Request for advice - first-time buyers looking at house without mains gas

amyr

We lived in a flat with storage heaters. It was more expensive than gas, but manageable. However, my brother lives in a house with electric heaters and the cost is significantly more. Do you know for certain which type you'd have? 

Ask the vendor about heating costs - most will be upfront and some will show you a bill. A lot rests on the size and style of the house, but if the EPC is E I suspect it will be expensive as heat loss is probably significant.

Be aware some of the renewable heating sources being suggested here are very costly. Heat pumps cost around £10k and up, and moving to oil or gas will incur heafty costs too.

I've always lived off grid and it's never been an issue, but you're right to be cautious with researching it all.

AdrianC

onylon said:

ProDave said:

It is not the lack of gas that would put me off this house, but the EPC rating of E.

EPC's were introduced to give you an idea of the heating costs and environmental impact of the house.  So far they are largely ignored, (except by landlords who have to meed certain limits) but i bet you would be the first on here complaining when your new house turns out to be cold and damp and costs a fortune to heat.  You WERE warned via the EPC.

EPCs are just a box ticking exercise so the results are complete guff. My last home got an F and we only ran the heating for a few months a year because the place stayed toasty warm. My current home got a C and I've already turned the heating on for winter.

We sold a house, lived in a rental for a short while, and bought a house.

All three were within one point of each other - not just the same letter...

The actual difference is HUGE.

Remember, EPC assessors don't count it on their spreadsheet unless they can see it, trip over it, lick it.

TripleH

canaldumidi said:

Infrared is electric. In terms of the KW (heat) output it costs exactly the same as any other form of ....

Thanks, I got my either in law to read up on infrared heating (keeps him busy and is vaguely in his area of knowledge) so I have some background about it.

I do know that location of heaters is important. We rented a brand new flat where they had decided to stick the largest electric radiator not in the lounge/kitchen area but in the corridor round the corner, it was useless as a heater so we rarely used it.

sjcsystems

canaldumidi said:

Infrared is electric. In terms of the KW (heat) output it costs exactly the same as any other form of electric heating. If you sit in front of an infrared heater it will feel like it is warmer as you are in the direct line of fire (as it were!), but in terms of heating the air in the whole room it will cost exactly the same as electric rads to reach the same temperature.

You get the same effect with an open fire - sit close to it and you'll feel toasty. But the room (and house) as a whole may still be freezing....

For more info, go over to the energy/other fuels board here.

This isn't exactly true.  The radiation from the infrared panel does heat up objects that it reaches, those in turn cause convective and re-radiative heating around them.  Yes it feels like you're sitting in the sun but you shouldn't be that close.  Electric radiators cause convective air flows, with moving of dust and cooling on cold surfaces.  As long as the panel isn't facing a window then the heat is going to be contained in the room.

sjcsystems

flashg67 said:

I'm in my first year of an electric only house. I removed the 1970's storage heaters which only worked partially anyway, changed to a standard electricity tariff and installed some wi-fi controlled panel heaters. I knew/know it will be more expensive than my old gas CH house, but I can now set unused rooms to a lower setting at various times during the day. EG, I'm off work this week, so my home office heater is set to only 10 degrees as I'm not using it, as is the spare bedroom. 

Edit to add - if you love the house, don't let it be a deal breaker, just budget for the bills!

Yes, but...heat will migrate from warm room to cold rooms.  You could have all your doors shut internally, but insulation within internal walls and partitions is rare in modern houses.  You also run the risk in cold rooms of damp and mould forming.