Do I upgrade or change heat source ??

Rosie1001

My bill for heat only  in  2021 was £1400 on economy 7 , using two dimplex X-Large storage  heaters , these are at least 25 years old …

question is … do I upgrade to the new quantum storage heaters … ?? Or get a dual fuel stove fitted for approx same cost ??

also ..would the new dimplex heaters use the existing wiring , if not , that’s additional cost I’d have to factor in 

thanks in advance 

FreeBear

Rosie1001 said: Or get a dual fuel stove fitted for approx same cost ??

A stove will require somewhere dry to store the logs/coal. Depending on the size of the stove, this could amount to quite a large shed (or two). And as more & more people opt for stoves, the cost of logs is just going to go up. Coal will also increase in price, and there may well come a point where its use gets banned as has already happened with house coal.

QrizB

Back in December 2020 you said:

Got a gas water heater

Is that mains gas? Is there any reason why you can't have gas heating too?

Edit: I see that you've tried but don't have anywhere for a flue.

Gerry1

You can program Quantum storage heaters to work from the existing single supply, but you'd have to get an electrician to shift it from the switched E7 supply to a 24h supply.  That should be relatively straightforward although it'll probably need attendance by your DNO to isolate the supply and make it safe.

Make sure that your understand and program the heaters yourself.  If you get it wrong and the Quantum times don't match the meter times then it will be an expensive mistake.  What counts is what the meter is actually doing, not what websites or other people think it should be doing.  Watch it change over yourself.

Similarly, make sure that the Quantums are big enough so that they don't run out of stored heat in the late afternoon or evening.  If in doubt get a larger size.  Make sure that you're not unwittingly using the daytime boost at expensive daytime rates.

Do the sums carefully.  Quantums will be more efficient but they're not cheap to buy.  It all depends on whether you're at home all day and when you intend to sell the property.  However, it may make the property a bit more attractive and easier to sell than one with just plain box-of-bricks NSHs.

Rosie1001

not planning on selling .. this is my forever home ….

im out all day at work … 

Im leaning towards the stove … a few friends have them and it heats the whole property 

Quantum’s are approx £1100 each for the size I need without fitting , and economy 7 tariff at the minute are awful , and can’t see prices going down in the future 

QrizB

Rosie1001 said:

im out all day at work … 
Im leaning towards the stove … a few friends have them and it heats the whole property

Given that you've got complex metering I'm guessing you're in Scotland?

In winter you'll be coming home from work to a cold house, having to light a fire and then not be warm for another hour.

You can learn to live with it (my parents had solid fuel stoves and no central heating for almost 50 years, until they downsized last year) but it's a lot like being a 19th century re-enactor.

Since you've got gas in the property, and presumably an existing chimney, have you considered a flued gas stove? A lot like a solid fuel stove but with the convenience of gas?

Here are some examples:
https://www.ukstoves.co.uk/category/gas-stoves/conventional-flue

Rosie1001

I’m in Tyne and Wear 

Rosie1001

A few family members have them ..they said their homes are warm when they get it from work 

I did consider a gas stove , but price of gas is only going to go up as well 😫

QrizB

Rosie1001 said:

I did consider a gas stove , but price of gas is only going to go up as well 😫

If you take Notts Energy's figures at face value, mains gas is currently cheaper than buying either wood or smokeless fuel, and is likely to remain cheaper than smokeless fuel even after April's increase. Plus you don't need a wood store or coal bunker.

And it will still be a quarter of the price of daytime electricity (and, probably, less than a third of the price of E7 electricity).

But at the end of it all, it's your decision. All we can do is point out the pros and the cons of various options.

Swipe

QrizB said:

Rosie1001 said:

im out all day at work … 
Im leaning towards the stove … a few friends have them and it heats the whole property

In winter you'll be coming home from work to a cold house, having to light a fire and then not be warm for another hour.

And the rest. Mine takes at least 3 hours to get the room warm and that's with background heating