Gas or electric.

90ssk8er

So I'm looking at getting a new heating system put in the house and due to the rising cost of energy, would I be better off getting

A Gas heating system or Electric heating system. 

We live in a 1950's 3 bed semi ex council. 

BUFF

what does it have at the moment & how old?

grumbler

Electricity is about 4 times more expensive than gas. Even with 75% efficiency of a boiler (vs. 100% of electricity) it's still much cheaper.

Good boilers have 90% efficiency, I think.

FreeBear

If you have an old gas boiler that is still functioning, I'd be more inclined to improve insulation levels and kill the draughts. Get the thermal performance up, and you'll be better placed to take advantage of heat pumps (either air or ground source) when the time comes. Also worth spending a bit on smarter controls - I've saved some 15-20% on gas since fitting a programmable control system (although some of that may well be down to running at a slightly lower temperature).

shiraz99

I'd agree with the above. Your priority, regardless of the heating system you have or might want, should be to get the house as insulated as you can, then take it from there.

victor2

90ssk8er said:

So I'm looking at getting a new heating system put in the house and due to the rising cost of energy, would I be better off getting

A Gas heating system or Electric heating system. 

We live in a 1950's 3 bed semi ex council. 

We replaced our ageing (installed last century! ) boiler last year and went from a gravity fed central heating system with hot water tank to a combi. Got rid of the hot water tank and the cold water tank(s) in the loft. We have an electric shower and only run a bath about once a fortnight. Gas savings on a rolling year are currently about 21% after 6 months, and rising as in the summer we won't be heating a water tank unnecessarily. Heating is now through a programmable thermostat instead of a fixed one and timer arrangement before, so we're more comfortable and saving gas.

The boiler was on its last legs though, and I don't expect the new one to last that long, even with its 10 year warranty. It might eventually pay for itself in savings though, given how gas prices have jumped up. Didn't expect it to, so that wasn't a factor in the plan.