Electric Central Heating Tariff Options

Caitykinss

I'm after a bit of advice about the energy supply for our new house. We moved in a few weeks ago and have finally completed the switch over from our old supplier, Octopus, who we were happy with in our previous property. What we didn't realise until after we'd started the switch was that we actually have electric central heating and (I think) boiler, not gas. (We didn't know this before moving in and realising we have cables coming out of the radiators, not pipes!).

From the research that I've done, I've realised that electricity is much more expensive than gas, and therefore we need a supplier with a cheap electric tariff. We do have a gas supply, as we have a gas hob, but that's it so will be using minimal gas.

Should I be considering going for different gas and electric suppliers? Is think likely to get me a cheaper electric rate? Or, as we don't know how much electricity we will be using over the winter, is it best to just stick with a joint supplier and a direct debit that will cover both and balance each other out?

Does anyone have experience with this kind of boiler/heating system?

Thank you

thorganby

You really should consider having gas central heating installed.

It is ludicrous for any property which has a gas supply to use electric heating!

Caitykinss

thorganby wrote: »

You really should consider having gas central heating installed.

It is ludicrous for any property which has a gas supply to use electric heating!

I agree, I was shocked and quite annoyed when I realised it was electric - the previous owners gave no indication and it looks identical to a gas system other than cables rather than pipes from the radiators, so we just assumed it was gas. It's a 9 year old house built by Keepmoat, so goodness knows what they were thinking! Unfortunately, installing gas central heating isn't an expense I can justify right now. We're not planning on staying here for more than 5 years or so. I'd like to see how much the electric will actually cost me over the next year before deciding if it's worth it.

Gerry1

Wow ! You've made a massively expensive blunder. You need to install GCH PDQ. Apart from the bills from (presumably) full price electricity, when it's time to move you won't get a quick sale or a good price because potential buyers will be put off.

Does the house have mains water, or do you have to buy lots of bottles of Perrier?

There's no such thing as a cheap electricity supplier. At around 15p/kWh for electricity instead of 3p/kWh for gas, you'll be spending a fortune.

If your neighbours are in the same predicament, ask them what their consumption is, then use comparison sites such as Citizens Advice and Which? to see the full market. Check out dual fuel and separate suppliers.

https://nottenergy.com/resources/energy-cost-comparison/

https://www.confusedaboutenergy.co.uk/index.php/domestic-fuels/fuel-prices

https://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/about-us/our-calculations

dogshome

Hmmm - AT A PURE GUESS I reckon installing a Gas boiler for Heat & Hot water with all the pipework will cost around £4,000 - (Based on the cost of our conversion from Oil to mains gas)
So for your 5 year stay it's £800 a year up front


The upside is that with Gas CH the house value will improve, but the down is that the Electric heat it won't cost £800 a year more than gas.


Certainly worth looking for separate suppliers, particularly for the Gas as you want the lowest possible standing charge - Try ZOG who have some tariffs with a 10p SC

Robin9

When you say electric radiators - are these very slim or a bit chunky as in a storage radiator ?

You also don't seem sure about your boiler. It this a tall cylinder with a foam jacket - in which case it's an immersion heater rather than a boiler. Normally an I/H is intended to run at night and would have two elements - one at the bottom for the the nighttime and a second near the top for a boost. There will also be two switches - the one for the bottom should be on; tha one for the top off.

What tariff are you on ?

Caitykinss

Honestly, I'm not 100% sure it is all electric. Everything looks identical to gas central heating, with combi boiler etc. The radiators look like normal gas radiators but have thick cables coming out of the back, rather than pipes. Maybe I've just got it completely wrong and it is gas, things certainly don't add up, but my partners dad was absolutely certain (he's not a plumber/gas engineer!).

gaz_moose

does it have 2 electricity meters?
are they just radiators or storage heaters?
if the are storage heaters you want to look for an electricity supplier who has an economy 7 tariff.

Caitykinss

gaz_moose wrote: »

does it have 2 electricity meters?
are they just radiators or storage heaters?
if the are storage heaters you want to look for an electricity supplier who has an economy 7 tariff.

Just one meter and they're just radiators, not storage heaters think.

Mister_G

Are you sure that the "cables" are not PVC coated microbore piping?

How many come out of each radiator?

If you say that you have a combi boiler, I'd have thought it very unlikely that they would have fitted electric radiators, especially on a house so new.

coffeehound

Caitykinss wrote: »

Honestly, I'm not 100% sure it is all electric. Everything looks identical to gas central heating

Can you upload some photos of radiators and hot water system?

Do you have gas coming into the home at present?