How economical are evonic electric fires?

K-Dot

Hi

We are looking to have a E1030GF3 installed in our new house. It is an electric fire and have been advised they are very economical by the sale man.... How true is this? Does anyone have any thoughts? Please......

EssexExile

I see they mention Shakespeare in their blurb as well. That's about as relevant as claiming their fires are economical. All electric fires are (just about) as economical as each other, which is not at all economical.

Heedtheadvice

Unless also having a light to 'flicker' or incorporating a fan (they will both use a little -virtually insignificant amount of -energy that might not be converted to heat), 100% of the electricity used will be converted to heat. That is irrespective of fire type, brand or heating method!

So given that they are all efficient and (except for cheaper electricity costs if on one of the special rates such as was common for night storage or free from one's own generation such as solar) non are really more efficient than others in terms of units consumed per power output.

Where some fires might be more economical is where the heat output can be controlled to use power only when needed (thermostats, timers and the like) and where needed. That is the heat produced meets the need rather than wasting it thus keeping electricity cost down so that might be considered more economical.

You might also factor in the much lower capital cost of 'installation' for many an electric fire type such as virtually just the purchase cost of a plug in fan or tubular heater. Those advantages are negated to an extent with high cost fires and those requiring new electrical work to install.

Those fires you mention are certainly stylish and built in and I suspect not cheap so you might have both high capital costs and they will produce one or two kilowatts of controlled heat just like any other electric fire with the same controls.
As well as the comments made by Essexexile regarding the bard I had a laugh at the use of 'low energy led' lights in a device designed to use energy !!!

You may not have availability but natural gas, though not the most efficient way of providing heat, still costs about a third of the cost of electricity to run but has a higher installation cost. Overall a much more economical system!

Furts

Decorative fires can be expensive to purchase and expensive to run. You have not said what you are being quoted to purchase and install, but the running costs will be up to three times more expensive than gas. None of this is really in a "money saving" ethos.

Look at the brochure images and ask a simple question. What are you trying to achieve with this fire? If it is just an image and going to get occasional use then it may be a sensible decision. If you are expecting to heat a large room, with poor levels of insulation, or an old drafty structure then your Evonic may turn out to be useless and expensive to run. It depends also on what other heating you have to back up the fire.

Is the fire any good? Is it good quality engineering? Only you know this but there is zero information on the web to suggest there is anything decent quality about the fire. Face an obvious fact here - if the fire was a good piece of engineering then the company would be shouting this out loud and clear. Again only you know the answer but you need to establish if the fire is a piece of low cost, poor quality tat imported from China.

Furts

EssexExile wrote: »

I see they mention Shakespeare in their blurb as well. That's about as relevant as claiming their fires are economical. All electric fires are (just about) as economical as each other, which is not at all economical.

I second this. The company may be fine, and here it is for OP to do due diligence. However everything about the web site shouts "dodgy", "nonsense" and "sales spin images". Absolutely no substance anywhere. Which means no way would I be buying the fire without doing some serious research first.

nofoollikeold

I've just replaced an open gas fire with an Evonic "Tiago". It is only for decorative purposes, with occasional use. The gas fire it replaced was installed for thirty years, and I doubt is was lit more than 100 times.

The Evonic fire is well made. The installation instructions are available on the internet, and are clear and concise. Other than a fair amount of work making good the fire opening before installation, it was quick and easy to put in.

VfM4meplse

EssexExile wrote: »

I see they mention Shakespeare in their blurb as well. That's about as relevant as claiming their fires are economical. All electric fires are (just about) as economical as each other, which is not at all economical.

Although I agree with this, it's also more cost effective for me to heat the single room I am occupying for a while with an electric heater than the whole house with gas CH.

onomatopoeia99

Electric heaters are near to 100% efficient
Condensing gas boilers around 90% efficient.

Mains electric costs around three times as much as mains gas per kilowatt, so gas wins on cost per amount of heat generated. Though if you can live with heating one room at a time with an electric heater and having the rest at ambient (in winter when my CH packed up the rooms I didn't have the oil filled electric radiator in dropped to 8-9 centigrade, which is very unpleasant for sitting down), then that's going to be cheaper.

Furts

VfM4meplse wrote: »

Although I agree with this, it's also more cost effective for me to heat the single room I am occupying for a while with an electric heater than the whole house with gas CH.

I second this. I have a 30kW boiler and rads in all rooms like any other house. However all the house requires to keep it warm much of the time is a few mini oil filled electric rads. So 30kW for an hour at say £2 when paying for gas, or use the mini oils and pay the electric cost at 20p. The decision in terms of costs is an obvious answer.

NineDeuce

Furts wrote: »

I second this. I have a 30kW boiler and rads in all rooms like any other house. However all the house requires to keep it warm much of the time is a few mini oil filled electric rads. So 30kW for an hour at say £20 when paying for gas, or use the mini oils and pay the electric cost at 20p. The decision in terms of costs is an obvious answer.

Put thermostatic valves on your radiators to control/prevent heating in other areas. Problem solved....

Furts

NineDeuce wrote: »

Put thermostatic valves on your radiators to control/prevent heating in other areas. Problem solved....

Just spotted my typo over costs! There are trv on the rads but there seems little point heating the house like this when there is not the need for such heating levels.