Electric Central Heating Boilers?

[twowheelsbest]

We are going to have to replace our ageing Gas boiler (no, I dont mean Mrs Twowheels) very soon, and are giving consideration to having one of the new generation electric boilers. Has anyone got experience of these? Would like to know about running costs, efficiency etc

 

[Triggaaar]

What? Bizarre idea.

 

[Notters]

What? Bizarre idea.

Not that bizarre given that were going to run out of gas in the next 30 years.

 

[Ludensian Gull]

We had a wet electric central heating system when living in the wilds of Scotland, to be honest I'm not sure what type of boiler we had as we were renting so was already in place. All I do know is that the bit of kit we had was huge and was in the basement. We found it so expensive to run that we turned it off after afew months and made do with the 2 coal fires, even they cost us £45 a week in fuel.. Typically the electricity bill was £600/800 per quarter..

 

[portslade seagull]

Not that bizarre given that were going to run out of gas in the next 30 years.

Buying a new bungalow soon. Has an old back boiler and copper cylinder. Would be interested with regards to the Electric Boilers

 

[Triggaaar]

Not that bizarre given that were going to run out of gas in the next 30 years.

Nah.

Even if that was true, why would you want an overly expensive solution for the next 30 years, when you already have a gas supply?

 

[ropey9]

Electric heating is mega money, if you have the space / inclination and money then a bio-mass boiler is the way to go. It's unlikely that there will be a long term cost effective solution that will work out cheaper then gas at present

 

[Justice]

I was looking at them recently running power consumption between 3k-15k you would need a second mortgage to pay the bill, equivalent to seven kettles running at full power.

 

[Dick Swiveller]

We have all electric heating and it costs about the same as our old gas boiler. Our old boiler was gravity fed and when it died, it would have meant ripping the kitchen out for new pipework as it was in a cupboard which didn't meet modern regs. Initial estimates were £6000 before making good the kitchen. Because my dad is in the trade, we got Rointe radiators and a water heater for around £3000 but that was substantial discount. The radiators are fine and individually programmable. You don't get the same type of warmth as you do with gas as you are heating individual rooms but we are never cold. The hot water tank is only on for about 4 hours a day as it turns itself off and on as well as running on a stat and you always have hot water on demand at relatively low cost (well, you do if your cutout doesn't keep activating like mine has started to.)

I am more than happy - especially as I don't need boiler cover which is you have the top British Gas one is, I think £30 a month. Our 3 bed semi costs us an average of £90-100 a month which is pretty much what we used to pay for gas and electric. Prices going up offset by getting cavity wall insulation I would guess. And if one part goes wrong, you replace just that part. Not always worrying about the boiler going and everything packing up. Downside is you don't get such good deals for electric only as you do for dual fuel. And Rointe aren't the most reliable brand as my water heater is playing up and needed a new stat and the LED screens on a couple of the radiators are knackered.

Not sure if this is the setup you were asking about but hopefully gives you an idea.

 

[NooBHA]

Buying a new bungalow soon. Has an old back boiler and copper cylinder. Would be interested with regards to the Electric Boilers

I have just bought a new apartment and the building has no gas going into the building. I am shitting myself because I hear all the horror stories about Electric Heating being so costly. Not that it will be unaffordable, its just that I hate companies which take the piss when it comes to such things when others do it cheaper.

Someone suggested to me that. If you go to a provider who historically sold gas then they tend to use and offer better tariffs for electric and they do so to get customers in. And visa versa that companies which historically provided electricity, you should go to them for the gas for the same reason. Any truth in this theory because I don't want to be chopping and changing every 6 months or so.

 

[twowheelsbest]

We have all electric heating and it costs about the same as our old gas boiler. Our old boiler was gravity fed and when it died, it would have meant ripping the kitchen out for new pipework as it was in a cupboard which didn't meet modern regs. Initial estimates were £6000 before making good the kitchen. Because my dad is in the trade, we got Rointe radiators and a water heater for around £3000 but that was substantial discount. The radiators are fine and individually programmable. You don't get the same type of warmth as you do with gas as you are heating individual rooms but we are never cold. The hot water tank is only on for about 4 hours a day as it turns itself off and on as well as running on a stat and you always have hot water on demand at relatively low cost (well, you do if your cutout doesn't keep activating like mine has started to.)

I am more than happy - especially as I don't need boiler cover which is you have the top British Gas one is, I think £30 a month. Our 3 bed semi costs us an average of £90-100 a month which is pretty much what we used to pay for gas and electric. Prices going up offset by getting cavity wall insulation I would guess. And if one part goes wrong, you replace just that part. Not always worrying about the boiler going and everything packing up. Downside is you don't get such good deals for electric only as you do for dual fuel. And Rointe aren't the most reliable brand as my water heater is playing up and needed a new stat and the LED screens on a couple of the radiators are knackered.

Not sure if this is the setup you were asking about but hopefully gives you an idea.

Very helpful, thanks for taking the effort to post

 

[beorhthelm]

Not that bizarre given that were going to run out of gas in the next 30 years.

oh, did you mean that? fracking means there's zero chance of running out of gas in the next few centuries.

 

[kjgood]

Not that bizarre given that were going to run out of gas in the next 30 years.

Phew, minor panic over, thank Christ its 30 years before gas runs out. I had a new gas boiler fitted just after Christmas that has a useful life expectancy of 8-10 years, so at 61 years old if i live long enough I should be able to replace it twice more before I need to move to an electric boiler fuelled by gas powered generating stations. OH!

 

[Thunder Bolt]

I have just bought a new apartment and the building has no gas going into the building. I am shitting myself because I hear all the horror stories about Electric Heating being so costly. Not that it will be unaffordable, its just that I hate companies which take the piss when it comes to such things when others do it cheaper.

Someone suggested to me that. If you go to a provider who historically sold gas then they tend to use and offer better tariffs for electric and they do so to get customers in. And visa versa that companies which historically provided electricity, you should go to them for the gas for the same reason. Any truth in this theory because I don't want to be chopping and changing every 6 months or so.

No. Go to Money Saving Expert or Uswitch to do comparisons and get the best deal. You don't have to swap every 6 months, but check it once a year, in the same way you would consider car insurance. It's simple to change.

 

[SIMMO SAYS]

This thread should be on the Lettuce Tread