Leaving Gas and Switching to All-Electric - Impartial Advice?

Thrifty_In_All

I have a small property which has gas central heating, but the boiler has just been assessed as beyond economic repair, and there are also problems with the flue. I've therefore decided to remove gas from the property and go all-electric. [Last year we used c500KwH of gas, so we are light energy users]. One lounge, two bedrooms, small bathroom and kitchen. I plan to have an electric shower (we have no bath), undersink hot water heater, and electric radiators. However, I can't find any impartial advice on radiators. Each manufacturer seems to promote their own type (eg ceramic etc) as the best. Are there any impartial reviews? From what I can gather, it seems I may as well just get basic aluminium electric radiators, or are there actually benefits from the more costly ceramic type?  All advice welcome....

GingerTim

If you are going all electric, you would be better going for storage heaters or a heat pump if at all possible - on demand electric heating is the single most expensive form of heating there is, and an electric wet central heating would be the worst of all.

FreeBear

You already have a wet central heating system - I'd suggest looking at a heat pump. Running costs will be much lower than electric panel heaters, and on the right tariff, potentially less than gas.

As you currently have a gas boiler, you'd qualify for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme which is worth £7500 when installing a heat pump. You may find that someone like Octopus can do a full install for less than you'd pay for a bunch of panel heaters (have heard of quotes under £500).

Netexporter

I'd look at a heat pump, as first option. If you take into account what it would have cost to replace the gas boiler plus the £7500 grant for the heat pump, it will cost you next to nothing and will shouldn't cost any more to run than gas heating.

QrizB

Is this a second home / holiday home?

I know we always say "don't fit an electric combi boiler" but for 500kWh a year, in a property that's already plumbed for wet heating, it might be a reasonable suggestion?

500kWh at 25p/kWh is only £125 a year, after all - a similar amount to the gas standing charges that you'll avoid.

Gerry1

Are you really sure that you've used only 500kWh of gas?  That's an extraordinarily low amount.  Do you mean cubic metres or (hundreds of) cubic feet?

debitcardmayhem

Gerry1 said:

Are you really sure that you've used only 500kWh of gas?  That's an extraordinary low amount.  Do you mean cubic metres or (hundreds of) cubic feet?

Seems low to me too, we used 500kWh for July and August, thats just dhw no gas cooking

Thrifty_In_All

Many thanks for quick replies...  Yes, it's a tiny holiday home, very small c 45 square metres. The current system only has four radiators, so heating is already supplemented by electric fires. We only use the central heating in winter, it's terraced so stays a bit warmer as there's only a small amount of external walls.
I'd really like to remove the existing radiators (which are decades old and showing signs of leaks), so there's a reduced risk of burst pipes. We are with Octopus so will definitely look at heat pumps although  there is little outside space; the back the yard is about 4 feet wide (part of our property 'overlooks' the neighbour's garden).  But going back to impartial advice, are there any websites that offer pros and cons of different solutions?  

QrizB

Thrifty_In_All said:

But going back to impartial advice, are there any websites that offer pros and cons of different solutions?  

Maybe the Energy Saving Trust?
https://energysavingtrust.org.uk/

FlorayG

I'm in the same situation, limping along with a leaky 20 years old gas boiler and saving up.
Basically all the electric radiators are the same. The ceramic core ones stay hot for much longer after switching off but the ones from Screwfix are just as good as the 'posh' ones that are always being pushed on social media; the posh ones just look really smart as well whereas the Screwfix ones look like...well...radiators.
After a lot of this sort of research and considering the cost of electricity to run them, I'm saving up for a heat pump

Gerry1

FlorayG said:

The ceramic core ones stay hot for much longer after switching off

Doesn't do you much good.  They'll take longer to warm up.  The release of heat will simply be delayed, but you'll get exactly the same amount out as you put in, just slightly later.  No such thing as a free lunch, except for heat pumps where you're 'stealing' heat from the outside air or ground.