Central Heating- Stick with Storage or swap.

Jamie_Cortez

We are about to close the purchase of our first house 3 bed end terrace, great house great location (former housing association property).
Downside, it is all electric which my limited knowledge believes is vastly more expensive than our current gas central heating.

We both work full time so are out all day and home in the evening 6/7PM onwards (by which point the storage heaters would probably be cold..).

We have a budget for making some alterations, so im looking for opinions on the central heating aspect.

1) Upgrade the current storage heaters to more modern ones that keep the heat better.
2) Swap the storage heaters for electric radiators we can fully control the usage for the times we are home.
3) Get a gas central heating and water system put in.

Obviously number 3 is going to be more expensive to do, what are peoples thoughts on making the heating robust but cost effective?

Davesnave

I would live with it for a while, unless you want to consider option 3 before moving in, because it's more disruptive.

Like many people, you have only mentioned one half of the equation: i.e. what heat you might put into the property, as if the other half, how much is lost, doesn't matter so much.

All you've said is that it's an end terraced house, but its age, the type of windows and the insulation already installed will play a significant part in determining fuel bills. It may be worth considering reducing heat loss further too.

Another part of the equation is how long you intend to live there. When selling, GFCH is what many potential buyers will want most, but it will also have the longest pay-back period.

Jamie_Cortez

It was built in the 1970's, has cavity wall insulation but unsure about the loft (one of the things too do).
windows are Upvc double glazed.
Front door is a double glass panel door which will be replaced with a composite door - Im assuming this is the reason it is classed as only partially double glazed as everything else is.

It's last EPC from 2009 was a very poor F rating (mostly on account of the storage heating and immersion water)

Our plan at this time is to remain until mortgage is paid which at the current 35 year term would be around our retirement (obviously life is life and things can happen).
At that point we may downsize and pocket the difference to add to pensions but this is obviously some considerable time away.

We had considered option 3, because we have the funds to do so now while we get everything else done prior to moving in.

Davesnave

I would go GFCH then myself, but there may be others with a different take on this, especially on the Energy Forum:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=13

Le_Kirk

Question 1. Do you have gas in the street? If not, then GFCH is out. If yes, consider the cost and disruption of getting it to the house.
Question 2. Do you have Economy 7 electricity supply? This will make immersion and storage cheaper.
Newer storage radiators have facilities that detect how cold the night is and input an amended amount of heat. I am not sure if the actual storage bricks are any better at storing the heat. One thing we did before converting to GFCH was to use the dampers on the radiators to close in the morning to keep the eat in and open when returning from work. Modern storage radiators also (can) come with a panel radiator attached for use outside of Economy 7 hours.
You are about to close the deal and you don't know about the loft!! Have you had a survey carried out yet?