Any positive reasons for electric heating?

david_m4

Are there any truly good reasons for having electric radiators instead of gas central heating? Or is it just a case of people getting stuck without the upfront cash to install GCH (or stuck renting from a slumlord who refuses to)?

I was just looking at flats to buy in York, nothing serious but I was feeling nosey, and I've seen a couple of recently built places with electric heating. One is in a block I saw being put up just four years ago. Makes me wonder if there's any reason I'd want electric, as a buyer, and if not, why the builders installed it?

tim9966

It's cheaper to install, and doesn't need a service every year.

rogerblack

Gas isn't everywhere.
To get it installed can cost several thousand in some cases, if available at all.
Clearly there is little incentive for a builder to do this.

While storage heaters are more expensive than gas, they are not much more expensive.
If the building is well insulated, and tightly constructed, heating bills can be quite reasonable.

As tim said - way less to go wrong, can't leak, and a failure will generally only take out one radiator, which can be repaired at leisure, as your whole heating hasn't just died.

My caution would be that it is questionable if economy 7 tariffs will remain unchanged for 20 years.

The rollout of smart meters, and 'smart grid' in general will allow utility companies to better modulate the load throughout the day.

This could result in less 'spare' power overnight.
Combined with the shutdown of old powerstations for ones that may ramp up and down quicker, the price of E7 may rise significantly.

penrhyn

If the Eco mentalists get their way there will be no gas for generation or heating our homes in years to come so we will all have to convert to electricity for our heating needs, which will only be available when the sun shines or the wind blows.

Ben84

In a small house or flat (particularly if it has decent insulation) electric radiators may be cost effective as you can avoid the standing charges for a gas connection and also the annual cost of servicing a boiler.

Ideally however, apartment buildings with large boilers to heat the entire building are the best I've found. There's an economy of scale when you buy lots of coal/gas and as a large user of heating, I probably benefit as much as possible from it. People who like the cold however may resent it adding to their rent/maintenance costs.

split_second

we have an electric fire alongside gas central heating.
our gas fire was a early 80s wall mounted thing with a wooden (or wood effect) cabinet. it was really difficult to switch on, and when my gas meter broke i was freezing and it was minus double figures, buying a replacement meant paying nearly £1000 for the fireplace, fire, bit at the back, installation etc.

I paid our gasman (brother in law's friend) to take it off the wall, make the wiring safe and my dad did the electric install, whole lot including a new wall mounted fire cost less than £150. we dont use it much but it beats the whole eggs in one basket principle of modern heating.

fiancee's old flat had a modern electric system, it was very easy- click-on, click-off. the flats were all rentals and the letting agent was linked to the owners, they wanted as little to have to do as possible

macman

penrhyn wrote: »

If the Eco mentalists get their way there will be no gas for generation or heating our homes in years to come so we will all have to convert to electricity for our heating needs, which will only be available when the sun shines or the wind blows.

Which means that night storage heaters will become somewhat redundant too-unless we get a lot of windy nights...

chris1973

unless we get a lot of windy nights...

But not too windy eh?

jay1181

chris1973 wrote: »

But not too windy eh?

that's what happens when they skimp on maintenance (brakes failed causing the gearbox to shatter resulting in a fire) They are great things when well maintained but we will have to see if all these wind turbines stand the test of time

david_m4

Thanks for all the replies. I know about living off mains gas. When I was little we lived in a village and a couple of times a year our massive heating oil tank got filled up from a massive lorry, rumbling and fuming under my bedroom window. Made me want to be a lorry driver at the time

That doesn't apply to just outside the York ring road though, and I wouldn't like to bet on economy 7 lasting either. If the longer-term difference to end users is only down to servicing costs, in a new building I'd rather take my chances with a new gas boiler. Surely electric heating needs some regular maintenance too as it gets older?

Pretty much confirmed my suspicions, that these flats are cheap and nasty, and if I bought one I'd be a mug. No thanks Mr Developer, you can keep it :P

rogerblack

david_m4 wrote: »

Surely electric heating needs some regular maintenance too as it gets older?

Dusting.

The elements need replaced as they fail.
This can be DIY.

Failures take decades, and do not take out your whole heating system.
Most heaters have more than one element, so they do not go stone cold.