Economy7 night storage heaters v Gas central heating

baroley

I have recently moved into a flat that has night storage heaters/economy7 electric heating. I had planned to change this to a combi boiler gas central heating system, but is it worth it?

My low tariff period is currently 3am to 10 am so I can easily use washing machines etc in the early morning.

The flat is ground floor with a south facing garden.

There is gas at the property for a gas cooker.

Would I be better off keeping the electric heating and maybe looking into somehow installing solar panels in the garden to supplement the electricity supply?

I would welcome your thoughts on this.

Many thanks

EachPenny

There's a couple of things to consider first. How long are you planning on living in the flat, and how much is the current system costing you to run?

For the change to make financial sense you need to work out what it will cost you, compared to what you'll save on bills plus the increase in value in your home of having a modern gas central heating system.

As you don't already have central heating you will have to factor in the cost not just of a new boiler, but also having radiators and pipework installed. Because you are in a (ground floor) flat it may not be possible to install the heating pipes under the floorboards like you would in a conventional house, so the installation cost would have to take into account the layout of the flat and the feasibility of where the heating pipework can go. Do you know if you have solid (concrete) floors?

On the plus side, having gas in the property already means you won't have to pay the costs of connection to the mains, although some of your gas pipework may need to be upgraded.

baroley

Thank you EachPenny.

I plan to stay a long time, maybe 20 years.

There are floorboards, so it would be possible to run pipes underneath.

I haven't had a quote, but recon it may cost £10,000 for a complete central heating system?

I have only lived here for 2 months, but am currently paying £62 per month for electricity and £10 a month for gas (cooker) I am currently in credit by £32 for my electric. I must confess that the heaters are still on low as I figure it is cheaper to keep the place warm this way than put on the electric fire. It is quite warm and cosy. I have moved from a large Edwardian house which cost a fortune to heat and was never really warm so I can't compare like for like in heating costs.

I could have a compromise by installing a gas fire or even a wood burning stove, (there is a chimney) as that would warm things up in the living room and forget about gas central heating.

Are there such things as independent heating/energy advisors?

matelodave

If it's your "for ever" home, then gas would be the way to go as it'll will probably work out the most economical and controllable method of heating your place in the long term.

Have you done a whole winter with storage heating to see how it fares, both heating wise (are you comfortable with it) and cost wise. Solar panels wont really help you much because you will be using the heating in the winter when the sun doesn't shine all that much.

Gas fires will give you a point source of heating but most of them aren't ever so efficient but they should work out cheaper to run than an equivalent electric fire on peak rate.

The other alternative you might consider is an Air Source Heat Pump as you are starting from scratch - it needs to be properly sized and installed together with the appropriately sized and configured heating system to go with it as well as upgraded insulation etc.

IMO they are a bit like storage heating as they are a bit better suited to all day heating, rather than a fast heat-up when you get up to go to work and again when you return in the evening, so look at your lifestyle, both now and in the future.

Generally gas will enhance the value of your property and probably make it easier to sell in the future, but that may not be so important if you intend to stay there for a considerable time.

We've got a heatpump because we dont have mains gas which would have and still would be my first choice because of it's flexiblity

Naf

Storage heaters aren't automatically more expensive than gas central heating, it depends on the building itself, and the occupancy.

For example, we moved from a 2 bedroom centrally heated maisonette which was mostly double glazed to a 3 bedroom house which is all single glazed with storage heaters, and found our total energy bills went down.

Storage heaters work pretty well if the property is occupied during the daytime, but are awful if not.

That said, central heating is much more convenient, and therefore does increase the value of your property.

baroley

Thanks matelodave, I do plan for this to be my forever home..... Hmmm maybe I should live with it for a year and see.

Naf, Currently I work shifts, earlys lates and nights. So it all depends when I am home. Although, I am planning on cutting my hours a bit and retiring in about 5 years time.

I think that I shall leave it as is and make a decision this time next year when I have more of an idea about how it works out.... It is a bit of a dilemma!

Thank you for your thoughts!

EachPenny

Naf wrote: »

Storage heaters aren't automatically more expensive than gas central heating, it depends on the building itself, and the occupancy.
...
Storage heaters work pretty well if the property is occupied during the daytime, but are awful if not.

I was about to reply to Naf's post and got distracted and in the meantime it looks like you've come to the conclusion I was going to suggest

The storage heater/daytime occupancy issue is only a problem because the heat you store overnight is starting to run out by the time you get home from work the following evening - by being out all day you've missed most of the benefit of the stored warmth.

But working shifts means this could work to your advantage as you may be able to make more use of the cheaper heat depending on your shift pattern. For example if you work a night shift you'll come home to a nice warm home.

A key factor for economic electical heating is the level of insulation in your home. You have advantages of having a flat above you rather than a roof, and you benefit from being south facing. But you might want to investigate whether there is anything you can do to improve the insulation levels, especially if the windows are old.

Intending to stay in the property a long time also means you have flexibility in terms of writing off the cost of having CH installed. In 20 years you can reasonably expect to have to replace a new boiler at least once, so there is plenty of time to recover the initial cost of CH. That means you don't need to rush the decision as much as you might if you were only staying for under 5 years in which case you would want to start recovering the cost of investing in CH as soon as possible.

So I would want to run the current system through at least one winter to understand how much it costs and what I could reasonably expect to save by switching to gas.

The only thing I would do is to look at the fireplace. If it is an open fireplace then you may be losing quite a bit of heat up the chimney unless it has been (professionaly) sealed off.

I would want to explore the options of either a solid fuel stove, or an enclosed gas fire (not just a decorative flame one). This would be useful to top the heat up during the day rather than using electric heaters. Gas would obviously be a better choice if you are working shifts as it is easier to manage and provides instant heat when you want it.

I have gas central heating, but rarely use it. I'm at home much of the day (working) so I use a gas fire to keep the room I'm in warm. The main rooms I use are south facing and I'm in a terrace so benefit from insulation/heat leakage provided by my neighbours. I also tend to go to bed late, so apart from in the coldest weather I simply switch on an electric heater in my bedroom as soon as the cheap Economy 7 rate starts and let the room warm up a bit before going to bed. My total energy bill for a year in a house generally occupied 24/7 is less than a lot of people on this site are paying per month.

Hence my suggestion you keep things as they are (apart from getting the fireplace looked at) for at least a year and then you'll have a better idea whether gas central heating is necessary or will save you money.

baroley

Thank you EachPenny for your thoughtful and considered response! I will definitely get the fireplace checked, and research gas fires vs log burner for the Autumn.

I was in a hurry to get things sorted, but actually there is no rush.

EachPenny

baroley wrote: »

Thank you EachPenny for your thoughtful and considered response! I will definitely get the fireplace checked, and research gas fires vs log burner for the Autumn.

I was in a hurry to get things sorted, but actually there is no rush.

No problem

You do have plenty of time, but be aware that with heating systems it is usually cheaper (or discounts will be greater) to get work done in the summer months. As the nights start to get chillier people start thinking about getting their heating fixed/serviced/upgraded and obviously prices then follow demand.

When you look at stoves/fires it is really important to make sure you avoid anything which is open to the room - however attractive an open fire is, you really don't want your heat vanishing up the chimney. If you cannot find a suitable model to work with your chimney then you'd be better off having it sealed professionally (if it isn't already) and stick with the occasional top-up from a portable electric heater.

Tiexen

matelodave wrote: »

The other alternative you might consider is an Air Source Heat Pump as you are starting from scratch - it needs to be properly sized and installed together with the appropriately sized and configured heating system to go with it as well as upgraded insulation etc.

And this can also be air conditioning - heating, cooling and dehumidifying - will cost you less than a full boiler/radiator system

System

baroley wrote: »

I have recently moved into a flat that has night storage heaters/economy7 electric heating. I had planned to change this to a combi boiler gas central heating system, but is it worth it?

My low tariff period is currently 3am to 10 am so I can easily use washing machines etc in the early morning.

The flat is ground floor with a south facing garden.

There is gas at the property for a gas cooker.

Would I be better off keeping the electric heating and maybe looking into somehow installing solar panels in the garden to supplement the electricity supply?

I would welcome your thoughts on this.

Many thanks

You have a very good low period , that is good to make good use of the cheap period.At some time in the very near future your old analogue meter and its timerswitch , will be exchanged for a digital meter, smart or dumb, it does nt matter which.. Then the cheap rate will revert back to the dead of night, say 12.30am to 7.30 am as it is in my area..
Personally I think the convenience of a GCH beats NSH but as my 4 year old combi boiler is now playing up again and I need a gas safe man to visit, the convenience of the combi will certainly cost you a lot more ..