Central Heating v Storage Heaters

[david76]

I currently have 1980's dimplex storage heaters installed into my 2 bedroom, end terraced home, which are not very good, heat wise. However, they are cheap to run, maintain and are energy efficient.

I want to upgrade my heating system and the natural choice is gas central heating.

However, does anybody have any opinions on central heating versus new storage heater?

 

[nickso]

why do you think they are energy efficient if they are not giving you much heat?....not taking the **** but its an odd statement

 

[JohnD]

Electric heating is always more expensive to run, even if on "cheap rate."

The installation costs of GCH are higher (which is why cheap renovations often put in storage heaters).

Storage heaters have an additional disadvantage, you have to fill them up the night before. Sometimes it is not as cold the next day as you were expecting.

Worse still, they give out most of their heat during the day. If you are retired or have small children and are at home all day this is OK. However if you are out all day, for example at work, they use most of the energy making the house warm when you are not there to appreciate it, and by evening the house is getting cold again

p.s. sometimes people say electrical heating is energy efficient. However this is untrue. Instead of burning gas in your house to make it warm, the generating company burns it in a power station, making the usual gases and losing heat up its big chimney, uses it to make steam which drive big generators, losing more heat and energy in the process; transports it to your house, losing more energy from cables and transformers during distribution, then delivers the electricity to your house where you turn it back into heat.

 

[david76]

I agree, what I meant is that storage heaters are clean, safe, reliable and economical.

Well at least new ones would be..........

 

[kevplumb]

storage heaters are good in a well insulated draught free house

other than that IMHO they don't cut it

 

[david76]

A few years ago I would have agreed about the electricity costing more then gas or oil, but now I am not so sure....

The government’s only choice for the future is to build more nuclear power stations. Where as the demand for gas and oil seems to be greater then the supply. In other words gas and oil prices are going to go up and up.

Also, I have compared my house with my neighbours, who have dual fuel and my electricity in total is less then there combined fuel total.

 

[david76]

OK, We seem to be swaying towards GCH...

This is probably difficult or impossible to answer, but can anyone give me a ballpark figure for the installation of GCH in a two bedroom, end terraced house, with a gas supply not connected to the house, but in the road outside?

 

[kevplumb]

have a word with the gas supplier first fella

and be seated when they give you the price

 

[david76]

LOL, sounds like a re-mortgage job.

Is it best to go to British Gas when trying to find out info about the gas supply?

I live on a relatively large housing estate and loads of the houses around have GCH. So their maybe a chance that the house has a connection, but maybe I just do not know about it.

 

[nickso]

Also, I have compared my house with my neighbours, who have dual fuel and my electricity in total is less then there combined fuel total.

is their house warm?? you have already admitted yours isnt.

Is it best to go to British Gas when trying to find out info about the gas supply?

its transco who will be ripping you off for this part of the install.

So their maybe a chance that the house has a connection, but maybe I just do not know about it.

more likely to be in the street but not in your property possibly high hence the price to connect. they will dig up the street and your garden.

 

[Slugbabydotcom]

The government’s only choice for the future is to build more nuclear power stations. Where as the demand for gas and oil seems to be greater then the supply. In other words gas and oil prices are going to go up and up.

Wait for the fun we will have in 2016 when all new builds will NOT have a gas supply.

 

[namsag]

Why is that then slug.

 

[Slugbabydotcom]

The idea is to get all new build houses carbon neutral. It will be solar panels. wind generators and ground and air source heat pumps from then on.
A rated houses and all that