New boiler, gas or electricity

The_Deep

I own a small, (500 sq ft), rented one bedroom flat whichwas built in 1989. The existing gasboiler is nearing the end of its life and I am wondering whether it would be aviable option to replace it with an electric one.

The present boiler heats the water, and runs four radiators. If I switch to electricity I shall be able toreplace the gas hob with an electric one and would save about £300 a year on the service contract.

I do not know how installation costs would compare, the existing boiler is in a cupboard, some 20 feet from an outside wall, but there is a washing machine in the same cupboard.

Running costs will not be an issue as the flat is warm andwell insulated and my tenants are all well heeled

I have seen single phase 9/12Kw electric boilers on the Internet for about £800.

Has anyone on here gone this route?

jalexa

The_Deep wrote: »

Running costs will not be an issue as the flat is warm and well insulated and my tenants are all well heeled

If you go down the electric boiler route you may struggle to get "well heeled tenants".

Anyway your business plan seems flawed. If the service plan costs of a gas boiler are £300/year then that cost should be reflected in the rent, so not a cost saving to you. Ditto the depreciation costs of the existing boiler should have been built into the rent.

The_Deep

Due to local market factors, the current rent of the property is less than I was getting ten years ago, whilst everything else has gone up. You cannot therefore "factor in" boiler depreciation and such.

I am aware that these boilers are costly to run, but in the last ten years nearly all of my tenents have been highly paid professions, mostly single, working long hours. Thus my belief that running costs are not a major issue.

Pincher

This is why purpose built flats for Buy-to-Let are usually electric only. Maintenance cost is a burden on the landlord, whereas running cost is on the tenant.

If there is no gas bill, the tenant actually saves about £100 on the gas standing charge, so the annual running cost is not that much different on a well insulated one bedroom flat.

You can ask the local letting agents whether gas is a selling point. If it's not important, electric only makes sense for the landlord.