Anyone here just on electricity??
Discussion
Two places, all electric although one has a wood burner stove.
Electric convector heaters are cheap to buy but expensive to run and it's not a nice heat. Dry.
If you go for storage heaters you get a better EPC rating as they run off cheap electric BUT your standard rate is higher so no gain in real life. It's a bit of a con.
Storage heaters (at least the old brick filled ones) are dreadful. Take a day to heat up as you are waiting for the cheap electric but by the time they have warmed up the outside temp has changed and you don't need the heat.
Suggest you investigate Electric Radiators, there are a few different suppliers now but basically, they are thermostatically controlled, can be set to go on and off 3 times a day when you need them and there's an override too.
Most made in Spain or Italy, few in Germany and common on the Continent.
We fitted Spanish ones imported by Economy Radiators in Yorkshire about 8 years ago and they've been great, So much so we are starting to fit his new model, MADE IN THE UK, in our new place in Scotland.
If you speak to Michael Wood, the company owner, tell him Tony with the yellow TVR sent you.
Electric convector heaters are cheap to buy but expensive to run and it's not a nice heat. Dry.
If you go for storage heaters you get a better EPC rating as they run off cheap electric BUT your standard rate is higher so no gain in real life. It's a bit of a con.
Storage heaters (at least the old brick filled ones) are dreadful. Take a day to heat up as you are waiting for the cheap electric but by the time they have warmed up the outside temp has changed and you don't need the heat.
Suggest you investigate Electric Radiators, there are a few different suppliers now but basically, they are thermostatically controlled, can be set to go on and off 3 times a day when you need them and there's an override too.
Most made in Spain or Italy, few in Germany and common on the Continent.
We fitted Spanish ones imported by Economy Radiators in Yorkshire about 8 years ago and they've been great, So much so we are starting to fit his new model, MADE IN THE UK, in our new place in Scotland.
If you speak to Michael Wood, the company owner, tell him Tony with the yellow TVR sent you.
Electric is so expensive compared to gas, about 15p per kW compared to 3p, it not just heating the house, the electric has to heat a tank of water as well every day, electric bills are only going one way in price and this cost is each and every day you live in the property. I can't imagine buying a house without a gas supply unless you have a forest of trees in the back garden.
I went through the costings recently for my new build of just having electric, backed up by solar and a tesla type battery, but gas is so cheap to have the connection installed and with the tariffs currently available that's still very much the best/ way cheapest option if available close by.
Also it seems supply via lng and pipelines into the UK will be fine for a long time yet.
I am surprised thought that more efficient electric heating is not hitting the market given the push for us to all drive electric cars etc! and the fact that gas is not available in many countries at all, unless we are getting screwed price wise for electric compared to them.
Also it seems supply via lng and pipelines into the UK will be fine for a long time yet.
I am surprised thought that more efficient electric heating is not hitting the market given the push for us to all drive electric cars etc! and the fact that gas is not available in many countries at all, unless we are getting screwed price wise for electric compared to them.
Edited by PAUL500 on Friday 2nd February 10:22
I have an all electric flat, it's more expensive than gas by a fair margin. I use storage heaters for a base level of heat, they're not great but they're a much cheaper way of keeping the house fairly warm than relying fully on electric rads. I have a couple of plug in oil-filled radiators for additional heating. Hot water is overnight megaflow, works well, also electric power shower (adequate).
Much as the overnight heaters are a bit of a pain to use, the fact that overnight electricity on a split rate is about 6p/unit makes it a very large saving to use it, even with the day rate being a little higher (typically about 18p vs 15p for single rate). I use around a 75-80% of electricity on the night rate so it really makes a difference. Time switches for appliances (e.g. washer / drier) help there as well.
Much as the overnight heaters are a bit of a pain to use, the fact that overnight electricity on a split rate is about 6p/unit makes it a very large saving to use it, even with the day rate being a little higher (typically about 18p vs 15p for single rate). I use around a 75-80% of electricity on the night rate so it really makes a difference. Time switches for appliances (e.g. washer / drier) help there as well.
My old flat was electric only, but rather oddly had electrically heated wet radiators like you would have with gas. It was brilliant and not much more than gas to run, but and there is a BIG but, if it needed repairs it was an utter nightmare as no plumbers would touch it. In the end I replaced the PCB myself.
My last house (3 bed end terrace, 1100 sq ft) had storage heaters on E7. Despite keeping the house fairly cool (wearing extra clothing), and making sure stuff was turned off when not in use, my monthly DD was £110 7 years ago.
My current house (4 bed detached dormer bungalow 1700 sq ft) has oil central heating and immersion only for hot water. I have 2 PCs and a 4ft fish tank running 24/7, plus loads more gadgets on standby that I didn't have in the old house. My monthly DD for electric is £90, plus £400 for a tank of oil each year. House is a lot warmer - no jumpers most of the time.
Allowing for inflation, I can be more comfortable in a bigger house for less money now, using oil for heating. Gas would be cheaper, but not available outside of town.
Storage heaters are the cheapest way to heat using electric. Electric heaters are all 100% efficient, in that power in = heat out. Other types of electric radiators are more controllable, so you might use less electricity, but storage heaters on night rate are cheaper, and not too bad once you get the hang of tweaking them.
My current house (4 bed detached dormer bungalow 1700 sq ft) has oil central heating and immersion only for hot water. I have 2 PCs and a 4ft fish tank running 24/7, plus loads more gadgets on standby that I didn't have in the old house. My monthly DD for electric is £90, plus £400 for a tank of oil each year. House is a lot warmer - no jumpers most of the time.
Allowing for inflation, I can be more comfortable in a bigger house for less money now, using oil for heating. Gas would be cheaper, but not available outside of town.
Storage heaters are the cheapest way to heat using electric. Electric heaters are all 100% efficient, in that power in = heat out. Other types of electric radiators are more controllable, so you might use less electricity, but storage heaters on night rate are cheaper, and not too bad once you get the hang of tweaking them.
clockworks said:
Storage heaters are the cheapest way to heat using electric. Electric heaters are all 100% efficient, in that power in = heat out.
Only true if you ignore heat pumps. Heat pumps can be roughly 3 times more efficient, i.e. the heat out is roughly 3 times the amount of electrical power input.ATG said:
Only true if you ignore heat pumps. Heat pumps can be roughly 3 times more efficient, i.e. the heat out is roughly 3 times the amount of electrical power input.
My aunt didn't have much luck with hers. Possibly cheaper to run, but went wrong several times a year. It was a housing association (ex council) development retrofit, so maybe not the best installation.Electricity is an expensive way to buy power, but whether that's a problem or not depends on how much power you need to heat the property. £5 versus £1, who cares? £5k versus £1k, rather a different story.
Different properties will suit different heating systems. For example, my MIL's ancient, draughty cottage had an electric boiler and wet rads when she moved in. It was ruinously expensive to run. Eye watering. We had oil heating in the adjoining house, so we spurred the supply from the tank and switched her cottage to an oil fired boiler. Her place is better insulated than it was, but it is never going to suit the lower temp rads needed in a heat-pumped system. Switching to oil means she could continue to use the existing rads and we could easily swap out her boiler for a heat exchanger if we ever get round to switching both cottage and house into a single biomass system. For a small city-centre flat where space is at a premium and you don't need to stick much heat into the flat to keep it warm, simple electric rads might be a very good solution.
Different properties will suit different heating systems. For example, my MIL's ancient, draughty cottage had an electric boiler and wet rads when she moved in. It was ruinously expensive to run. Eye watering. We had oil heating in the adjoining house, so we spurred the supply from the tank and switched her cottage to an oil fired boiler. Her place is better insulated than it was, but it is never going to suit the lower temp rads needed in a heat-pumped system. Switching to oil means she could continue to use the existing rads and we could easily swap out her boiler for a heat exchanger if we ever get round to switching both cottage and house into a single biomass system. For a small city-centre flat where space is at a premium and you don't need to stick much heat into the flat to keep it warm, simple electric rads might be a very good solution.
clockworks said:
ATG said:
Only true if you ignore heat pumps. Heat pumps can be roughly 3 times more efficient, i.e. the heat out is roughly 3 times the amount of electrical power input.
My aunt didn't have much luck with hers. Possibly cheaper to run, but went wrong several times a year. It was a housing association (ex council) development retrofit, so maybe not the best installation.Leaving aside heat pumps, if mains gas is not available I'd be inclined to go for oil, and very reluctant to use LPG on cost grounds. I wouldn't want to be wholly electric - all the eggs in one basket etc.
Another option that would appeal to me would be a multifuel stove, but one incorporating a decent sized boiler unit, that could run in conjunction with an oil fired boiler, and let them share the heating load. It makes the plumbing and control arrangements more complicated, but we're combining a boiler on mains gas, with a recently added wood fuelled boiler stove, and it's working quite nicely. We're still figuring out how to use the whole system in the most efficient way, but we're retired so we have the time to do this.
Another option that would appeal to me would be a multifuel stove, but one incorporating a decent sized boiler unit, that could run in conjunction with an oil fired boiler, and let them share the heating load. It makes the plumbing and control arrangements more complicated, but we're combining a boiler on mains gas, with a recently added wood fuelled boiler stove, and it's working quite nicely. We're still figuring out how to use the whole system in the most efficient way, but we're retired so we have the time to do this.
Flibble said:
Can you fit an oil fired boiler in a smoke control zone? Just curious really.
Also apparently the cheapest fuel per kW/h is coal, but it's not as easy to use as oil or gas that's for sure.
If coal is still worth using, it's still going to be a dirty system, and open fires are going to be out of the question on efficiency grounds, are they not?Also apparently the cheapest fuel per kW/h is coal, but it's not as easy to use as oil or gas that's for sure.
I can't see many people wanting to go that route, so are there now cleaner and more efficient methods of heating by the use of coal, that would make it sufficently appealing? We stopped using coal 20 years ago because it seemed to be getting quite expensive, and of course there was all the mess. I can't envisage going back to it.
My parents first house (built in 1960 ish) had a coal fired heating system with the fire in the kitchen.
Parents sold it to my Uncle and Auntie in 1968 and they continued to use coal until the late ninties.
Always remember it being lovely and warm in the kitchen in winter but absolutely stifling in the summer when you had to get the fire going for hot water.
My older sister's job in the winter was to light the fire in the mornings (think she was about 4 when she was first allowed to do it) Elf 'n' safety?
Parents sold it to my Uncle and Auntie in 1968 and they continued to use coal until the late ninties.
Always remember it being lovely and warm in the kitchen in winter but absolutely stifling in the summer when you had to get the fire going for hot water.
My older sister's job in the winter was to light the fire in the mornings (think she was about 4 when she was first allowed to do it) Elf 'n' safety?
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