Electric Boiler in flat

theAnt

Hi all,
We own a 2 bed flat and our gas boiler has failed and we are currently a bit stuck as to where to go next. We've had three firms in to get quotes for a replacement and the overriding theme is that getting access to replace the flue (inside and out) will be a massive task. We are 6 floors up and the only means of access to the outside the managing agents will allows is via an abseil from the roof (another 10 stories higher). Inside, flue to the boiler is approximately 15ft long. It is also a twin flue, which also seems to be a problem in itself.
As a result, we are getting the firms saying they cannot offer a quote as they can't do the work.

To get around this, we were looking at an electric boiler. Our energy usage is pretty low (we haven't used the heating in the 13 months we've been in the flat) so I was hoping the fact that electricity is about 4x more expensive than mains gas wouldn't bite to much, when added onto the higher efficiency and lower capital/installation/maintenance costs of electric boilers.

I was wondering whether there were any other options out there or whether we'd missed anything obvious. At the moment we are using an immersion heater to get hot showers, which seems a fairly expensive way of doing things. Any advice would be hugely appreciated given the sums involved.

Cheers,
Ant

tacpot12

You might be better switching to an electric shower rather than use the immersion heater. If you don't have a bath, you could use an instantaneous water heater like this to provide hot water to the kitchen sink and bathroom sink -> https://www.screwfix.com/p/galaxy-gx1-unvented-instant-water-heater-9-5kw/93177

If your space heating requirements are modest, electric panel radiators are probably the best option. I you wanted a lot of heating, a Air-Source Heat Pump would be your only option, but the installer will still need to abseil down the building to install the outside unit (if the managing agent even allows this).

I hate storage heaters and would never recommend them.

theAnt

Thanks tacpot for you advice. Just a quick question - by storage heater do you mean electric boiler (like the heatrae amptec) or a different type of device?

boliston

I'm thinking of replacing my gas combi as dealing with flues can be awkward in a flat as you need freeholder permission to drill a hole in the wall for a new flue (I'm told the existing roof flue would be hard to replace and a wall flue would be easier)
there don't seem many electric combis but i found one that looks quite good https://www.electriccombiboilerscompany.com/product/ek-c-12kw-electric-combi-boiler-for-1-bathroom/ I can see that electric is more than gas at about 10-11p per unit vs only 3-4p for gas, but there should be less wasted heat as electricty would be 100% converted into usable heat which is not the case with gas - there would also be savings on install costs and no need for expensive annual servicing

macman

Yes, an electric boiler is more efficient than a gas boiler (which can be around 70-80% efficient), but that doesn't begin to cancel out the 300% higher cost of electricity per kWh. Not forgetting the capital cost of installing it, nor the fact that it's not 100% efficient, as you are not heating directly with electricity-you are still using it to heat water in a wet CH system.
Given that you've presented the maths in your own question, I can't understand why you think it's a good idea to install such a system where you already have mains gas?
A boiler service is around £75pa: once again, the savings on gas vastly outweigh the extra expense of servicing.

matelodave

The electric combi, is what they call a flow heater ie it runs when you need hot water or heating - it does not store hot water so it cannot take advantage of off peak electricity, say to heat your hot water over night. It will also run all the time you need heating, just like a gas boiler does - in fact it may run longer because they usually arent as powerful as a gas boiler. You'll need dedicated wiring to it from the fuse board to cope with the increased current - even bigger than the cables that feed your electric cooker.

An instantaneous heater like this must be about the most expensive way of heating a place known to man.. You'd probably devalue your property by a significant amount and make it harder to sell. I wouldn't touch one with a barge pole

Dunno where you've seen leccy for 10-11p, I reckon I've got a pretty good deal at 11.8p/kwh plus standing charge which works out at around 12.5/kwh when I'm using a lot in the winter and 14p in the summer when the s/c has more influence on the cost.

You should be multilpying your present gas bill by around 4 to get a realistic estimation of how much your energy costs will increase.

silvertyke

I saw some manufacturer's are supplying flues that can be fitted from within the flat. Can't remember the details, but I was looking for a Worcester Bosch boiler at the time. It may provide you with a solution.
Regards.

ProDave

See if you can switch to Economy 7 or even better Economy 10. That may depend where your electricity meter is, and if a long way from the flat poses it's own issues.

But if you can, get an electric STORAGE boiler (in esscence just a very big how tater tank) so most if the heat into it will be at the off peak cheap rate

jk0

I had a similar problem with one of my rentals. I just asked for Economy 7, & bought the heaters I mention in this thread together with some timeswitches.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5786131

boliston

the only trouble with economy 7 is the day rate is often about 16p instead of about 10p

lstar337

boliston wrote: »

the only trouble with economy 7 is the day rate is often about 16p instead of about 10p

Where is this 10p coming from? Haven't seen a tariff like that for a while.