We have a period Cottage in North Yorkshire that we will be retiring to in a few years. It has solid fuel central heating. We had been thinking of going to oil but the cost and the hassle (and tank) are putting us off.

A friend has suggested using electric central heating and the idea appeals. Any thoughts?

I would see what other people in the area are using. Electric is clean and easy to use, but another option would be LPG, unless you don't like those tanks either

I disagree that electric heating is easy to use - it is a VERY expensive way to heat any property therefore the most economical heat-source must be used, i.e. electric storage heating, and these are far from 'easy' when you consider they have to be heated up overnight in order to heat the property the following day.

Guessing what the weather will do is tricky at the best of times so waking up to a hot day and realising the stoarage heaters have been 'charging' overnight can be murder...

I have always worked on the theory that you would NEVER have electric heating unless there was no other choice. Is it possible to get an indication from people who you know have storage heaters as to what they cost to install, maintain, and run? You then need to compare it to the installation and cost of oil, although what oil will 'cost' you in terms of time spent dealing with etc is a personal matter which only you can put a figure on.

No, I definitely don't want electric storage heaters. They were replaced years ago before we bought the property. What I was thinking about was an electric boiler to fire the central heating (we already have it running off solid fuel on a back boiler) I know a few years ago this was expensive to run but with oil and gas getting more expensive and with electricity being a renewable resource I want to look at the possibility of using it.

We did use it in Canada in the early 90s for central heating and found it expensive but easy to use.

Hi

Well i was always told that electric will never be a cheaper form of heating for this reason: gas and oil is burnt in your home, thus making heat in the place where required.

Electricity require gas/fuel (heat) to power the generators, thus heat is (in its simplist form) used to make electricty which is delivered to your home......when you then plug heaters in to make heat in the room. IE two heating process for electricity and one for gas.

I think this theory is correct if not overly basic.

Actually it depends on how electricity is made. If it is made by wind, nuclear power or hydro it is very efficient and renewable. Producing it in by burning coal or oil is rather old fashioned although we still do it a bit in England but this way of generating electricity isn't good nor renewable so wind, nuclear power and hydro are to be preferred.

True.

Wind turbines are not very efficient though are they. They are currently putting up 26 enormous turbines in our area, which are only going to provide power for 30,000 homes.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2005/oct/28/greenpolitics.renewableenergy

Avro there was a previous thread on wet electric heating a few years ago, I tried to find it but it seems to have been culled.

That's the building site twixt Rye & Ashford that I asked you about aaages ago!!

Oh yes of course - I remember now. These things are pretty monstrous, visible from a very long distance.

And Romney Marsh is such a hauntingly beautiful place.

well... it was....

I believe the electric wet system is only any good in a very insulated home. You can ask your electric supplier for an economy 10 meter, which is the best way to use one of these boilers. You will benefit most from this if you are in during the day. Times vary, but roughly you get from 7.30 - 10.30, 13.00 - 16.00 and 20.30 - 00.30, the advantage though is all your electric goes through at the cheap rate during these times. So this is when to use your washing machine, have your showers etc.

The electric wet system does have a good reputation for being easy to use & hassel free, also the boilers are easily maintained and small. Most housing associations install them in new build homes.

I hope this helps, good luck.

A friend of ours is working on her doctorate in eco friendly home building and she mentioned that our type of home C18 (17 inch thick stone walls) is well suited to all day heating which is what we will require when we retire in 2013. I think wet electric heating looks very attractive and I will take a look at the air source heat pump system too.

The other option may be to stick with solid fuel and have a look at fuel pellets.

I saw an add in a trade publication today, for an electric combi boiler.
They aren't cheap at around £2,300 for one in the mid range, but they are reckoned to be very efficient.

Google " Thermaflow "

quote:

Originally posted by avro:
A friend of ours is working on her doctorate in eco friendly home building and she mentioned that our type of home C18 (17 inch thick stone walls) is well suited to all day heating which is what we will require when we retire in 2013. I think wet electric heating looks very attractive and I will take a look at the air source heat pump system too.

The other option may be to stick with solid fuel and have a look at fuel pellets.

Have a look on the Dick Strawbridge website - he installed a 'whole house ventilation system' in his cottage in Cornwall. It uses heat exchangers in much the same way as the heat pump system so heat from one room is pumped round the house.