Moving from a property with combi boiler to electric immersion

throughtheblue

QrizB said:

throughtheblue said:

Reed_Richards said:

Yes, are you sure it isn't 45.2 kWh/m2/year?  452 is half as much again as your flat  (302) and presumably the house has a greater area so more m2 in total.

The flat is 66m2

The house is 61m2

61m2 at 452kWh/m2/yr makes 27572kWh/yr. If correct, at the expected tariff of 34p/kWh that will cost around £9400/yr.

I could be very wrong here, of course.

Difficult to make sense of the calculations as it states that estimated heating over 3 years would be £4029, so £110 per month, and £28 per month to heat the water. This was completed for the first time on the property last month, so I presume their using 28p per unit of electricity. I've looked for the quoted unit price, but I can't find it.

Reed_Richards

Presumably this EPC was commissioned by the vendor?  The numbers just don't make sense.  The figure of 452 kWh/m2/yr cannot be correct for the well-insulated house that is being described and would result in a massive bill for heating with electricity.

EPCs are created by somebody, quite possibly with little insight into the fundamentals, feeding numbers into a computer which then generates the EPC.  I think a decimal point has been misplaced somewhere.  I have a 40-year old timber-framed bungalow, quite well insulated but not great by modern standards.  My EPC says:

The primary energy use for this property per year is 76 kilowatt hours per square metre (kWh/m2).    

If I were you I would go back to your vendor's estate agent and ask how the numbers can possibly be correct.  Ask them to repeat the calculation of annual running cost made by @QrizB and explain the result.  Once they do that I'm sure they will want to get it put right.  

matelodave

Something very wrong with your EPC - our bungalow is pretty average in construction, is 130m2 which is twice the size of yours and has a guessed annual energy consumption of 176kwh per m2

However in reality our total annual consumption (including washing, cooking, mowing the grass etc) only comes to 57kwh/m2

However even with a heatpump we can only manage a D so TBH the EPC is a waste of time and money.

Mstty

throughtheblue said:

My partner and I are set to be moving to the countryside, from the city, which we hope will improve our balance of life. As the property, we're moving into has triple glazing and lots of insulation, I didn't consider energy costs being more naively. However, when I've noticed it only has an electric immersion, which the shower uses as well instead of an electric shower.

I did some rough workings, and it will cost between 75% - 100% extra to heat the water, compared with the gas price to heat the flat and water currently. Because of it being a completely different style of life, I didn't mind entertaining a small extra cost. All in, the new property would possibly work out £60 cheaper each month, but that's before the extra travel costs and may mean possibly needing to buy a new car.

Now that I've realized this, I feel a sense of dread, and that it's a backwards step compared to being in a property with a combi boiler.

I've asked if I paid for an electric shower unit, if this can be installed and this could reduce the cost and reliance on the immersion heater.

I've been told it's a top range tank, but it will take 6KW over 2 hours to heat. It's a variable tariff and no economy 7.

If I had it on for 2 hours from 4am - 6am, had a short morning shower, would the water still be hot enough for a shower when I return home just after 7pm? Or would I need to maybe put it on for another hour at 5/6pm?

Apologies I haven't read back so this may cover old ground.

At what stage are you in the buying process?

Panel heaters for a working couple, out all day, in a well insulated house and used in conjunction with your log burner could work out ok and of course you don't have the gas standing charge of £100 so that's roughly 295kWh of elec from October at the 34p rate.

Yes the hot water tank will cost you more to heat, come October roughly 3x more and electric showers are known to be energy guzzlers so quick showers will be required and an eco show head.

It all depends on whether you are hot or cold people. People who feel the cold in an all electric house will burn through the electricity.

wrf12345

Triple glazing, excess insulation, I would suggest that a log burner would be sufficient for such a small place, opening the bedroom doors in the evening to let the heat flow around. Electric shower and on-demand electric heating way better than stored heat, IMO, and not expensive to buy.

throughtheblue

Mstty said:

throughtheblue said:

My partner and I are set to be moving to the countryside, from the city, which we hope will improve our balance of life. As the property, we're moving into has triple glazing and lots of insulation, I didn't consider energy costs being more naively. However, when I've noticed it only has an electric immersion, which the shower uses as well instead of an electric shower.

I did some rough workings, and it will cost between 75% - 100% extra to heat the water, compared with the gas price to heat the flat and water currently. Because of it being a completely different style of life, I didn't mind entertaining a small extra cost. All in, the new property would possibly work out £60 cheaper each month, but that's before the extra travel costs and may mean possibly needing to buy a new car.

Now that I've realized this, I feel a sense of dread, and that it's a backwards step compared to being in a property with a combi boiler.

I've asked if I paid for an electric shower unit, if this can be installed and this could reduce the cost and reliance on the immersion heater.

I've been told it's a top range tank, but it will take 6KW over 2 hours to heat. It's a variable tariff and no economy 7.

If I had it on for 2 hours from 4am - 6am, had a short morning shower, would the water still be hot enough for a shower when I return home just after 7pm? Or would I need to maybe put it on for another hour at 5/6pm?

Apologies I haven't read back so this may cover old ground.

At what stage are you in the buying process?

Panel heaters for a working couple, out all day, in a well insulated house and used in conjunction with your log burner could work out ok and of course you don't have the gas standing charge of £100 so that's roughly 295kWh of elec from October at the 34p rate.

Yes the hot water tank will cost you more to heat, come October roughly 3x more and electric showers are known to be energy guzzlers so quick showers will be required and an eco show head.

It all depends on whether you are hot or cold people. People who feel the cold in an all electric house will burn through the electricity.

We will just be renting, but I'm tempted to buy a flat in the city to rent out as an insurance policy if it doesn't work out in the countryside, but that is another story.

My partner and I are restrained with heating. Our current Victorian flat rental is draughty, single glazed with poor insulation, so it's impossible to heat and keep any heat. Last winter, at the coldest points we would just turn the heating on for an hour in the evening. My partner, who works half the week from home would just layer up and have a hot water bottle.

So with our heating usage in the new place, I imagine we will be a bit warmer than we are now.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Hi OP, if the new place has an electric shower would you be using much hot water otherwise? 

If the landlord is willing could you install an instant hot water tap in the kitchen for washing up and not bother with the hot water tank? 

markin

Filled cavity walls are only 3 star, Many people with very good insulation find that a wood stove is useless as it quickly over heats the room and house, just as you found when you stayed in it.

They must have judged the heating poor when infect it was 'excellent' for that house, and so tanking the score.

throughtheblue

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Hi OP, if the new place has an electric shower would you be using much hot water otherwise? 

If the landlord is willing could you install an instant hot water tap in the kitchen for washing up and not bother with the hot water tank? 

Apparently not enough water pressure for an electric shower. I can't imagine us using much hot water, otherwise. For me, a short shower before and after work.

I've had a look at the spec of immersion, and I'm not too worried now. Seems to lose 1kw over 24 hours, so with our water usage it shouldn't burn a hole in our wallets. My concern initially was it would need 12kw of electricity per day.

throughtheblue

markin said:

Filled cavity walls are only 3 star, Many people with very good insulation find that a wood stove is useless as it quickly over heats the room and house, just as you found when you stayed in it.

They must have judged the heating poor when infect it was 'excellent' for that house, and so tanking the score.

When we stayed it was the electric heater, but maybe it's marked down due to no temperature control on the electric heaters, which would allow better regulation of temp, perhaps.