Going All Electric?

[Racing roadkill]

Blimey you saved more each year than my combined bill on this reasonable sized detached house, was it a huge mansion?

I mis typed that, it was 1500 quid over 5 years, which averages at 300 a year.

 

[swansonj]

We lived in an all electric house, admittedly they were the old style storage heaters and the hot water was by way of an emersion heater, I wouldn't go back by choice.
It cost a fortune. The house wasn't as warm as with gas central heating. And you're left freezing if there's a power cut.

Ummm. If you are relying on gas central heating, won't you also be left freezing if there's a power cut? We have retained a stand alone gas fire partly with that in mind.

 

[User33236]

Having lived in an electric only property many years ago I walked away from a property I viewed recently as gas wasn’t available.

Cooking with an electric hob is horrible compared to gas. It’s improved with induction but it’s still not quite there imho. I’d also have to change my set of expensive pans to be able to use it.

A gas installation with appropriate controls can be set to have each room at individual temperatures too.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

Having lived in an electric only property many years ago I walked away from a property I viewed recently as gas wasn’t available.

Cooking with an electric hob is horrible compared to gas. It’s improved with induction but it’s still not quite there imho. I’d also have to change my set of expensive pans to be able to use it.

A gas installation with appropriate controls can be set to have each room at individual temperatures too.

Is compatibility with your saucepans the number one house suitability priority?

 

[MacB]

Thanks for the various feedback, on some levels I agree with the naysayers - if we were still talking about the sort of tech and storage heating available years ago, I wouldn't contemplate that either. Oh and I hate cooking by gas, I've cooked electric only for years and find a gas hob, which I currently have, far less pleasing to use. I don't have any expensive pans to worry about, updating to induction ready wouldn't be hard or expensive.

I've been doing some research but it's confusing, looking at electric heating systems feels a bit like looking at double glazing. I suppose I was kind of hoping someone had real world experience of any of these super duper new electric options they all trumpet. If they all trumpetted the same I could follow it more easily but they seem to be championing different things.

 

[annedonnelly]

I have an air source heat pump, plus solar PV and solar hot water. Absolutely no problems with any of it. I got new aluminium radiators when the heat pump was put in.

I still have a gas cooker so I had to find a gas tarrif that doesn't include a standing charge. I got a bill today and my yearly bill is expected to be £16

Insulation!! Don't waste money on new heating systems until the house is properly insulated.

 

[presta]

I mis typed that, it was 1500 quid over 5 years, which averages at 300 a year.

I don't see how you managed that, are you comparing like with like? On the years that I've heated with electricity the bill has been about the same, but for heating just one room instead of the whole house.

Oh and I hate cooking by gas, I've cooked electric only for years and find a gas hob, which I currently have, far less pleasing to use.

Me too. The problem with gas burners is that they produce a ring of heat round the outside and a cool spot in the middle. The pan supports are usually rickety and unstable, too. Lastly, you're not allowed to repair gas appliances yourself.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

I have an air source heat pump, plus solar PV and solar hot water. Absolutely no problems with any of it. I got new aluminium radiators when the heat pump was put in.

I still have a gas cooker so I had to find a gas tarrif that doesn't include a standing charge. I got a bill today and my yearly bill is expected to be £16

Insulation!! Don't waste money on new heating systems until the house is properly insulated.

Yeah I was told the first three things you need to take care of are insulation, insulation and insulation.

 

[MacB]

Yeah I was told the first three things you need to take care of are insulation, insulation and insulation.

Agree with both of you on the insulation but this isn't a 'the house is cold let's upgrade the heating' scenario. It's more of a remodel to include new/moved gas boiler, meter, rads and pipes. As the remodel will also include a full rewire I just got to thinking about comparisons, both upfront costs and running costs.

 

[BurningLegs]

It sounds like you’re planning a pretty major refurb! Have you considered going for underfloor heating at all? If you go for a heat pump then the underfloor option would be a perfect fit.

The upfront costs are high but they are very cheap to run, especially if you will also be getting solar panels! That would be my dream home setup - no ugly radiators hanging on the walls and warm floors all through winter, lovely!

 

[green1]

Having lived in an electric only property many years ago I walked away from a property I viewed recently as gas wasn’t available.

Cooking with an electric hob is horrible compared to gas. It’s improved with induction but it’s still not quite there imho. I’d also have to change my set of expensive pans to be able to use it.

A gas installation with appropriate controls can be set to have each room at individual temperatures too.

There are those red gas bottle looking things full of propane you can plumb in for gas hobs. That's the root I'm going down for the house I'm currently building.

 

[User33236]

Is compatibility with your saucepans the number one house suitability priority?

Nope but my experience has been that an all electric house was harder and more expensive to run compared to mixed fuel use. One example I found was immersion heaters as opposed to on demand with a combination boiler thus only heating water I wanted and not a whole tank.

Adding in the cost of replacing all the cookware simply burns more money needlessly.

 

[Sandra6]

Ummm. If you are relying on gas central heating, won't you also be left freezing if there's a power cut? We have retained a stand alone gas fire partly with that in mind.

With storage heaters they only warm up over night, so if the power goes off they don't come on until the following day. With gas, as soon as the power's back on you can put the heating on. Most houses have a gas fire too don't they? Although saying that, ours doesn't.

 

[User33236]

With storage heaters they only warm up over night, so if the power goes off they don't come on until the following day. With gas, as soon as the power's back on you can put the heating on. Most houses have a gas fire too don't they? Although saying that, ours doesn't.

Most storage heaters have a boost function that can be used during the day. Downside is it uses the higher tariff.

 

[Crackle]

I presume these are oil filled stuff rather than storage heaters, storage heaters give you yesterdays temperature needs today.