Cost of electric central heating (wet system)

Caketh

We have an oil boiler at present which we are in the process of getting rid of. We can't get gas here so we're probably going with electric. Eon used to have Economy 18 and EDF used to have Economy 10. You can only have these rates now if your property already has these meters. We have an ordinary meter at present. Does anyone have any information about energy companies as to whether any of them provide different meters at good tariffs for all electric homes? Trying to find out information from the companies themselves is like trying to get blood out of a stone! The best I have found so far is isupply on ordinary meter at daily charge of 20p/day plus 11.1857p/kWh or same company on Economy 7 (if they still do that) on daily charge of 20p/day plus 11.62p/kWh daytime and 6.62p/kWh 7 hours at night.

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays

Single rate and E7 are the only tariffs available to "new" customers I believe.

Economy 18 is very rare indeed, and E10 is becoming less common - companies will only supply these meters in "legacy regions" ie. areas of the country where they used to be the national supplier (SWALEC South Wales, edf SEEBOARD etc.)

Those with E10 find they can't change; there is a chap on this board railing at npower as not only are they messing up his bills, but he can't change away from them. People with legacy meters are subject to a monopoly on their energy supply.

Effective use of an E7 system should be cost effective: those rates you've quoted above are very fair, particularly for the E7 day rate, some companies will charge much higher premium for daytime usage....

lstar337

Unless you have a thermal store, wet electric heating will be next to useless on E7. Unless you only require heating at night that is.

macman

Why replace a working oil system with an electric boiler-the single most expensive heating method ever devised?

lstar337

macman wrote: »

Why replace a working oil system with an electric boiler-the single most expensive heating method ever devised?

^--This too.

Caketh

Oil boiler is breaking down quite regularly, costs a lot to maintain, doesn't seem particularly efficient, no control over oil prices, some oil companies take exception to our tank, need I go on?

lstar337

If you must go electric, then go with Night Storage on E7. It's the only way you will keep your bills at a sensible level.

Caketh

Absolutely not Night storage heaters. I hate them even more than I hate oil.

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays

Move somewhere with gas?

lstar337

Caketh wrote: »

Absolutely not Night storage heaters. I hate them even more than I hate oil.

Look at newer models, they are much more sophisticated. They would be more controllable than wet electric, which combines the worst aspects of GSH and Electric heating.

I cant think of a worse system than wet electric.

Richie-from-the-Boro

Caketh wrote: »

Absolutely not Night storage heaters. I hate them even more than I hate oil.

Then go with Thermaflow, and the economy2000 tariff from Scottish Power - its your money.