Electric Only

MikeFlash22

Hi 

Me and my partner are looking at at the weekend, (we are first time buyers) it however is Electric only, there is no gas to the estate. 

Part of me is a bit worried about the fact everything is electric, with everything going on with the price of it, i am wondering if we should prioritise somewhere that has gas? or am I just overthinking it? Are they not looking at moving away from gas? 

From what I have seen the heaters are not storage heaters, at least they really don't look like them. I don't want to buy our first house that is a decent price to then be living in fear of the electric bill. 

Any advice would be a great help  

MikeFlash22

We're looking at a house* 😂 

user1977

As you mention, there's a move away from gas anyway, so in the medium/long term I suspect electric-only will be the norm. Other countries have stopped putting it into newbuild properties. It's hardly that unusual for a property not to have a mains gas supply anyway. How modern / well-insulated is the house?

ProDave

While gas is cheaper than electric, it cannot have escaped your notice that too is going up in price.  In short the cost of heating a house is going through the roof.

What you should be looking for, if this concerns you, is a house with the best EPC rating you can afford or find.  I high B would be good, an A would be excellent if you can find one.

If you have a house with a good EPC so low energy needs, electric only can work fine with a heat pump.

dimbo61

No matter what property you end up buying the first thing I would do is replace Every single light bulb with LED,s bulbs.
Do your research and go for warm white in the living areas and maybe Cool white in the bathroom/kitchen.
Plenty of cheap bulbs now available from Screwfix, Toolstation, Wickes, Wilkinsons and even B&M plus Home bargain.

rexmedorum

How is the home heated? If it's a heat pup (ideally ground source) that might actually be good. If it's just standrad electric panel heaters or old fashioned storage heaters than that's not so great. Does the home have any other heating? (e.g. fire place, stove)?

warwick2001

What happens if there's a electric power cut that lasts longer than a few hours?

user1977

warwick2001 said:

What happens if there's a electric power cut that lasts longer than a few hours?

Unless it's somewhere particularly rural, that's incredibly unlikely to occur. But if it is a risk, you'd presumably have some sort of back-up heat source.

Gas central heating systems don't tend to work too well without electricity anyway!

wilfred30

It's not just about heating though. 

If you have a gas hob, you can still cook, boil a kettle to make hot drinks and hot water for washing.

For that reason, I wouldn't buy a house without any gas at all.

strawb_shortcake

My parents home is electric only, and in nearly 50 years of living there have experienced no notable or memorable power cuts.
I do prefer gas but I wouldn't be put of by an electric only home 

user1977

wilfred30 said:

It's not just about heating though. 

If you have a gas hob, you can still cook, boil a kettle to make hot drinks and hot water for washing.

For that reason, I wouldn't buy a house without any gas at all.

Great. But when was the last time you had a power cut of any significant duration? I can't remember any (in urban areas) since the winter of discontent.