Storage Heaters or Electric Radiators

newflat26

Hi - buying a 2 bed electric only flat. Currently renting with old storage heaters and immersion for hot water. Bills are through the roof and the flat is always cold. The new flat currently has a similar set-up, I see 3 options to upgrade:

1. Upgrade storage heaters to HHR, programmable models, keep existing immersion, add a timer, stay on E7
2. Upgrade storage heaters to HHR, programmable models, install a heat battery for hot water, stay on E7
3. Replace storage heaters with electric radiators, install an electric tankless, on-demand water heater, move to single tariff

Flat will have 5 heaters max and already has an electric power shower.

I don't know much (anything!) about costs of running electric radiators, other than it's more expensive than gas. Ignoring initial costs to replace the storage heaters, can anyone advise on which would be the most cost effective option to run? I want to be warm. Thanks!

gpman

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6655752/storage-heaters-or-electric-radiators

They all cost the same to run (comparatively). They are all 100% efficient (or as near as)*. Check what you are paying for each kWh they consume.

Of course if you are using a ToU tariff (e.g. E7) then the cost of each kWh consumed will depend on the time of that consumption.

• the possible exception is your current hot water system. But any loss of efficiency (due to loss of heat retention) goes towards heating the flat except in summer when presumably you don't want to heat the flat.

ETA: As you appear to know about heat batteries, I suspect you may know a lot more than you are giving yourself credit for!

Scot_39

see this cost comparison by a fellow forumite @QRizB from his ? footer links

Gas vs E7 vs peak elec heating costs

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/78557202/#Comment_78557202

He uses 10MWh for pricing as thsts the equiv to gas tdcv - a modern flat should be much lower but its a nice indication of relative costs.

Panels can work cheaper if only need heat for few hours, tou could vbw an option even cf flat rste otherswise id go off peak or tou with storsge heaters.

do you know if your likely to have a good - reliably communicating to supplier - smets2 smart meter ?

With meter controlled restricted feeds to devivces ? - if so youll maybe want to consider Snug Octopus and its c9p off peak rate rather than vanilla e7.

id maybe go lot20 storage, except living room and maybe bedrooms -(i dont heat my bedrooms direct just the hallways with doors open during the dsy - so i wouldnt bother - and a panel for 1 hr before bed or an electric blanket and 1 hr in morning may be a safe bet for many anyway as much cheaper than adding a new nsh )- where extra cost of hhr likely to benefit.

and if have mains pressure hw tank maybe ditch electric het shower if it is what you meant by electric power shower for hot tank fed. Unless mainly likely to shower at off peak times. 15p vs 32p for say 1.5 kWh per person per day on typical e7 deal adds up. Summer and winter.

WiserMiser

It has to be Option 1.

Forget Option 3 because single rate electricity is just about the most expensive form of room heating you can have. Ditto hot water, so get rid of the electric shower.

Make sure the NSHs are the right size. https://www.dimplex.co.uk/resources/heating-calculator

If it doubt go for the larger size.

A heat battery might be fine if you have solar or wind power but it's hard to see how the running cost would be less if you'd be using E7: you might as well use the immersion heater.

Don't use a mechanical rotary time switch because power cuts can make it switch at peak rates. Forget the published E7 times, look at your meter to see when it switches over and back. Beware that some regions have a two-hour peak rate interval in the early hours of the morning.

newflat26

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81888313#Comment_81888313

Thanks, that's really helpful. Yes, there is a smart meter, so the storage heating/water should sync with the off peak rates, however I'm nervous about the immersion as currently mid-complaint with Octopus as in current flat they're kicking in half an hour (hour and a half during BST) before the off-peak rates start, costing around £20/mth. Saw advice on here that it's to do with the ACLS relay, so have asked them to reset and recalc the old bills. I'd need to be sure the same won't happen in the new flat! Agree re power shower - not sure why they were installed with an E7 immersion in place, it doesn't make sense. Will look into snug - thank you :-)

newflat26

Fantastic - thanks very much

newflat26

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81888345#Comment_81888345

That's why I'll definitely have a timer if I keep the immersion so even if the supplier messes up, I can make sure at least the immersion doesn't kick in before off-peak starts - thank you :-)

squirrelpie

Is the flat you're buying a new flat? Have you considered a heat pump - either an ASHP or a split air-air (aka air-conditioning)? Otherwise as already suggested, get an electric blanket and see if you really need heaters in the bedrooms.

newflat26

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81888584#Comment_81888584

unfortunately not - mid 90s build. I definitely want heating in the bedrooms, so fed up with the cold in my rented flat. Looked into heat pump for the water but I think you need exterior access & the cupboard where it would go is right in the middle of the flat

squirrelpie

Water heat pumps are different, they typically use large diameter air ducts to bring outside air to the water tank where the heat pump is mounted. Look at the types I mentioned, which use much thinner pipes. It might also be worth checking your new flat (and your rented one) for draughts, which make places feel cold.

tamste

If you want to keep costs down, you could consider putting in smart storage heaters (SSH's) rather than HHR's. Slightly less heat retention (~43% vs ~50% for HHR's) but have similar insulation and controls .. and are ~£200 - £250 cheaper than HHR's per unit as new. They don't' have the fan to distribute the heat, but work well.