Electric heating or gas central heating?

DepositSaver

HappyMJ wrote: »

Then I'd highly consider renting until you can afford it. Do a rent/buy calculation...one bed flats tend to be cheaper to rent than buy in the long term.

Out of interest would renting a one bed being cheaper in the long term be your only reason for not buying one? There's only one of me so I only actually need one bedroom. An extra one would be lovely, if there was one within my current budget, to give extra storage space and somewhere private for guests to sleep. Most flats I've seen advertised have a small 2nd bedroom, and 20k seems a lot for not much space.

It would take me quite a while to save up enough for the more expensive 2 beds in my area, and I'm 40 next year and wanting a 25 year mortgage. I don't really want to be still paying off a mortgage well into my retirement!

DepositSaver

There's been lots of discussion on storage heaters, but what about just ordinary electric heaters which seem to be in some flats? I assume you just plug them in as and when you need them? Or can they have a timer? Does anyone know relative costs of those?

witchy1066

electric radiators are great and I wouldn't swap mine for the world, they work in much the same way as gas central heating ,setting them on the heat setting that suits , you get no condensation , and just plug in , look great if you get the nice slim line ones
my electricity bill is about the same as my neighbours gas but she does tend to have it on all the time and too warm for me

the cost of gas and electricity are not as far apart as they used to be , and depending on your tariff in some cases little difference

you would need to check pricing out with the supplier ,

witchy1066

http://www.electricradiatorsdirect.co.uk/haverland-ranges/rcwave

just to give you , you can buy the radiators from places like screwfix but some sites on the internet give you an idea of size radiator best for room size,
the main thing is to make sure they have a timer , at least 2 time settings and a therm control

not for everyone I know but in a one bed they would be great I am sure

Errata

DepositSaver wrote: »

There's been lots of discussion on storage heaters, but what about just ordinary electric heaters which seem to be in some flats? I assume you just plug them in as and when you need them? Or can they have a timer? Does anyone know relative costs of those?

Builders/devopers install panel electric heaters in properties because they're as cheap as chips compared to the cost of storage radiators.

calicocat

I've had storage heaters in the past, flipping expensive, and not very efficient. I would never have them again given the choice.

shegar

calicocat wrote: »

I've had storage heaters in the past, flipping expensive, and not very efficient. I would never have them again given the choice.

Ive had them in the past too, and id never buy a house with them in again, cant beat GCH, for flexibility , warmer , easy to use , if its too hot turn it down , too cold turn it up.........:) Yes and the dam expense of storage heaters........

DepositSaver

witchy1066 wrote: »

http://www.electricradiatorsdirect.co.uk/haverland-ranges/rcwave

just to give you , you can buy the radiators from places like screwfix but some sites on the internet give you an idea of size radiator best for room size,
the main thing is to make sure they have a timer , at least 2 time settings and a therm control

not for everyone I know but in a one bed they would be great I am sure

Thanks, it's useful to hear from someone using non-storage heater electric radiators. I've been browsing the web and found various stories of huge bills for them, but most seemed to be for 3 bed houses, not the 1 or 2 bed (hopefully well insulated) flat I'm hoping to buy.

DepositSaver

HappyMJ wrote: »

A boiler only has a lifespan of 10-15 years and has an ongoing maintenance requirement of at least £60 a year. You also have standing charges on the gas bill... You'd lose money in the long run.

Gas is very economical in 3 bedroom houses and larger as those houses are just too large to heat by electricity economically.

The average bill in a 1 bed flat will be around half that of the national average being a 3 bed house.

I see your point about standing charges and ongoing maintenance. I don't think it would make me reject a flat with GCH as I do like the complely control and flexibility, but I don't think I will be as put off by electric heating as I was (though I think I would avoid storage heaters for various reasons). A lot of the stories I've read about huge bills have been about 3 bed houses. You're right a 1 bed flat is going to be much more economical to heat by electricity than a 3 bed house.

urbanmyth

I live in a one bed flat bought from new with electric everything including underfloor heating, not E7. I work from home all day on laptop, boiler on timer for morning showers, husband home in the evenings only and he insists on keeping the telly on. We're with British Gas and our actual spend last month was circa £40. This rises to 60-70 per month in the winter with me at home all day with the floors on.

We have one of those British Gas energy monitors which shows us our usage. If I see it go high, it prompts me to turn the lights off :rotfl: