Buying a flat with immersion heater

cherry76

Not sure how the immersion heater works regarding heating the flat. Can it be replaced with gas central heating.? Thanks

prettyandfluffy

An immersion heater is to provide hot water only, not heating.  Do you have some other form of heating?

Robin9

Have you conventional wet radiators ?   Photos will help.

Neil49

If you had a combi boiler fitted for central heating then this would also provide you with hot water. If you went for such an option then the hot water tank could be removed and provide some extra space. 

This isn't a cheap option so get some quotes before going much further with this. 

Robin9

Do you actually have a gas supply to the property ?

Chieveley

Robin9 said:

Do you actually have a gas supply to the property ?

And if so you will need the management companies agreement to put it in. And annual certificates of compliance/checks.

FreeBear

Neil49 said:

If you had a combi boiler fitted for central heating then this would also provide you with hot water. If you went for such an option then the hot water tank could be removed and provide some extra space. 

This isn't a cheap option so get some quotes before going much further with this. 

It may pay to look at installing a heat pump. But being in a flat will add some complexities to the job.

cherry76

prettyandfluffy said:

An immersion heater is to provide hot water only, not heating.  Do you have some other form of heating?

No other form of heating. The current owners use portable electric heater. The flat feels warm when viewing. It’s an old building just wonder whether central heating could be installed later on. No matter how old the building is, one should be able to instal central heating. Thanks

CliveOfIndia

cherry76 said:

prettyandfluffy said:

An immersion heater is to provide hot water only, not heating.  Do you have some other form of heating?

No other form of heating. The current owners use portable electric heater. The flat feels warm when viewing. It’s an old building just wonder whether central heating could be installed later on.

Technically yes, you can install central heating.  The options available to you may be limited somewhat.  A heat pump may be a possibility, though as FreeBear mentioned, being a flat may make it more complex.  In terms of running costs, ideally you'd want gas - but if there is currently no gas supply to the flat then that's probably a non-starter.

If you're stuck with electricity as your only realistic source of fuel, then storage heaters will be cheaper to run long-term if you're able to make use of cheaper off-peak rates (rather than using plug-in heaters that run at peak-rate tariff).

If you did install any form of central heating, I suspect you'd need to get the OK from the owner/management company before-hand.

Albermarle

cherry76 said:

prettyandfluffy said:

An immersion heater is to provide hot water only, not heating.  Do you have some other form of heating?

No other form of heating. The current owners use portable electric heater. The flat feels warm when viewing. It’s an old building just wonder whether central heating could be installed later on. No matter how old the building is, one should be able to instal central heating. Thanks

Maybe useful to ask the neighbours what they do/what the management company will normally allow.