Gas OR Electric

[SparrowHawk99]

I want some opinions on whether or not to have gas or electric heating for a 2 floor maisonette.

There is no gas supply in the property, and I already paid to have the gas mains and meter put in outside, but now I'm considering having the meter removed and having electric underfloor heating or electric heaters throughout.

It will be a rental property, which is making me think maybe I should have electric everywhere and no gas at all. I was going to have gas only for the central heating and electric hob for cooking. Not sure on any of it now.

I've electric heaters in the basement area, and the place is very very nice and warm once heated. Takes a while to heat from cold which is to be expected

I intend to insulate the walls with thermaline and floors with rockwool and fill any/all holes with foamfix where necessary (I love foam fix ! )

Any advice welcome

?

P.S on energy bills I notice gas is often more expensive than electric

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

As it is rental have electric and make them the easiest and cheapest to maintain ie storage heaters in main rooms and then a couple of panel heaters elsewhere. You are renting it presumably to make money, you may achieve a marginally higher rent yield because it has gas but that will be far outweighed by the costs of installing a whole new system and maintaining gas for ever more. If many of the neighbours are without gas too its not as if the house will be unique in not having gas. Begs the question why you even bothered having a meter /supply installed.

Electric central heating is very expensive to run. Use the money saved to pay a couple of grand off the mortgage.

Think with your wallet!

 

[footprints]

On rental stay electric, no gas certs to worry about, no boiler servicing costs, and electric cookers will give less trouble in rentals. If a gas cooker is not kept clean the ignition system will play up and you will be paying for call outs.

Oh and in case you think I am biased against gas I was a gasfitter for 30 odd years

 

[dishman]

I concur with the two opinions above.

I had the same situation as yourself. A flat, which had a new gas service installed in the complex. I paid to have the supply pipe to my flat but as I am renting it out I decided not to get it installed into the flat at this time.

The flat has modern (circa 2005) storage heaters which are very powerful for the size of flat.

They are built to last and hard for them to go wrong. They do not need any maintenance. Perfect....

Gas....the boiler will need servicing, maintenance, safety certificates. It is more at risk of being fiddled/tampered with and broken. In addition, depending on the construction of your flat, all the pipe work has to be retrofitted in. If you have concrete floors as my flat does, this means all pipe-work has to be boxed in above floor level...not pretty.....

So for rental....electric all the way....nothing fancy...I vote for storage heaters.

One thing I would point out....many people who rent never learn how to use storage heaters properly and efficiently....this is the cause of many of issues and misconception that they are rubbish.

So if you get them, either leave the manufacturer instructions, or if they are not clear, write your own.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

P.S on energy bills I notice gas is often more expensive than electric

Only on Jersey.

Everywhere else it's a fraction of the price.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

One thing I would point out....many people who rent never learn how to use storage heaters properly and efficiently

Pray tell us then, how do you use them properly and efficiently if you're out at work all day long, may not know what time you'll be home, nor know particularly well what the outside temperature will be?

this is the cause of many of issues and misconception that they are rubbish

It's not a misconception.


All of you above should ask yourself one simple question - would you rather have electric storage heaters than gas CH for your own house?

 

[JohnD]

Tenants who can't find anything better often have to make do with a home fitted with storage heaters.

They will be out as soon as they can, unless they are the sort of tenant nobody wants.

 

[dishman]

I did not say they were perfect by any means. Nor are they suitable for every situation but the question was regarding a flat.

Yes, the downside is.....they require a bit of planning to use.
Looking at the weather...using the correct output settings or using the evening release setting if your model has it. Not putting them on full input and full out put all the time.

I lived my flat for many years and I found them quite efficient!

It is a misconception that they are rubbish, it all depends on the situation. They may not be the most convenient heating option, but that does not mean they are rubbish!

As I said it all depends on the situation. If we were talking about a very large flat or a semi detached house then GCH would probably be the best option. That does not mean it is the best option all the time!

My flat is quite small, well insulated and retains a lot of its heat. Why would I get rid of a perfectly adequate heating solution that is only really needed in winter (when the flat can be gently heated all day)!

"forcing them on your tenants" !?!?

You make it sound like we left tenants cold in the depths of winter, or just gave them a fan heater to get by! At least there is a good heating solution that works!!!!

It is a perfectly sound and safe solution. I would much rather that then the many landlords who do not adequately service and repair boilers quickly for their tenants nor those who even get the adequate safety checks and put lives at risk!!!

 

[JohnD]

Nobody has asked for "perfection".

Quite apart from the fact that storage heaters are charged up at night, and give out their heat the following day, even if you are not at home to enjoy it, so the heat is mostly wasted before you get home in the evening, we have to remember that energy from electricity costs much more than energy from gas. At standard tariffs, it costs about three times as much. If you have an "economy" off-peak tariff, you might average out at about double.

You say they need "planning." What you mean is that you have to know on Monday how cold Tuesday evening will be, and change the input setting accordingly. Perhaps "guessing" would be a better word.

You say "They may not be the most convenient heating option." It would be more accurate to say that they are the LEAST convenient option, as well as being expensive. The unfortunate tenant will probably have to top-up the heating in winter at peak-rate electricity prices.

Most tenants know, or quickly learn, how awful storage heaters are, and avoid homes which rely on them. Some tenants are so unfortunate that they end up in such homes until they are able to move somewhere better.

 

[dishman]

I disagree. Lived there for years...not a problem. My flat is in a lovely block in a nice area. My tenant has been there for two years and loves it...no problems with the heating.

You seem to equate storage heaters with sub-standard properties which only attract long term undesirable tenants or people who can't afford to move?!! Complete nonsense.

I have seen plenty of brand new high end luxury flats equipped with modern storage heaters and they work great.

The fact is that GCH is not appropriate for every situation nor are storage heaters. But they both have their place.

The fact my flat is small, requires little heating lends itself perfectly to such a solution.

If and when the situation changes I will consider alternatives, which is why I paid to have a supply pipe ready just in case. But for now I have no complaints and they are a very good solution.

 

[SparrowHawk99]

Thanks everyone for the dialogue , it's helping me.

To clarify this is a three bedroom terraced property.

The basement is a one bedroom flat, with en suite, kitchen/dining room. There are two panel heaters, which provide enough heat.

The heating for the maisonette above is what I want advice on. It's a two floor maisonette. Ground floor is lounge/dining room. First floor contains two bedrooms.

I'm going to insulate everything I can, it's still a toss up between gas/electric. Not to late for me to have the meter removed as there's no gas supply pipe coming through the property, which I would need to have done. I've paid for the supply to the meter but in the long term that's added a bit of value to the property I reckon even if I don't use it

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Tenants who can't find anything better often have to make do with a home fitted with storage heaters.

They will be out as soon as they can, unless they are the sort of tenant nobody wants.

You know little of renting JohnD.

 

[JohnD]

I frequently hear tenants moaning how awful storage heaters are, and expensive to run.

I frequently hear tenants who have previously suffered them vowing never to repeat the experience.

 

[footprints]

Leave the gas meter in when you come to sell it will help to have that option.

As a landlord you are looking for the option that will cause you the least problems and while I would prefer gas myself electric is the least troublesome option.

On the subject of tenants moving out it's the nature of the beast many good renters often do not want to put down roots and will move on quickly anyway. The exception is the bad one you just cannot get rid of, they ain't going to look after your gas appliances and chances are you will have trouble getting access for servicing.

I have had a couple of rentals both had gas heating and I had the costs incurred by that, but I went with electric cookers. I have had two good tenants in both but even though we had a good relationship with them and they were happy there none stay more than a couple of years.

One bought a flat in the same block, another wanted a bigger flat, one had to move away because of a sick parent and the current ones are also now buying their own house.

 

[OwainDIYer]

I would encourage gas, even though the landlord's running costs are a bit higher, if the property is anything above 'minimum spec'. It will be more attractive to most tenants.

You won't get a good shower from a vented hot water system or electric (10kW) shower. Good showers are important to 'working professonals' who have to be out in the morning quickly and don't want to wait for the cylinder to reheat. With, presumably, 1 bathroom shared between 2 bedrooms, a combi will handle 1 shower well, be adequate for a bath, no reheating time, and won't take up a cupboard.

Mains pressure cylinder or thermal store are expensive to buy and mains pressure needs annual servicing too.

Combi boilers are very competitively priced.

Storage heaters and panel heaters can be a fire hazard too as people try and dry clothes on them.

Electric cooker though.