electric only properties ADVICE NEEDED

clarkcooper29

dilema, just about to buy a house where it is electric only.We have those old storage heaters it the property at the moment on economy 7.
Do we pay for gas to be installed into the property and have a gas central heating system fitted which will cost approx 5-6k with a gas boiler for water or do we keep it on electric only and have those new german electric radiators which are fully controlable on a standard tariff which will cost around 2k with an immersion heater for water? may also buy solar panels if this is the case.
its a 3 bedroom semi detached and we both work 9-5, what would be more benificial ?

sheffield_lad

Hi, interesting how you call the storage heaters old they are still fitted to this day for the simple reason they are the cheapest form of heating available in an none gas home. The German rads you quote look nice but are as efficient as buying £20 oil filled one's from Argos as with electric every type of heater is 100% efficient no more no less.


The reason storage heaters are cheaper is due to the unit cost being only a third of the normal unit rate.


My advice get some more gas quotes and if that's still too much stick with the storage heaters.

SailorSam

What's it going to cost to get gas installed.
I know some estates in the 60s/70s were built with only electric, so unless all the other houses decided to get it done you'd be paying a fortune.

lstar337

If there isn't gas in the street or up to your house it will probably be cost prohibitive.

Storage heaters (If they are correctly spec'd and in good working order) should work fine if the house is adequately insulated. If it isn't adequately insulated then spend your money on that, as without it even GCH is a waste of good money.

tazmanic_2

I have an all electric house. I have gone for electric under floor heating. All Electric heating is 100% efficient in that all the energy it uses is 100% converted into heat (unlike gas). However the way in which the heat is distributed into the room varies dependant on the type of heating you have. Storage heaters are a nightmare to control and you often end up with high variances of hot and cold (not efficient). Underfloor heating gives an all round ambient heat and very easy to control (very efficient). Also Rointe (or something like that) do a very efficient electric rad system that also can combine water heaters and electric boilers are available. Electric heating is becoming more efficient than ever, if your house is well insulated and you go for the correct form of electric heating there is no reason why you need gas and the cost of maintenance and installation of a gas system (plus its non renewable energy so cost will only ever increase) will, in my opinion, not be cost effective in the long run. My bills in an all electric house are no higher than what my previous bills were in a smaller house that had gas central heating!
Good luck.

Andy_WSM

tazmanic wrote: »

Electric heating is becoming more efficient than ever,

No it is not! The laws of physics haven't changed. Electric heating is 100% efficient. No more, no less.

"Effective" might arguably have worked in that sentence.

Insulation is key. The more you spend on insulation, the less you will spend on fuel.

lstar337

tazmanic wrote: »

I have an all electric house. I have gone for electric under floor heating. All Electric heating is 100% efficient in that all the energy it uses is 100% converted into heat (unlike gas).

My gas boiler is about 91.5% efficient, which is easily high enough to compensate for the 3x cost of peak rate electric.

tazmanic wrote: »

Storage heaters are a nightmare to control and you often end up with high variances of hot and cold (not efficient).

Completely untrue. Storage heaters have one of the smallest variances in heat simply because they give off heat at a set rate and have little to no control. They are about as uniform as you can get!

tazmanic wrote: »

Also Rointe (or something like that) do a very efficient electric rad system

Bullocks! Rointe sell fancy radiators that are no more efficient than a £20 job from Argos. Either you fell for their sales guff, or you are a salesman posing as a forum user.

tazmanic wrote: »

Electric heating is becoming more efficient than ever

Wrong again. How can something that is 100% efficient become any more efficient?

tazmanic wrote: »

if your house is well insulated and you go for the correct form of electric heating there is no reason why you need gas

Finally you say something that makes sense. :T

macman

If you have access to mains gas and can afford the relatively high install cost, gas CH and DHW is a no-brainer. And not just in running costs. Remember that, come sale time, CH is the single most cost- effective improvement you can make to a property, even more so with a family-size house (as opposed to a small flat).
Given two otherwise identical properties, which one would you buy?
E7 is even less suitable if you are both out until 5pm, as it's in the evenings that the output can drop off.

Nada666

macman wrote: »

E7 is even less suitable if you are both out until 5pm, as it's in the evenings that the output can drop off.

Not always. E7 is often better for those out all day as the output is more likely to last through an evening as it hasn't been used during the day.

OP, suck it and see this winter - try the storage heating for a week or two and then try a (cheap) (not-a-)panel heater for a day or two. See if you can make use of the existing storage without peak rate top-ups and see how much the standard heater uses. (Remember to compare prices of standard one-rate electricity - not your E7.)

tberry6686

If you are going to stay in the house a long time then do the maths.

Find out how much to install the gas main to the house and how much to install GCH then add the yearly running costs.

Compare that number to the cost of running the ESH and see how long the payback time is.

In many cases the pay back time is so long that it is not worthwhile doing. In my own case break even time was between 30 and 40 years so was a no brainer to stay with ESH.

Richie-from-the-Boro

tazmanic wrote: »

. Also Rointe (or something like that) do a very efficient electric rad system that also can combine water heaters and electric boilers are available.

You are correct Rointe is an efficient system, as is the case with all night storage systems using cheap rate electricity costing 5.5p per kWh to heat both space and water in a domestic setting. But hang on .. .. Rointe is a [TEXT DELETED BY FORUM TEAM] not a storage radiator, it has virtually no storage capacity and runs on daytime electricity costing at least twice as much as the 5.5p per kWh.
Art from Moneysava_wannaB

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