Costs moving from gas to electric boiler (home move)

bob2302

FreeBear said:

Correction - Electric heating using a wet boiler & radiators is the most expensive. Using panel/fan/convector, a little cheaper. Night storage heating can work out cheaper to run than other forms of electric heating if on the right tariff.

It depends on whether the water can be heated on a TOU tariff.

DisabledDan

Victorwelldue said:

I currently live in an old one bedroom top floor flat, granite construction with no insulation. Approx. 44M2 with 2.8M high ceilings. Gas central heating (combi boiler). Currently pay £200 per month for gas & electricity which seems pretty high to me as I'd say my usage is average for a single person who works from home 2 days per week.

Considering moving to a modern 2 Bedroom top floor flat with good wall & loft insulation. Approx. 62M2 with ceilings just over 2M high. Its an old building that has just been modernised and turned into fancy flats. 

According to the EPC the new place is rated D (score is 60) which I think is mainly down to the fact it has an electric boiler for some reason. The EPC estimates the monthly energy bills over next 3 years will be around £150 per month, which is a saving I'd actually be delighted with!

So my questions:

1. How accurate is the energy spend figures given by EPCs? Obviously certain assumptions are made but are they usually fairly close or not? Based on info above above am I likely to see energy bills that are lower, same or higher? (hoping that the additional electricity cost is offset by the lower ceilings & the insulation, albeit larger floor area)

2. Assuming the building can get gas, can an electric boiler be swapped for a gas boiler or does the whole heating system need changing? Also approx. cost to change from electric to gas?

Waiting to find out if building can get gas, its in a city centre so would hope so but seems odd it doesn't have gas to start with, or is that the way it is with new developments these days due to environmental considerations?


  

A friend of mine went electric and was rated D from C apparently because Gas Boilers are deemed more energy efficient, he even had underfloor heating.

The estimates on bills are total guesses, you would be better off looking up the energy supplier for property and asking them the amount of energy used per year.  At first they will be reluctant GDPR blah blah blah but if you explain that you do not know the person who lived there before nor do you have any way of identifying them and they share with 3rd parties so why not you.  If they insist on not informing you then tell them "thanks for being so helpful, I will be changing supplier".. 

Flats are often knocked up not only with just Electric but expensive electric wall heaters on cold walls. I have lived in 3 flats with just electric, worst energy bills of my life.

Unless you are buying a property it is unlikely you will be able to change the boiler.

Victorwelldue

Spoonie_Turtle said:

Victorwelldue said:

Newbie_John said:

£200 a month is actually a lot for 1 bed flat. £150, so £1800 a year for two bed sounds reasonable. 

So all down to insulation really, but we also don't know anything about your habits - is it £200 now because you like 25°C in winter?

I like around 22C and try to limit to even just the bedroom in winter BUT my current living room is north facing and gets pretty chilly even in summer, so I probably use more energy in that sense as heating sometimes on in summer to take the chill off. Other than that I'd say fairly normal usage and I wouldn't expect heating to be needed as much in new place due to installation, lower ceilings and fact it will get more natural; heat during summer. If I could even keep at £200 per month in new place I'd be happy. Does £200 seem reasonable given conditions of new place above?

Are you expecting it to need just a quarter of the heating of your current flat (to stay at a similar price)?

Unfortunately not but then heating is only part of the bill isn't it? The £200 I pay now includes electricity too so surely the calculation where gas is assumed to be 4x cheaper than electric wouldn't apply to the full £200, it would only apply to the gas bit of that £200.

Victorwelldue

DisabledDan said:

Victorwelldue said:

I currently live in an old one bedroom top floor flat, granite construction with no insulation. Approx. 44M2 with 2.8M high ceilings. Gas central heating (combi boiler). Currently pay £200 per month for gas & electricity which seems pretty high to me as I'd say my usage is average for a single person who works from home 2 days per week.

Considering moving to a modern 2 Bedroom top floor flat with good wall & loft insulation. Approx. 62M2 with ceilings just over 2M high. Its an old building that has just been modernised and turned into fancy flats. 

According to the EPC the new place is rated D (score is 60) which I think is mainly down to the fact it has an electric boiler for some reason. The EPC estimates the monthly energy bills over next 3 years will be around £150 per month, which is a saving I'd actually be delighted with!

So my questions:

1. How accurate is the energy spend figures given by EPCs? Obviously certain assumptions are made but are they usually fairly close or not? Based on info above above am I likely to see energy bills that are lower, same or higher? (hoping that the additional electricity cost is offset by the lower ceilings & the insulation, albeit larger floor area)

2. Assuming the building can get gas, can an electric boiler be swapped for a gas boiler or does the whole heating system need changing? Also approx. cost to change from electric to gas?

Waiting to find out if building can get gas, its in a city centre so would hope so but seems odd it doesn't have gas to start with, or is that the way it is with new developments these days due to environmental considerations?


  

A friend of mine went electric and was rated D from C apparently because Gas Boilers are deemed more energy efficient, he even had underfloor heating.

The estimates on bills are total guesses, you would be better off looking up the energy supplier for property and asking them the amount of energy used per year.  At first they will be reluctant GDPR blah blah blah but if you explain that you do not know the person who lived there before nor do you have any way of identifying them and they share with 3rd parties so why not you.  If they insist on not informing you then tell them "thanks for being so helpful, I will be changing supplier".. 

Flats are often knocked up not only with just Electric but expensive electric wall heaters on cold walls. I have lived in 3 flats with just electric, worst energy bills of my life.

Unless you are buying a property it is unlikely you will be able to change the boiler.

There is no previous tenant. This is a building that was formerly used for something else that has been newly developed into flats. I would be buying not renting.

Victorwelldue

I've now been advised there is a gas supply to one of the other flats in the building. Anyone have any idea on rough cost to get gas plumbed in? Its a (low height) 3 story building and flat I'm looking at is on top level - gas is plumbed into flat on ground level.

Spoonie_Turtle

Victorwelldue said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

Victorwelldue said:

Newbie_John said:

£200 a month is actually a lot for 1 bed flat. £150, so £1800 a year for two bed sounds reasonable. 

So all down to insulation really, but we also don't know anything about your habits - is it £200 now because you like 25°C in winter?

I like around 22C and try to limit to even just the bedroom in winter BUT my current living room is north facing and gets pretty chilly even in summer, so I probably use more energy in that sense as heating sometimes on in summer to take the chill off. Other than that I'd say fairly normal usage and I wouldn't expect heating to be needed as much in new place due to installation, lower ceilings and fact it will get more natural; heat during summer. If I could even keep at £200 per month in new place I'd be happy. Does £200 seem reasonable given conditions of new place above?

Are you expecting it to need just a quarter of the heating of your current flat (to stay at a similar price)?

Unfortunately not but then heating is only part of the bill isn't it? The £200 I pay now includes electricity too so surely the calculation where gas is assumed to be 4x cheaper than electric wouldn't apply to the full £200, it would only apply to the gas bit of that £200.

While true, heating and hot water are usually the majority of people's energy usage.  Even more so for you since you keep it warmer than average.

What is your annual consumption currently for electricity and gas, in kWh?

Victorwelldue

Spoonie_Turtle said:

Victorwelldue said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

Victorwelldue said:

Newbie_John said:

£200 a month is actually a lot for 1 bed flat. £150, so £1800 a year for two bed sounds reasonable. 

So all down to insulation really, but we also don't know anything about your habits - is it £200 now because you like 25°C in winter?

I like around 22C and try to limit to even just the bedroom in winter BUT my current living room is north facing and gets pretty chilly even in summer, so I probably use more energy in that sense as heating sometimes on in summer to take the chill off. Other than that I'd say fairly normal usage and I wouldn't expect heating to be needed as much in new place due to installation, lower ceilings and fact it will get more natural; heat during summer. If I could even keep at £200 per month in new place I'd be happy. Does £200 seem reasonable given conditions of new place above?

Are you expecting it to need just a quarter of the heating of your current flat (to stay at a similar price)?

Unfortunately not but then heating is only part of the bill isn't it? The £200 I pay now includes electricity too so surely the calculation where gas is assumed to be 4x cheaper than electric wouldn't apply to the full £200, it would only apply to the gas bit of that £200.

While true, heating and hot water are usually the majority of people's energy usage.  Even more so for you since you keep it warmer than average.

What is your annual consumption currently for electricity and gas, in kWh?

For 2023 it was:
Electricity: 2238 kWh
Gas: 11,377 kWh

So point taken; gas portion accounts for around 80% of the total energy consumption.