storage heaters/electric central heating or gas?

Bexm · 17 May 2007 at 12:54PM

Hello!

I know there are a few posts similar to this but cannot find one giving the advice I need (if you know of one please direct me!)

We have just moved into a 2 bed house, it has one small 15yr old storage heater in the living room, an electric towel rail in the bath room, and a wall mounted electric ("blowy") heater in each of the bedrooms!

We have set the storage heater going and it makes the house nice and warm in the morning, but not so much in the evening, which is useless as we are generally out from 8-6.
It's not that cold out at the moment so when winter comes we will be freezing!

Currently there is no gas connected to the house, but we can get it connected for around 3-4 hundred (i think).

We only intend in staying in the property for about 5 years.

The thing we are trying to work out is what's going to work out the best for us? We need to do something about the storage heater as its not effective enough, and the electric heaters expensive to run.

We are considering installing either electric or gas central heating or maybe upgrading and adding some more storage heaters, and use some low wattage "plug in" heaters as extra in the evening.

We also want to take in to consideration any value any of this will add to the house when we go to sell.

Has anyone been in this situation? Or got any advice?
We don't know average costs of things yet as we haven't lived there long enough, but we want to sort something out before winter!

Thanks in advance!

Bex

Cardew · 17 May 2007 at 10:25PM

The cost of installing gas is just the start. To fit gas CH will cost a lot
(£3,000???) and servicing/safety costs are high.

It is much cheaper(£hundreds) to fit a modern storage heating system as you have the capacity already. They retain heat better and are easier to control. No servicing costs either.

The price of Economy 7 varies a lot by company and area, generally it will be a little more to run than gas at current prices, but not a huge amount more as servicing gas boilers can be up to £180 a year.

So over a 5 year term there is no doubt that Electric will be much the cheaper option. That said Gas CH is much more user friendly and you don't have to plan ahead.

I suspect that having Gas CH will enhance the value of your property when you come to sell.

Bexm · 18 May 2007 at 8:42AM

Hi Cardew

Thanks for the advice! I will have to bear that in mind.. and work out how much the house value will increase if we have the heating put in, see how that works out!

Bex

lmp_2 · 8 June 2007 at 1:49PM

hello i have just read your post, well i dont have gas and i was quoted £10.000, by the national grids sister company to install (the only one who can install) a gas main 40 meters in length basically from the main road to my home. I have storage heating and yes i agree they are crap. a complete waiste of money for those of us who work and dont get in untill late. I saw a great radiator company onj the internet called IHC electric water filled radiators. They look like normal rads but are powered the normal plug socket and you can even operate them on ecomony 10,

keep us posted because i am in the same boat !:T

spearish · 16 June 2007 at 6:09PM

lmp wrote: »

hello i have just read your post, well i dont have gas and i was quoted £10.000, by the national grids sister company to install (the only one who can install) a gas main 40 meters in length basically from the main road to my home. I have storage heating and yes i agree they are crap. a complete waiste of money for those of us who work and dont get in untill late. I saw a great radiator company onj the internet called IHC electric water filled radiators. They look like normal rads but are powered the normal plug socket and you can even operate them on ecomony 10,

keep us posted because i am in the same boat !:T

Do not believe the hype Imp.A new housing estate in the village has been fitted with these wonderful wet electric systems and they are up in arms about the costs to run them.Our local is full of people who'd tell you what they think of them.A one year old 2 bed semi has reported bills of £254 for a MONTH this winter.:eek:

Jo.G · 21 June 2007 at 1:36PM

We too have storage heaters and I hate them! We are in a 3 bed semi, with one storage heater in each downstairs room (kitchen, dining room, living room) and one at the top of the stairs. No heating in any bedrooms/bathrooms. I had to get the ones in the dining room and living room repaired and it cost me £96. The engineer said the one in the living room needs replacing as one side doesnt heat up. They quoted £300 plus fitting plus VAT! Its since completely packed in. One of the hardest things is finding a company to service them, most companies around here only deal with GCH. I pay £129 a month and am still £133 in debit to Powergen. We have been quoted £500 for a gas connection, then we would have to pay for a new central heating system and boiler. At the moment we just cant afford to do it. We end up using plug in electric heaters and the electric fires, thus putting the electricity costs up. And my water heater has packed in and I only have hot water if I manually put the 1 hour boost button on and remember to turn it off because both the clocks have acked in. Storage heaters would certainly put me off if I were to move again and I could kick myself for being so naive about them when I bought the house.

lmp_2 · 22 June 2007 at 4:39PM

hi JO.G

i have just read your post and i completely agree with you, i can kick myself for buying this cold heap of S--t, i am a first time buyer, thought i was going to be ok, but its not, the thing that realy gets to me on top of this whole situation is that if i was on benefits i would be entitled to a government grant to help me put in affordable heating ( and i dont care if i have offended anyone) so yeh i agree with you for being so bloody hardworking and oh so nieve !

Jo.G · 25 June 2007 at 1:12PM

Hi Imp,
I cant believe I actually believed the woman who we bought the house off when she said she never had any problems, they were in full working order, inexpensive to run and kept the house toasty warm in the winter! Needless to say we bought in July when you didnt expect them to be on anyway.
Have been searching the web for info on electric heating systems, but dont really know whether this is a better way to go than gas for both environment and cost issues.
I'm really soft when it comes to being warm - I was brought up in a house that was always too warm so am not used to the cold! We too work FT so cant claim any benefits or grants. I just want some warmth and warmth at the touch of a switch instead of trying to work out the British weather!!

lmp_2 · 27 June 2007 at 11:52AM

yep i completely feel sucked in and like you i love being warm. i have been trying to find a company that will quote me to install warm air units that run off the electric, they are very rare but do exist, i had them in an old flat and they are quite warm alternativly we may need to go with the dimplex oil filled radiators or LPG oil tank, i am just gutted its so bloody cold, anyway i will keep you posted. best wishes

Jo.G · 27 June 2007 at 4:44PM

I went on the Dimplex website the other day and have asked them to send me a brochure out. The hardest thing is trying to find local companies that install anything other than gas central heating. I get some very strange looks when I tell people we dont even have a gas supply and we live on a housing estate that was built in the seventies. Trying to get someone to come out to look at the storage heaters involved ploughing through numbers under 'Electrician' on yell.com!

Jo.G · 2 July 2007 at 4:39PM

Hi Cardew,

You seem to be very knowledgeable on all things to do with heating, energy etc. In your opinion, would I be better off (in terms of energy efficiency and cost) to:
a) pay £500+ to have gas installed and then have a GCH system installed
b) replace my old storage heaters with more up to date energy efficient models and stay on my economy 7 tarif.

I always presumed that I would eventually get GCH because thats what I'm used to. But in these days of energy efficiency, renewable energy and carbon footprints, is Gas the best, or worst, way to go? Sorry, but I'm not very well clued up on green issues, I just like to be warm!

I would appreciate any thoughts you, or anyone else may have.

storage heaters/electric central heating or gas?

Comments

Categories

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free