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Are there benefits to having an electric combi boiler instead of a gas?

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Help I ended up with a huge gas bill apparently because of the cold winter causing my boiler to use more gas to heat my water?

I am looking into a new boiler and someone suggested an electric combi boiler, but apparently they are more expensive to run is this still the case now that gas cost so much:o
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Comments

  • penrhyn
    penrhyn Posts: 15,215 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    Electricity is four times the cost of gas.
    That gum you like is coming back in style.
  • molerat
    molerat Posts: 34,558 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    edited 13 July 2013 at 9:45AM
    Electricity costs more than gas to do the same job is the simple answer.

    You will use fewer kWh of electricity than gas doing that job but a kWh of electricity costs almost 4 times that of gas so a gas boiler would need to be below 25% efficient to be more expensive. Even the most inefficient gas boilers come nowhere near that low figure, worst case probably 55%.
  • Nada666
    Nada666 Posts: 5,004 Forumite
    This is a British forum. Much of our electricity is gas-fired rather than nuclear (although we were supposed to be cutting down). As such an increase in the cost of gas is not going to not affect both.
  • dogshome
    dogshome Posts: 3,878 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    As already posted, an Electric boiler will cost more to run than Gas

    Whilst a more efficient New Gas Boiler will be less costly to run than an old one, the differential often isn't huge - A thorough look at the quality of insulation in the building and spending money to improve it wherever possible, costs less than a new boiler and gives a greater return
  • Pincher
    Pincher Posts: 6,552 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Lower maintenance cost.
  • lstar337
    lstar337 Posts: 3,443 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Nada666 wrote: »
    This is a British forum. Much of our electricity is gas-fired rather than nuclear (although we were supposed to be cutting down). As such an increase in the cost of gas is not going to not affect both.
    I believe (simplified figures) it to be around:
    • Gas 40%
    • Coal 30%
    • Nuclear 20%
    • Renewables 7%
    • Hydro 1.5%
    • Oil 1%
    • Other 0.5%
    These were for 2011, there may be more up-to-date info somewhere on the net.
  • molerat
    molerat Posts: 34,558 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Pincher wrote: »
    Lower maintenance cost.
    Probably why only landlords will install them, don't care about the energy costs but need little or no maintenance or checks.
  • Pincher
    Pincher Posts: 6,552 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Too right.

    I am trying to get the gas safety certificate done, and the engineer never turns up when he says. The tenant doesn't want us turning up when he can come, because the baby is sleeping. Just a pain in the neck, EVERY year.
  • gc_bus
    gc_bus Posts: 81 Forumite
    Also they tend to be quieter and also, of course, no chance of them emitting carbon monoxide. In addition they don't need to be sited on an outside wall so installation costs can sometimes be cheaper. Insulation is the key thing to bringing electric combi running costs closer to those of a gas fired boiler.
  • macman
    macman Posts: 53,129 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    edited 16 July 2013 at 9:04AM
    No it's not, because if you could insulate a property to such a standard, you could still use a gas boiler in it and the remaining (lower) bills woud still be a third of the cost of an electric boiler.
    Everything else being equal, the same no of kWh's would still be needed to heat and hot water the property to the same temp. The only saving is the capital cost of installation and the annual servicing cost. That does not begin to offset the greater unit fuel cost, and probably never will.
    No free lunch, and no free laptop ;)
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