Where can I get advice on my heating options

littlemissbliss

Can anyone advise where I can go to find out my heating options? 

I bought a flat which is freezing! Honestly I nearly froze this winter. The flat is fully electric, so the water is pretty much cold, the flat is ice cold and the shower is pathetic as well. I have a pressure water storage unit so no boiler, I have heaters and electric radiators that cost a fortune.
I also don’t think the walls are insulated either (and it’s ground floor). I have to keep my electric blanket on all night also because the air is so cold when the heaters go off. Honestly it’s warmer outside sometimes…

Is there anywhere I can go to get advice on this, because this winter was torture (and my bills was still £150 for 3 weeks). Can’t say I felt the benefit,

I stayed at my mums for a month who has gas central heating and it was bliss. I know I probably can’t have gas installed because I don’t have the network - but it would be good if someone could come and have a look. If I was elderly I would never have survived. It was ridiculous 

silvercar

What does the EPC certificate show? It should identify areas for improvement that may give you some clue.

have you spoken to neighbours? Do they have the same problem?

FreeBear

With gas being out of the equation, you only really have the choice of high retention night storage heaters or regular electric radiators. On an E7 tariff, storage heaters might be suitable. Regular electric will be expensive regardless of tariff.

But being on the ground floor, an air source heat pump could be installed. This would be much cheaper to run, and on the right tariff, potentially comparable to gas. However, you would (probably) need planning permission and consent from the freeholder. Unfortunately, not cheap to install as you wouldn't qualify for a £7500 grant that others get for replacing a gas/oil heating system. That said, an air to air system need not be hugely expensive.

Regardless of what heating option you go for, it sounds like you need insulation on the walls and perhaps some decent double glazed windows - The freeholder is likely to be responsible for both of these, so would it would be worth having a chat with them to see what work they are prepared to undertake or allow you to do.

QrizB

singhini said:

Efficiency 

Electric radiators - More efficient than electric heaters because they heat through radiation and convection.

Electric heaters - Less efficient than electric radiators because they heat through convection only.

Cost 

Electric radiators: More expensive to buy than electric heaters, but cheaper to run.

Electric heaters: Cheaper to buy than electric radiators, but more expensive to run.

That's complete nonsense. Was it written by AI?

littlemissbliss said:

I bought a flat which is freezing! Honestly I nearly froze this winter. The flat is fully electric, so the water is pretty much cold, the flat is ice cold

Electric heating is entirely capable of making water hot and rooms warm. Exactly what make and model of heaters do you have? Are they storage heaters, and do you know how to use them effectively? And how is your water heated, do you have a storage tank or is it instantaneous?

littlemissbliss said:

I also don’t think the walls are insulated either (and it’s ground floor).

What does your EPC say?

littlemissbliss said:

Is there anywhere I can go to get advice on this, because this winter was torture (and my bills was still £150 for 3 weeks). Can’t say I felt the benefit,

£200 a month is well within the likely range for energy costs during the winter. This is why so many people choose to pay a level DD through the year, rather than variable monthly DD.
Most of the discussion of heating bills happens over on the Energy forum. You could ask to have your thread moved?

Newbie_John

I have fully electric 3 bed house.

First of all what's your EPC rating?
https://www.gov.uk/find-energy-certificate

Secondly, what's your actual electricity usage in kWh (not £) for the last month? You can also check a day usage by taking to meter readings today at 10am and tomorrow at 10am.

What floor is the flat? Anyone above you, below you? Left, right?
What windows do you have? Do you keep them open? 

Do you have anything broken that's wasting electricity? If you switch everything off for 1h and take meter readings before and after what's the difference?

Do you have smart meter? What tariff you are on?
Most of the electric only places are on E7 (cheap at night and expensive during the day) - so if you try to save at night when your rate is low let's say 9p and then try to make up the heat during the day when it's 38p could be very costly - something I've done for a while - simply switching away from E7 to normal could save you a lot when you're not using it properly.

littlemissbliss

Just some bits of information - thank you for all your replies 

EPC is a D (details below)

Feature Description Rating Wall Cavity wall, as built, insulated (assumed) Good
Window Fully double glazed Good
Main heating Electric storage heaters Average
Main heating control Manual charge control Poor
Hot water Electric immersion, off-peak Very poor

The heaters (I believe are electric radiators are a Dimplex make, in the lounge i have 2 of these: https://www.heatershop.co.uk/brands/dimplex/electric-radiators

In the bedroom I have a very old Dimplex, they heat the room up much better but probably more expensive. The living room heaters only go up the 30 and not enough to heat the place up. 

My monthly payment of £150 is trying hard not to have the radiators on - i am still freezing, so the fact it can cost that when i am still freezing is ridiculous. I have contacted the management company (freeholder) to check if the walls are insulated 

I do not have a smart meter.

I haver to have an electric blanket on through the night to keep warm, so i wont be saving at night.

My floor is laminate, carpets in the bedroom. But its actually colder in the back of the flat which is the bedrooms. I am surrounded by trees so the cover probably makes it a big colder. 

....but Octupus has nicely told me I saved 562kg....no problem I only nearly froze to death!

EssexHebridean

Hey OP - that does indeed sound very miserable - but I suspect it's also very fixable, although you may need to be prepared to throw some money at the situation. 

First up as I think  Qriz already asked - makes and models of the room heaters you have currently AND also the water heater please. *I can see you have provided these now*

Are you on a standard single rate electric tariff, or is it Economy 7, where you have a peak and an off peak rate that are different? 

I lived for 20 years in a ground floor 1950's experimental pre-cast concrete build flat with solid walls, concrete floors and all-electric heating and water, so I'm certainly aware of the challenges. The flat had storage heaters fitted from day 1 when we bought it, and got several of those changed for newer ones in time we were there. Of those we changed, the one that we changed to a high heat retention model made the most difference without question. 

Although (apart from heat pumps) all electric heating has the same efficiency - 100% (so one unit of energy in = 1 unit of heat out, as I understand it) they don't all have the same effect on your bills. When using a standard plug in or hard-wired electric heater, you switch it on, and it immediately starts producing heat, and you warm up. When you switch it off, it immediately stops producing heat, and the temperature will drop off quite fast. Oil filled rads are slightly different in that the effects are less immediate - the efficiency (and the energy use related to their power output) is the same, but the effects are felt differently, and a lot of people swear these heaters make them feel warmer for longer. (in fact it may be as simple as they fail to notice that it takes them longer to start feeling warmer when they switch the heater on, as these take time to warm up!). With both these types of heater, you tend to get into an (expensive!) cycle - heater on > warm up > heater off > cool down > heater on - and the cycle starts again. Storage heaters though - and particularly the HHR ones, store the heat that they produce until you are ready for it - and they will also use ties when you can obtain cheaper - off peak - electricity to create that heat and stash it away in to storage. So the heater charges for 7 hours overnight at (let's say) 11p a unit. You programme the heater to release that stored heat from 0700 - 0830 and again from 1700-2200 and voila, you've just heated your home at 11p/kWh rather than the 25p/kWh you are paying currently. 

Once you are on economy 7 you also have the option of heating your water at that time too - as long as your water is a cylinder type, not an instantaneous, and you may well also be able to do all sorts of other things around your home on a load shifting basis too (this is the big advantage of being ground floor!) - we used to run the washing machine and the dishwasher overnight at a massive saving too! 

littlemissbliss

Here is what they say are the steps i need to take to save heating bills. So looks like its the floor not the walls so much

Step 1: Floor insulation (solid floor) Typical installation cost £4,000 - £6,000 Typical yearly saving £131 Potential rating after completing step 1 62 D

Step 2: Draught proofing Typical installation cost £80 - £120 Typical yearly saving £12 Potential rating after completing steps 1 and 2 63 D

Step 3: Low energy lighting Typical installation cost £30 Typical yearly saving £22 Potential rating after completing steps 1 to 3 64 D

Step 4: High heat retention storage heaters Typical installation cost £1,200 - £1,800 Typical yearly saving £179 Potential rating after completing steps 1 to 4

EssexHebridean

littlemissbliss said:

Just some bits of information - thank you for all your replies 

EPC is a D (details below)

Feature Description Rating Wall Cavity wall, as built, insulated (assumed) Good
Window Fully double glazed Good
Main heating Electric storage heaters Average
Main heating control Manual charge control Poor
Hot water Electric immersion, off-peak Very poor

The heaters (I believe are electric radiators are a Dimplex make, in the lounge i have 2 of these: https://www.heatershop.co.uk/brands/dimplex/electric-radiators

In the bedroom I have a very old Dimplex, they heat the room up much better but probably more expensive. The living room heaters only go up the 30 and not enough to heat the place up. 

My monthly payment of £150 is trying hard not to have the radiators on - i am still freezing, so the fact it can cost that when i am still freezing is ridiculous. I have contacted the management company (freeholder) to check if the walls are insulated 

I do not have a smart meter.

I haver to have an electric blanket on through the night to keep warm, so i wont be saving at night.

My floor is laminate, carpets in the bedroom. But its actually colder in the back of the flat which is the bedrooms. I am surrounded by trees so the cover probably makes it a big colder. 

....but Octupus has nicely told me I saved 562kg....no problem I only nearly froze to death!

That EPC says storage heaters - you are certain that the heaters you have are the electric radiators you have linked to? 

The EPC also suggest that the flat should be on a dual rate electricity tariff - you can check that from your customer portal with Octopus via the app or online. 

littlemissbliss

EssexHebridean said:

littlemissbliss said:

Just some bits of information - thank you for all your replies 

EPC is a D (details below)

Feature Description Rating Wall Cavity wall, as built, insulated (assumed) Good
Window Fully double glazed Good
Main heating Electric storage heaters Average
Main heating control Manual charge control Poor
Hot water Electric immersion, off-peak Very poor

The heaters (I believe are electric radiators are a Dimplex make, in the lounge i have 2 of these: https://www.heatershop.co.uk/brands/dimplex/electric-radiators

In the bedroom I have a very old Dimplex, they heat the room up much better but probably more expensive. The living room heaters only go up the 30 and not enough to heat the place up. 

My monthly payment of £150 is trying hard not to have the radiators on - i am still freezing, so the fact it can cost that when i am still freezing is ridiculous. I have contacted the management company (freeholder) to check if the walls are insulated 

I do not have a smart meter.

I haver to have an electric blanket on through the night to keep warm, so i wont be saving at night.

My floor is laminate, carpets in the bedroom. But its actually colder in the back of the flat which is the bedrooms. I am surrounded by trees so the cover probably makes it a big colder. 

....but Octupus has nicely told me I saved 562kg....no problem I only nearly froze to death!

That EPC says storage heaters - you are certain that the heaters you have are the electric radiators you have linked to? 

The EPC also suggest that the flat should be on a dual rate electricity tariff - you can check that from your customer portal with Octopus via the app or online. 

Ah where does it state that? I believe i am on a flexible tariff.

Murphybear

We live in over 60s sheltered housing.  It has 33 individual flats and communal areas.  Like  yours we are all electric.

Last year the Housing Association put in new storage heaters which are much more efficient and cost less to run.  Details from their website below

” Dimplex Quantum heaters (QM), a new range of storage heaters is now on the market. 

The Quantum heater is essentially a more up to date storage heater using the latest thermal materials, providing greater control and efficiency. The Quantum heater range also upgrades and replaces the existing Dimplex FXL fan storage heater range which has now been discontinued.”

There is also useful information about grants for home heating on the government website (.gov)

“Find out if your property is eligible for Help to Heat funding.”  

The gov website also has useful tips on saving money in your home generally.