Feedback on electric boiler pl?

cherry76

The flat am interested is run by electric boiler. Do not know much about them, except they are more expensive to run. Anybody using electric boiler, what are your thoughts? Thanks

RedFraggle

Hideously expensive. I wouldn't buy a property with one unless I was intending to replace it with gas or if the property is electric only then storage heaters and an E7 immersion or thermal store

MultiFuelBurner

So is this a "wet" electric boiler system as in radiators in the rooms?

I would consider it at the right price if you can find out if you could fit an ASHP system in the flat. Is the flat leasehold or freehold.

ProDave

I have never understood the logic of an electric boiler.  If you are going to heat a property with real time electricity, it is cheaper, more versatile and more efficient to do so with individual panel heaters.  All that an electric boiler does, is give each room an normal looking radiator, a sort of snob value recognising that people look down on electric heating, so lets hide the fact it is electric in a cupboard.

If it is a flat and fairly modern it might be well insulated so might not cost that much, what does the EPC say?

About the only good thing I can say is if it has radiators then it might be possible to swap the electric boiler for an air source heat pump, but really only feasible if it is a ground floor flat and you have some outside space to put one.

dimbo61

So many electric only flats around.
However you only have to see the devastating  effect of a ĝas explosion  in a block of flats to understand why very few now have gas heating.
Check the epc of all the flats in the block.

cherry76

This is the flat. Leaseholder is the council. I think will have to give it a miss.
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/137145992#/?channel=RES_BUY

propertyrental

cherry76 said:

This is the flat. Leaseholder is the council. I think will have to give it a miss.
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/137145992#/?channel=RES_BUY

If you bought it, you would be the leaseholder, not the council.

(pedantic? I know. But accurate)

cherry76

Mistype meant to be the council is the freeholder.

theartfullodger

Terrible EPC rating 

ThisIsWeird

Hi Cherry.

That's a lovely flat :-)

It's at the top, so will almost certainly be the 'coldest' in the block.

Yes, an electric boiler must surely be the most expensive way to heat a property! More so than storage heaters, which benefit from cheap-rate leccy, and slightly more so than even using freestanding oil-filled rads (which are pretty much 100% efficient - although still costly).

Of course, you don't have to use it... You'll probably find it cheaper to have two or three oil-filled rads and have them on timers, so the bedroom is warmed prior to bedtime, and then a half-hour before you get up. Ditto for the sitting room and bathroom (or does that have a heated towel rail?). Oh, and the kitchen.

The only advantage I can see is as said above - having a wet system should future-proof you for use with ASHPs.

Worth asking for some annual fuel bills from the existing owner/tenant? Tho', of course, each person's use will vary.

RedFraggle

If that's the area you're after I'd look at the low rise ex LA flats behind St John's Way in Archway. The freeholder is still the council but it's co-op managed and the flats are really well laid out. It doesn't look pretty but I'd live there in a heartbeat.