New Heating System - need advice

auntynet

Hi everyone. I'm here looking for a bit of advice on behalf of my 80 yr old father. He lives in a 3 bedroomed semi (local authority) with one of my brothers (who's not capable of sorting any of this out). Mum passed away in December and she usually dealt with all this stuff but since her death its now down to me.

The council have just installed a brand new electric central heating system - not sure exactly what it is but the council are saying its supposed to be very eco friendly and will save him lots of money (but we all know that you have to take things the council say with a pinch of salt, lol). Problem is they've always had gas heating before but now they'll just have a gas cooker so the bill will drop to minimal usage but obviously their electricity bill will take a huge jump due to the new heating system. I should also say that he's one of the lucky ones that doesn't have any money worries but he's always been very "careful" with money, he will use the heating if its necessary but will also be quick to turn it off when he's warm enough.

I was wondering if there's anyone on here with similar energy circumstances that can give me a bit of advice re which tariff and energy company I could check out. I've already tried looking on the comparison sites but its almost impossible to work anything out when you've got no idea what your consumption is gonna be.

Southend1

Check out ebico for the gas. No standing charge so can work out cheaper for low users

penrhyn

They can expect to pay three times more to run the electric heating compared to gas. If its a storage system then they could save by using Economy 7.
If its panel heaters then they have one of the most expensive to run heating system going.
Ecologically sound it ain't, and any claim that the radiators are super efficient have low running costs etc are pure bull excrement.
You might want to check out social.

http://www.uswitch.com/gas-electricity/guides/social-energy-tariffs/#step3

PS The reason councils put in electric systems is that they are cheap to install and cost little to maintain.

auntynet

Thanks for your replies.

Will certainly look into the gas supplier.

As for the heating system - its not panel heaters. its a wet central heating system thats powered by an outside heat pump. apparently its very new technology for domestic housing. (We not certain but we're led to believe this system costs around £11k to install). Would that info change your advice?

penrhyn

Phew, thats a different kettle of fish, hopefully someone will have experience of these systems.
There is a thread on Air sourced heat pumps here.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/702257

daveyjp

If its a Nibe fighter 360b system be prepared for a massive electricity bill.

A google search will reveal the horrors these systems can bring to householders who have no control over them being fitted.

I would certainly be taking regular electricity meter readings to monitor useage.

auntynet

Think i need to find out exactly what the system is and do a bit more research.

thanks for your answers - will update when i've done a bit of digging.

Southend1

daveyjp wrote: »

If its a Nibe fighter 360b system be prepared for a massive electricity bill.

A google search will reveal the horrors these systems can bring to householders who have no control over them being fitted.

I would certainly be taking regular electricity meter readings to monitor useage.

There's an article in my local paper this week about a block of flats with Nibe heating systems. The residents were each paying over £20 a day in electric because every system in the block was set up wrongly. The housing association had to pay for them to be fixed and recommissioned. It also said the system should be left running 24/7 and that it's not possible to alter the thermostat by more than 1 degree every 24 hours without incurring huge bills because this causes an immersion heater to kick in to boost the system :eek: