Electric Radiators (Not storage heaters)
Discussion
Hi, back again with yet another question hoping for some thoughts and guidance from anyone who can help.
Having already discussed at length (thanks Ferg) 8mm piped wet radiators and combi boilers I am still looking at alternatives to replacing the aging combi and replacing and relocating the oil tank with all new feed. (Estimated cost of replacement about £5500).
Have been reading about and speaking to, the guy at: www.economy-radiators.com about Electric radiators which are supposed to be filled with a gel, are thermostatic controlled, programmable, cost the same as gas to run and are much cheaper to run than oil/lpg and electric storage heaters. Cost to buy would be about £2000, plus I would need to get a hot water tank, immersion, cold tank so all in about £3000. I could then throw away the troublesome oil set up and get rid of the 8mm pipes that I wanted to bury in the wall, that are supposedly prone to silting up and are becoming less easily obtainable.
These electric radiators are apparently made in Spain from material sourced in Italy are described as "state of the art" use 60% less electric than storage heaters (which I have had and hate) and can be run from a standard ring main 13amp socket although I would consider a seperate ring as there is a rewire commencing next week anyway.
Sorry for the longwinded ramble, basically anyone any experience of these radiators which I think are called Royale Radiators.??
TBH it all seems too good to be true but I am willing to consider them.
Tony H
Having already discussed at length (thanks Ferg) 8mm piped wet radiators and combi boilers I am still looking at alternatives to replacing the aging combi and replacing and relocating the oil tank with all new feed. (Estimated cost of replacement about £5500).
Have been reading about and speaking to, the guy at: www.economy-radiators.com about Electric radiators which are supposed to be filled with a gel, are thermostatic controlled, programmable, cost the same as gas to run and are much cheaper to run than oil/lpg and electric storage heaters. Cost to buy would be about £2000, plus I would need to get a hot water tank, immersion, cold tank so all in about £3000. I could then throw away the troublesome oil set up and get rid of the 8mm pipes that I wanted to bury in the wall, that are supposedly prone to silting up and are becoming less easily obtainable.
These electric radiators are apparently made in Spain from material sourced in Italy are described as "state of the art" use 60% less electric than storage heaters (which I have had and hate) and can be run from a standard ring main 13amp socket although I would consider a seperate ring as there is a rewire commencing next week anyway.
Sorry for the longwinded ramble, basically anyone any experience of these radiators which I think are called Royale Radiators.??
TBH it all seems too good to be true but I am willing to consider them.
Tony H
Hmmmm......
Since energy is energy is energy, I can't see how these can be cheaper to run than storage heaters. I can imagine them being more controllable and more convenient, but they appear to not store (I could be wrong) so you're going to use daytime electricity which is dearer than night-time..
As for compared to Gas or Oil, who knows.
Certainly if either of there fuels run out then you'll be laughing... so long as we generate electricity some other way.
Since energy is energy is energy, I can't see how these can be cheaper to run than storage heaters. I can imagine them being more controllable and more convenient, but they appear to not store (I could be wrong) so you're going to use daytime electricity which is dearer than night-time..
As for compared to Gas or Oil, who knows.
Certainly if either of there fuels run out then you'll be laughing... so long as we generate electricity some other way.
The only electrical heater that puts out more energy than it consumes is a heat pump - and every heat pump has a hot and cold part.
Usually one part sits outside and one inside, and you select the way it works so get heating or cooling as required.
All heat pumps of any size have a compressor, although there are small devices used for cooling that employ a Peltier device.
Hence any electric heater that claims to be better than 100% efficient (as good as gas etc) is rubbish. Depending on the layout of your property it may be possible to heat it with heat pumps which use about a quarter of the usual amount of electricity - a good brand 4kW unit should be around a thousand installed - a 6kW say fifteen hundred.
As a heat pump really only works for one room trying to heat a large house is difficult.
At present the best heat pumps available are Mitsubishi Heavy Industry, I put in one or two each week at the moment.
Usually one part sits outside and one inside, and you select the way it works so get heating or cooling as required.
All heat pumps of any size have a compressor, although there are small devices used for cooling that employ a Peltier device.
Hence any electric heater that claims to be better than 100% efficient (as good as gas etc) is rubbish. Depending on the layout of your property it may be possible to heat it with heat pumps which use about a quarter of the usual amount of electricity - a good brand 4kW unit should be around a thousand installed - a 6kW say fifteen hundred.
As a heat pump really only works for one room trying to heat a large house is difficult.
At present the best heat pumps available are Mitsubishi Heavy Industry, I put in one or two each week at the moment.
As Ferg says, energy is energy. Storage heaters load up on cheap leccy but are a pain as you have a baking hot house in the morning and it gets chilly in the evening. Your eversoclever heaters work when you want the heat but use peak rate leccy. It doesn't matter if they're filled with gel, feathers, uranium or haddock fillets - the latent heat of thingy means that the longer something conserves heat, the longer it takes to heat up.
Thanks guys, been following up various reports and as you say, electric heat is electric heat whether its storage heaters, fancy radiators, fan heaters or whatever. So the only saving against other electric products is its versatility in programming etc
Now as a comparison against oil fired boilers and in particular our situation where we need a whole new boiler and tank the instalation costs play a part short term but long term I guess things even out. Just not sure how the price of oil compares with electric.
Did a bit of research on heat pumps, ground source not really a retro fit possibility apparently and air source only works down to a certain outside temp then it cuts out and is more a support system rather than a stand alone one. Happy to be proved wrong there.
Looks like it may be back to oil fired new boiler & tank, re routing pipework inside and outside the house etc
Wish there was gas in the village......
These electric rads seemed so simple to fit/run and cheaper to install.
ps been on the moneysavingexpert site and there is a right old slanging match about these radiators
Now as a comparison against oil fired boilers and in particular our situation where we need a whole new boiler and tank the instalation costs play a part short term but long term I guess things even out. Just not sure how the price of oil compares with electric.
Did a bit of research on heat pumps, ground source not really a retro fit possibility apparently and air source only works down to a certain outside temp then it cuts out and is more a support system rather than a stand alone one. Happy to be proved wrong there.
Looks like it may be back to oil fired new boiler & tank, re routing pipework inside and outside the house etc
Wish there was gas in the village......
These electric rads seemed so simple to fit/run and cheaper to install.
ps been on the moneysavingexpert site and there is a right old slanging match about these radiators
I have Nobo electric radiators. Can't comment on the efficiency vs. others as I didn't have a lot of choice here (no gas, no CH). They were cheap to buy, easy to install, and don't break the bank. They aren't storage heaters, but they are individually thermostated and programmable by day and time (more complex control is possible). So, while they use daytime electricity in theory, they don't do it that often in practice.
Worth a look. http://www.noboheatinguk.com/
Worth a look. http://www.noboheatinguk.com/
grumbledoak said:
I have Nobo electric radiators. Can't comment on the efficiency vs. others as I didn't have a lot of choice here (no gas, no CH). They were cheap to buy, easy to install, and don't break the bank. They aren't storage heaters, but they are individually thermostated and programmable by day and time (more complex control is possible). So, while they use daytime electricity in theory, they don't do it that often in practice.
Worth a look. http://www.noboheatinguk.com/
Thanks, see Nobo are now owned by Dimplex who made the wall heaters in our Highland home. They worked well, or at least much better than the storage heaters in the older part of the house.Worth a look. http://www.noboheatinguk.com/
Spoke to our electrician today, he has no real knowledge of the Economy/Royale ones, and is going to speak to his supplier.
In my own head I think the ones being promoted are not as good as the ads suggest, but may be usefull as an alternative to virtually renewing the oil fired combi. If I knew a way of working out how much oil the system would use to heat the house and the cost I could do a cost comparison against these electric ones however I'm new to the house, and it's now summer so don't need the heating on.....
Got my head in a spin with it all.
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