replace electric heating & water system

Dannii75

The electric heating (night storage heaters) & water system in my house is very very old so  isn't efficient at all. (there's no gas supply).
I'm thinking a whole new system would be a good idea but I have no idea where to start.
Has anyone else done this recently, & do you have any advice? 

Thanks - D 

Gerry1

The only increase in efficiency will be if you move from simple 'box of bricks' NSHs to a modern High Heat Retention type with a fan to release the heat only when it's needed.

If you're normally out all day then you'll make some savings on the heat that would be wasted overnight and during the day, but if you're normally at home then you'll only save on the overnight bit.

However, new HHR NSHs such as Dimplex Quantum aren't cheap, so it could take you many years to recover the capital expenditure.  Do the sums very carefully.

Your best bet may well be to do nothing.  Whatever you do, don't be bamboozled into getting anything filled with moon rock, magic dust or snake oil: it will bankrupt you because they use peak rate electricity.

[Deleted User]

Hi,

good advice from Gerry, are you using existing setup efficiently?

Here's a video might help.

If you have immersion on timer check the settings, you want it on the cheaper rate.

markin

The are Air to water Heatpumps that usually cost around 15K to install, and the are Air to Air heatpumps, AKA Aircon.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6269423/7-8k-for-aircon-system#latest

At current prices his break even could be around 8 years, better if you combine that with 4kw of solar, and maybe also add solar thermal for hot water.

tim_p

markin said:

The are Air to water Heatpumps that usually cost around 15K to install, and the are Air to Air heatpumps, AKA Aircon.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6269423/7-8k-for-aircon-system#latest

At current prices his break even could be around 8 years, better if you combine that with 4kw of solar, and maybe also add solar thermal for hot water.

Solar thermal seems like an unnecessary and expensive complication when a solar diverter will achieve the same thing surely. 

doodling

Hi,

markin said:

[...]

At current prices his break even could be around 8 years, better if you combine that with 4kw of solar, and maybe also add solar thermal for hot water.

I'm unconvinced of the economics of solar thermal.  It should be much better at heating water than using solar electric to power an immersion heater but I suspect that using the roof space for solar electric would give a better overall payback.  That is because solar electric is generally cheaper to install, electricity is more useful than heat and can be used to power other things in the house once you've heated your water and it is possible to sell the electricity if you don't need it.

danrv

Gerry1 said:

However, new HHR NSHs such as Dimplex Quantum aren't cheap, so it could take you many years to recover the capital expenditure.  Do the sums very carefully.

Fitting Quantums to main living areas was certainly the 2nd choice when deciding between these and the aircon.
It was this or a complete ground up air to water heat pump/rad install costing £15k. 
A government grant will soon be available though for properties that qualify.

I’ve compromised at just under £7k as it doesn’t provide hot water or bedroom heating. Immersion tank is fine though and selective room heating and cooling is useful.
Three Dimplex Quantums would’ve been around £3k including any rewiring. 

markin

doodling said:

Hi,

markin said:

[...]

At current prices his break even could be around 8 years, better if you combine that with 4kw of solar, and maybe also add solar thermal for hot water.

I'm unconvinced of the economics of solar thermal.  It should be much better at heating water than using solar electric to power an immersion heater but I suspect that using the roof space for solar electric would give a better overall payback.  That is because solar electric is generally cheaper to install, electricity is more useful than heat and can be used to power other things in the house once you've heated your water and it is possible to sell the electricity if you don't need it.

Yes the usual advice is simply to fit an extra PV for water heating, But i do think that in winter solar thermal is possibly a little more Efficient and apparently works still on cloudy days.

coffeehound

markin said:

Yes the usual advice is simply to fit an extra PV for water heating, But i do think that in winter solar thermal is possibly a little more Efficient and apparently works still on cloudy days.

Yes when I looked at vacuum tubes for water heating, it didn't make financial sense.  But it might have been the sort of measure that could have been included in new builds for decades to reduce carbon

Dannii75

Gerry1 said:

The only increase in efficiency will be if you move from simple 'box of bricks' NSHs to a modern High Heat Retention type with a fan to release the heat only when it's needed.

If you're normally out all day then you'll make some savings on the heat that would be wasted overnight and during the day, but if you're normally at home then you'll only save on the overnight bit.

However, new HHR NSHs such as Dimplex Quantum aren't cheap, so it could take you many years to recover the capital expenditure.  Do the sums very carefully.

Your best bet may well be to do nothing.  Whatever you do, don't be bamboozled into getting anything filled with moon rock, magic dust or snake oil: it will bankrupt you because they use peak rate electricity.

this is excellent advice, thank you very much! 

Dannii75

thanks everyone! I know a lot more, which is very useful!