Flats with electric heating

macman

OP, you are missing one crucial piece of info. Is the existing system E7 with NSH's and an immersion heater, or just wall convectors running on single rate electricity? The former will be broadly similar in running costs to mains gas, but the latter will be about 3 times as much for heating and hot water.
If the latter, it's not a deal breaker, but you should budget for switching metering over to E7 and installing modern NSH's.
HappyMJ: you make some good points, but are assuming the OP has E7, as you do. That may not be the case.

arbrighton

swindiff wrote: »

Find out how much to install gas central heating and put an offer in less this amount.

You are of course assuming there is a mains gas supply to the building. Somehow I reckon that's unlikely

jbainbridge

macman wrote: »

OP, you are missing one crucial piece of info. Is the existing system E7 with NSH's and an immersion heater, or just wall convectors running on single rate electricity?

The OP mentioned the heaters were small ... so I would guess they are not storage heaters. You make a good point about the water ... I wonder if there is a tank?

sniggings

J_i_m wrote: »

I gather electric heating is less efficient / more expensive but I'll adapt and try to mindful of the energy I use.

Electric is 100% efficient, put 1kw in you get 1kw out, the same cannot be said of gas, the room where the boiler is, even if no radiator will be warmed by the boiler...though gas makes up for this by being cheaper.

OP, if the flat is well insulated it will be fine, if well insulated I would say you don't want storage heaters tho.

HappyMJ

sniggings wrote: »

Electric is 100% efficient, put 1kw in you get 1kw out, the same cannot be said of gas, the room where the boiler is, even if no radiator will be warmed by the boiler...though gas makes up for this by being cheaper.

OP, if the flat is well insulated it will be fine, if well insulated I would say you don't want storage heaters tho.

It is 100% efficient but heat is released at the wrong time. Although you can turn the output damper right down there will be heat lost from the storage heater and from the property while you're out at work and that isn't being used efficiently.

I feel very little heat being released from the boiler. The small proportion of waste heat from burning gas goes out the flue with the combustion gases.

sniggings

HappyMJ wrote: »

It is 100% efficient but heat is released at the wrong time. Although you can turn the output damper right down there will be heat lost from the storage heater and from the property while you're out at work and that isn't being used efficiently.

I feel very little heat being released from the boiler. The small proportion of waste heat from burning gas goes out the flue with the combustion gases.

I wasn't talking of storage heaters...I even suggested storage heaters would not be a good idea, for that very reason, heat is produced when it isn't needed and in a well insulated home,you really do not want that. Though my points still stand in as much as electric is 100% efficient, as in you get out of it what you put in, gas is less efficient, you get out of it less than you put in, like for like gas is less efficient, for the reason I stated you warm the boiler even before it gets to the heater and the way it produces the heat, all the energy is not converted to heat, unlike electric.

Wanderfree

jbainbridge wrote: »

The OP mentioned the heaters were small ... so I would guess they are not storage heaters. You make a good point about the water ... I wonder if there is a tank?

That's correct, they aren't storage heaters, and yes, there is a tank...

Elfbert

OP - my flat has electric heaters (not storage, just electric, like big radiators that I can switch on and off and turn them up and down) I've lived here for 3 years and have never yet turned one of them on. (Except the one in the living room, just to see if it worked).

To be honest, I've never actually closed all the windows in my flat - the whole building is just so warm there's no need. So I'm happy that I don't have to pay a standing charge for gas and electric any more. (Although I would prefer a gas boiler for my hot water, tbh.)

macman

ak102 wrote: »

That's correct, they aren't storage heaters, and yes, there is a tank...

So no E7 and no cheap rate power for heating or hot water. The most expensive heating option.

bluelass

I find using electric rather than my gas boiler powered central heating is cheaper according to my smart meter. I have a electric fire in my lounge and I recently bought a dimplex electric log effect stove to use in my dining room and I use a delonghi dragon oil radiator in my bedroom too. A lot of flats are electric rather than have a gas supply and a friend who lives in a high rise tells me its for safety reasons.