All Electric Flat

[PeteBrooks48]

Hi,
I live in a 2 bedroom all eletric flat - no gas supply in the building at all. At the moment we have ordinary convector heaters and a huge hot water tank.

We removed the bath, and had an electric shower fitted, so the only hot water we use is to wash hands in the bathroom and the occasional bowl of hot water to wash a few dishes etc. We have a washing machine and dishwasher, but these both run on the cold water feed.

Question ....

Would we be better off installing an electric water heater? At the moment we heat a full tank twice a day and hardly use any.

The radiators - is there anything we can do about these as they are obviously expensive to run. I believe they are all on one ring main, and that storage heaters need separate electric feeds. Sounds like a big, expensive job!

Any advice would be gratefully received.

Cheers,
Pete

 

[ianmcd]

https://www.infraredheatersdirect.co.uk/technotherm-infrared-heaters/

These are far better than storage heaters, the link is just an example , I ma not recommending this make or model in any way, I have one in my extension and love it , they simply plug in to your ring main so a very cheap install, as for your HW requirements a small under sink water heater would do, again not expensive

 

[stem]

Your property will require a certain amount of energy to heat to achieve and maintain a comfortable temperature that suits you. Regardless of what you use to heat it that stays the same.

Having said that, infrared heaters mentioned by ianmcd, are a possible exception to this. Infrared heat is different in that when you are directly in its rays you will feel the heat immediately and so tend to feel warmer than it actually is. It's the principle used by the sun. If you are outside on a cool day, you feel chilly, but when the sun pops out from behind a cloud and its rays reach you, you immediately feel warm, even though the air temperature won't have changed. For this reason, infrared heating is commonly used with badly insulated properties such as old churches, greenhouses, loading bays, and outdoor smoking shelters etc., places that would be impossible to heat to a comfortable temperature as a structure. Because of the way they operate, they don't work well with thermostats which sense the ambient air temperature, so infrared heating is usually switched on and off manually as and when required. I'm not aware of them being used as the sole source of heating for a domestic property though.

I assume that your "hot water tank" and its connecting pipework are well insulated to minimise heat loss. In which case it will retain most of the heat and you will only be replacing what you have taken out of it for "the occasional bowl of hot water to wash a few dishes etc" each day, plus some small heat losses. In the winter, the small amount of heat that does escape through the insulation will add to the heat in your property meaning that the same amount will be saved by the electric room heaters not having to provide it. In the summer when you don't need any heating you might make a very small saving.

Storage heaters are a good way to save on running costs. They will still consume the same amount of electricity to provide the same amount of heat as standard convector heaters, but because they store up heat using an 'off peak tariff' which costs a fraction of the normal rate, they are cheaper to run. This 'off peak tariff' can also be used to heat your water. The downside with storage heaters is that they are quite expensive to buy & do require additional wiring, and they can be a bit difficult to control when the weather is changeable as you have to decide the day before the charge period starts, how much heat you will require the next day.

 

[just pumps]

Had the same as you in my 2 bed place when I moved in, did a bit of research and went for conventional looking rads on brackets screwed to the walls with some water glycol mix inside and you simply plug in to any socket, each one has it`s own thermostat and timer plus override switch.

This was 15yrs back and they are still working well & looking good plus my electric bill is roughly the same as my neighbour with bulky storage heaters. Some have remote control now.

 

[ianmcd]

when you wash your hand in the bathroom , how often does the water actually get hot ? hardly ever , when washing dishes just boile the kettle and pour it in the basin, the old wash the coffee cup under the hot tap brigade have no Idea what that does to a combi boiler ,just think outside the box and if you actually need hot water then boil a kettle

 

[endecotp]

Would we be better off installing an electric water heater? At the moment we heat a full tank twice a day and hardly use any.

How well insulated is the cylinder? If it's well-insulated, the hot water will stay hot; you're not heating a whole tankful from cold each time. The electricity used is just enough to replace the hot water you've actually used and to replace the heat lost through the cylinder insulation.

"Instantaneous" electric water heaters are just like your electric shower. Experiment filling a washing up bowl from your shower. You will probably find it is annoyingly slow.

Keep the cylinder, but upgrade its insulation if necessary.

Storage heaters are the obvious way to heat the rooms, though they are best for houses that are occupied during the day; if you work and need heat primarily in the evening then they're less suitable. Probably still cheaper than your current radiators though.

Personally I'm not a fan of infra-red heaters. Imagine those pub garden heaters that burn the top of your head while your feet freeze...

 

[alan333]

Assuming the hot water tank is well insulated, it won't cost much to 'jag' it back up to temp a couple of times per day.
Look at oil filled radiators. They plug into the same sockets you already have. They take a few minutes to get warm, but the oil inside them stays warm, so although they continue to give off heat they're not using power all the time. Get ones with built in thermostats and timers.
I've live in various properties over the years with storage heaters and they are terrible. They heat up overnight so it's unbearably hot to sleep, then they're still roasting in the morning and most of the day, but by the time you come home at dinner time they're getting cool so the house is cold.

 

[PeteBrooks48]

Thanks guys. Lots of alternatives - will start Googleing!