ideal but due to a screw up when I moved in I'm lumbered unless I move electric to BG. I'm tied to them for a while!
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Comments
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Probably just need to put a thermostat outside the kitchen.
Wired and wireless options are available.0 -
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No, it doesn't. The boiler is controlled ( or at least it should be ) by the roomthermostat. The temperature of the room the boiler is in, has virtually no influence on the boiler.NightSprite wrote: »... So if the kitchen is warm, say from the oven then, the boiler assumes the flat is warm and switches off...0 -
That's the thing, there is no thermostat in any of the rooms!0
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In that case, your boiler is not controlled as per building regulations, and will stay on until you manually turn it off; nothing will influence that.NightSprite wrote: »That's the thing, there is no thermostat in any of the rooms!
Unless the thermostat was removed AFTER the boiler was installed, it was clearly installed illegally. You may want to get a reputable rgi to service and survey it, to see that all is safe.
There are a few boilers that can be controlled by trv's only, but I doubt yours is one of them.0 -
There is a thermostat in the boiler. I know this because it turns itself off at a certain point depending where I swing the dial on the boiler. This could either be the water temp or the room temp. I'm inclined to believe it's room temp because the boiler clicks off early if the kitchen is warm.
The boiler was fitted fine and above board. I had it checked before I moved into the property last year. And the landlord has had it checked twice in the past year too. It has passed with no issues!0 -
It is neither. The boiler stat controls the temperature of the water flowing through the rads. Without a roomstat ( rare, specific models excluded ), the boiler will NEVER turn off. The burner will pause for a few minutes, but it will always come back on, and the pump will run all the time.NightSprite wrote: »There is a thermostat in the boiler. I know this because it turns itself off at a certain point depending where I swing the dial on the boiler. This could either be the water temp or the room temp.
No, it was not. EVERY boiler install must comply with ALL building regs, and without a roomstat, it does NOT comply with par L, end of.NightSprite wrote: »The boiler was fitted fine and above board.
The commissioning sheet also asks if the compulsory interlock is provided, and without a roomstat, that is not the case.
No satisfactory benchmark = illegal install, it's that simple.0 -
It is neither. The boiler stat controls the temperature of the water flowing through the rads. Without a roomstat ( rare, specific models excluded ), the boiler will NEVER turn off. The burner will pause for a few minutes, but it will always come back on, and the pump will run all the time.
But it does turn off for a lot longer than a few minutes and the pump motor does stop for the same length of time.No, it was not. EVERY boiler install must comply with ALL building regs, and without a roomstat, it does NOT comply with par L, end of.
The commissioning sheet also asks if the compulsory interlock is provided, and without a roomstat, that is not the case.
No satisfactory benchmark = illegal install, it's that simple.
So two independent engineers are wrong?0 -
NightSprite wrote: »But it does turn off for a lot longer than a few minutes and the pump motor does stop for the same length of time.
Which boiler is it? If the pump really turns off too, it is possible that you have one of the rare exceptions that have a control system that uses another type of sensor than a roomstat.
That is very possible. The majority of landlords choose based on price, not on quality, and as we all know, you get monkeys when you pay peanuts.NightSprite wrote: »So two independent engineers are wrong?
I specialise in repairing central heating systems, and come across cases on a regular basis where there have been more than half a dozen "engineers" before me that all said the boiler could not be repaired, and all were proven wrong.
The record to date stands at more than a dozen "engineers" that could not find the problem on one particular boiler, and all it turned out to be, was that somebody had used a rubber washer in stead of a fiber one.0 -
Which boiler is it? If the pump really turns off too, it is possible that you have one of the rare exceptions that have a control system that uses another type of sensor than a roomstat.
I have a Vaillant. Not sure of the model but it heats tap water as well, on demand. No storage. It also has an analogue timer.0
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