Electric central heating

[Liz]

With the price of smokeless fuel up to nearly £15 a bag today I am really going to have to look for an alternative form of heating.

I was thinking of oil but wondered whether electric is okay and how much it costs to run?

Any advice most welcome!

[paris]

Hi Lizz,
Have you not got a builders near you that could give you all their scrap wood for burning? thats what we do and as long as we collect it we can have as much as we want. And its all free heating. jan x

[craig]

Hi Liz, I once worked that out, storage heating that is with the megaflo boiler like EAGA replace for the elderly, 3 full size storage heaters and the bolier use about £15/£25 a week depending on the time of year , but many dont use them right or set them wrong so they end up thinking there really expensive, also depends what tarrif the electric company put you on, for example hydro electric seem to have about 15/20 different tariffs, the tariff you end up on after eaga have fitted new heating is you pay about half the price per kw/h for the storage heaters/megaflo hot water and any convector or fan heaters they install, also an electric shower if you have one, the catch ? you pay twice as much for the rest of your electricity, so energy saving light bulbs for starters

[Hibeechick]

Hi Liz, I once worked that out, storage heating that is with the megaflo boiler like EAGA replace for the elderly, 3 full size storage heaters and the bolier use about £15/£25 a week depending on the time of year , but many dont use them right or set them wrong so they end up thinking there really expensive, also depends what tarrif the electric company put you on, for example hydro electric seem to have about 15/20 different tariffs, the tariff you end up on after eaga have fitted new heating is you pay about half the price per kw/h for the storage heaters/megaflo hot water and any convector or fan heaters they install, also an electric shower if you have one, the catch ? you pay twice as much for the rest of your electricity, so energy saving light bulbs for starters

You can come round and set my storage heaters then, dont think mine are set right! I only have two turned on and I seem to be paying a fortune

[NickInTheNorth]

Hi Liz

Electric central heating is something I am currently investigating as an alternative to my current oil fired heating system.

These two threads http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/...ht=wet+storage

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/....html?t=455293

give some good info. But are quite long winded.

I guess the summary would say Gas is the cheapest, if gas isn't an option then electric storage heaters are possibly the cheapest, but very much dependent on your own requirements for heating and the tariff you choose. For some a "wet" electric system may be better, either a traditionally plumbed system or plug-in radiators.

Lots of good links in the referenced threads.

[Liz]

Thanks a lot everyone! Really appreciate the advice.

Paris we can't burn wood I'm afraid.

Craig do you have storage heating then and, if so, how much does it cost in the winter and is your house warm?

Nick I would be ever so grateful if you could let me know how you get on with your enquiries re electric central heating please?

Would electric heating be less upheaval to install than oil?