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Electric Radiators vs Gas Central Heating?

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  • BUFF
    BUFF Posts: 2,185 Forumite
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    edited 5 June 2023 at 11:41AM
    Ask here https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/categories/lpg-heating-oil-solid-other-fuels
    However, iiirc over the last year oil actually may have worked out cheaper than gas - certainly cheaper than heating by electricity (other than heatpump).

    if you do go down that route oversize pipes/rads for future conversion to a heatpump (if you think that you will be in the house that long).
  • FreeBear
    FreeBear Posts: 17,214 Forumite
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    shinytop said:
    FreeBear said:
    ThisIsWeird said: Apart from the much lower running costs, a gas-powered 'wet' system would also have the advantage of being future-proofed, as the radiator system could ultimately be powered from other sources, such as the ASHP you mentioned, or possibly even a change to H2 gas.


    If you do decide that a wet rad system is the way to go, then take into account the lower water temps used for max efficiency from boilers, and especially from Heat Pumps, and size the rads accordingly - which will mean larger than expected!
    Just bunging in bigger radiators with the thought that they would be OK with heat pumps isn't that simple. Yes, the radiators need to be a lot larger (maybe as much as twice as large), but the plumbing also needs to be bigger. 22mm at a minimum for ypur main feed & return, preferably 28mm. Drops to the radiators can still be 15mm, but no smaller (so no micro-bore stuff), and should be kept as short as possible.
    The logic behind this - Heat pumps operate at a lower temperature, and the water is circulated at a correspondingly lower rate. As a result, you need a bigger volume of water to transfer the heat and allow more time for it to radiate heat out of the radiators.
    I'm maybe being pedantic but an ASHP circulates water at a much higher rate in terms of flow rate than a gas boiler; 20-30 litres per minute or more as opposed to 10-15 or so for fossil fuel boilers.
    I need to double check my sources then... But if one is pumping water around at 20-30l.p.m. then bigger pipes will be needed to avoid to much of a pressure drop.
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  • cashlearner
    cashlearner Posts: 8 Forumite
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    Gazfocus what did you do in the end for heating and hot water? Did you stick with electric?
  • Bigphil1474
    Bigphil1474 Posts: 3,058 Forumite
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    If you type @ at the beginning of a name, it will tell them you have asked them a question - @gazfocus
  • cashlearner
    cashlearner Posts: 8 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Name Dropper First Post Combo Breaker
    Hello @gazfocus
    Did you go for electric heaters in the end?
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