Switching from GCH to electric

TheSandman

I'm currently making plans to refurbish my flat and I'd just like some feedback and see if anyone here has any points before I go ahead with switching from GCH to electric heating (not night storage just pure plug power)

To give some background;
I live in a 1 bed ~1900 flat, double glazing with thick stone walls. The only cupboard isn't against an outside wall so I have a boiler in a specially built cupboard in the recess of an L shaped living room - I hate the noise this makes. It's not noisy as such I can just hear it hum away and fire up when it starts and every so often to keep the water hot. I could also have much cleaner lines in the living room without this mini airing cupboard in the corner so with thoughts on refurbishing the place I'm thinking of taking the chance to chuck it to the kerb (not literally I guess it's worth something even second hand). Refurb will include all new wooden flooring so underfloor heating or heated skirting boards are top two choices coupled with a small ~5kw wood burning stove put in the fireplace. According to manufacturer's guidelines the stove should be warm enough to heat the living room and kitchen area to around 21C even when it's 0C outside so I'm sure I could get by on that alone but without anyone to light it in the morning, keep feeding it every couple of hours or a place to keep a decent sized wood supply I've decided to run the numbers on electric underfloor heating and just see what it would be like if I solely used that. I will still get the stove and use it as much as possible but it's nice to know I won't bankrupt myself if I were to fall back on the UFH.

The sums;

My rough calculations tell me that gas is costing me £22 p/month before I even use any gas
-£7 gas standing charge
-£10 depreciation (£1500 replacement every 12 years?)
-£5 servicing (£60 annually)
This doesn't include even a single breakdown/replacement part either so it's definitely >£22 p/month in extra charges.

Now according to uswitch figures a 1-2 bed flat with 1-2 people uses 9,000 kwh of gas each year.
Seeing as I'm in a 48sqm 1 bed flat with better than average insulation, electric shower and electric oven/hob I'd definately be below average, but just to be conservative I'll run with it for now.

9,000kwh at 4p per unit = £360 p/year or £30 p/month / with extra charges = £52 p/month

As even the best gas boilers are only 90% efficient I'm going to assume using electricity I'll only need 8,000kwh to provide the same amount of heat since electricity is 100% efficient. I assume 14p per unit as it's my current rate with Good Energy and 0 extra charges since I already pay the standing charge and there are no servicing/repairs/depreciation.

8,000kwh at 14p per unit = £1120 p/year or £93 p/month / with 0 extra charges = £93 p/month

Am I honestly only saving myself a maximum of £41 p/month?

If I wasn't so conservative I'd say my estimated usage would be slightly below the 9,000kwh average I quoted, boiler parts will break, I could switch electricity to as low as 10p a unit, electricity price rises long term should be lower than gas, and underfloor or skirting heating will provide even greater efficiencies again lowering usage. Could these points mean they are equal?

I will also feel better using electricity over gas because right now I'm supplied by Good Energy who use 100% UK solar, wind & hydroelectric while gas money trickles it's way back to Putin, Iran and ISIS, subsidises Shell's arctic exploration and kills polar bears :A

But in all seriousness has anybody got any points I might have missed? Especially regarding any practicalities I might be overlooking?

spiro

You need to consider the impact on the value of your flat, people prefer gsh or electricity.

TheSandman

Fair point, it's what I'm worried most about - relatives/friends and obviously potential buyers don't hear GCH and recoil in horror. But in a viewing situation where they come in and it looks perfect because there's no boiler or radiators anywhere, you explain it runs silently only drawback is it costs an extra £30 a month I think that's more attractive. It's also a very affluent area (no brag-small flat), the extra cost is doubtfully an issue for potential buyers. Most flats aren't allowed double glazing here so it'd still be better than anything else efficiency wise.

The current plan is also to use it as a holiday let once I'm ready to upgrade. But I agree potential buyers could be put off.

Owain_Moneysaver

You don't have space to store wood, so you will be buying it in small quantities at a considerable mark-up. Wood is only cheap if you can buy it in bulk.

And I don't think a wood-burner in a flat will appeal to the holiday letting market or to affluent professionals.

System

M8 i can only have electric heating and i hate it with a passion, gas is cheaper and you have so much more control over it, i would never remove gas to go all electric.

lstar337

TheSandman wrote: »

But in a viewing situation where they come in and it looks perfect because there's no boiler or radiators anywhere, you explain it runs silently only drawback is it costs an extra £30 a month I think that's more attractive.

£30 extra per month. I pay less than £30 a month for GCH and hot water, so £30 extra would be really off-putting for me!

I have also never found GCH to be noisy, or been put off by radiators.

TheSandman wrote: »

The current plan is also to use it as a holiday let once I'm ready to upgrade. But I agree potential buyers could be put off.

Holiday makers will push it to the max, they pretty much always do. Unless you are going to put in a PPM for them, you will have some pretty big bills.

SailorSam

I've thought about downsizing from my house to a flat, but many i've seen on the Internet are all electric so i wouldn't even dream of going to take a look.

TheSandman

Wood is only cheap if you can buy it in bulk.

There's a second cupboard between the roof and doorway of the main cupboard that I can fit 1m3 in (high ceilings), this seems to be standard bulk pricing. What I meant was If I was to burn wood as sole means of heat then in the depths of winter it might only last a month. It's ground floor but I still don't want to deal with monthly deliveries. With UFH 'sharing the strain' I'd probably only use 2-3m3 all winter (ie year) and 2 or 3 deliveries is much more practical.

And I don't think a wood-burner in a flat will appeal to the holiday letting market or to affluent professionals.

The stove alone wouldn't appeal because it's impractical but again having UFH with thermostat controls means it's warm in the morning, when you come home and you never have to light it if you don't want to.

M8 i can only have electric heating and i hate it with a passion, gas is cheaper and you have so much more control over it, i would never remove gas to go all electric./QUOTE]

I'm thinking electric UFH with a thermostat would be all the control I need? I'm not sure if you're talking about night storage which needs planning to use?

£30 extra per month. I pay less than £30 a month for GCH and hot water, so £30 extra would be really off-putting for me!

You might pay less than £30 for usage but like I put in my first post gas is minimum £22 before usage (hidden charges). According to my sums the MAX difference is £93 and £52 including hidden extras but it should be less, possibly zero, as I outlined originally.

I have also never found GCH to be noisy, or been put off by radiators.

If the boiler was in the attic or something I wouldn't mind but when it's in the living area I can hear the difference around 10pm when it switches off.

Holiday makers will push it to the max, they pretty much always do. Unless you are going to put in a PPM for them, you will have some pretty big bills.QUOTE]

To keep a flat at a comfortable temperature everyday takes 9,000kwh presumably. If they want to use it as a sauna that's fine but a holiday let would only be used 50% of the time so if they used double the average while it was occupied it would still come to 9,000kwh over the year.

I might appear dismissive but I honestly appreciate you taking the time to reply. I'm pleased nobody's blown a hole in my sums because I was worried I was missing something obvious that would make the difference greater. If the difference were to come to £100 or more then I might be inclined to stick with GCH but if the difference is less than £41 then bye bye boiler... hello clean lines and walnut floors :P Worst case scenario I can leave the gas pipes plumbed in and have to spend £2k to lift a floorboard or two and get a boiler and rads plumbed back in.

I will make sure to chat to an estate agent and heating engineer before I fire the gun on this.

alibean121

Have you considered putting the boiler in the cupboard then running the flu through the ceiling. My current flat is set up like this.

Seems mad to me... I think you'll be spending money to devalue your property.

TheSandman

Have you considered putting the boiler in the cupboard then running the flu through the ceiling. My current flat is set up like this.

Seems mad to me... I think you'll be spending money to devalue your property./QUOTE]

I considered it, then I could run water pipes through the skirting boards (discreteheat.co.uk) and have the best of both worlds. It means a good chunk of limited storage space is lost and still leaves me with the ethical dilemma; I joked but I would honestly much prefer spending a bit extra to support UK solar and jobs for British kids than financing all the bull**** gas money supports.

I'm going to be here for a few years anyway, and after that it'll be on airbnb so aesthetic appeal completely trumps £40 a month. There's at least half a dozen people who live in the same flats on the same street who pay £500 a month to look after their dog 9-5, more money than sense buyers here.

I have the chance to create something out of Elle decoration, at my age I'd rather take that chance. I'll have plenty of years ahead to base all my decisions on stuff like what other people think, school catchment areas and NCAP safety ratings.

I appreciate all your feedback, if the only downside is what a buyer may or may not think if I ever decide to sell it then I'm a lot more confident I'm making the right choice.

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays

... still leaves me with the ethical dilemma; I joked but I would honestly much prefer spending a bit extra to support UK solar and jobs for British kids than financing all the bull**** gas money supports.

I think we've reached peak stupid.