Electric boilers

[Chris T]

Pardon the Peacheyesque thread title - this is actually a serious question!

I've been researching ways of modernising the central heating system at our new house. We are currently heated by an open fire in the living room, which feeds a backboiler and in turn the radiators and hot water. This is effectively cost free, so long as I can chop enough wood to keep the thing going. However, it doesn't allow us to get up to a warm house in the morning, or go out during the day and come home without finding things have become a little cool. This is only a problem when it's particularly cold outside, but winter is coming and I am now living in the Highlands. Last weekend was very chilly!

So, to the point: I have three realistic options. Oil or LPG (both in a tank in the back garden) or electric. Once upon a time, electric meant storage heaters, but now the best option seems to be a 'wet boiler', which heats a radiator system just the same as gas would.

I want to go for electric, to avoid the cost and hassle of getting a tank installed (planning permission, excavation, pouring a concrete plinth, feeder pipes, etc....

Does anybody here have any experience of wet electric central heating? Pitfalls? Good/bad boiler brands?

Come on CF, don't let me down!

[STONEISLAND]

http://www.practicalhelp.org.uk/hous...=1&topic_id=38

This may help.

[Chris T]

Originally Posted by skunk4u

http://www.practicalhelp.org.uk/hous...=1&topic_id=38

This may help.

Great minds think alike I actually read that page this morning (in fact I phoned one of the people who left their number in their post, and he was most helpful). Have a rep anyway.

What I'm after now is first-hand experience of using these things, if anyone here has it.

Wet electic heating is expensive to run, however it is responsive. Must admit i think the pain of getting the oil tank installed etc will be better in the long run

[STONEISLAND]

Storage heaters are a nightmare so dont even think about getting them, I have them and they are no good at all. No control what so ever.

Being honest never heard of "wet electric central heating"

Just know about the above site.

[Chris T]

Originally Posted by gary_580

Wet electic heating is expensive to run, however it is responsive. Must admit i think the pain of getting the oil tank installed etc will be better in the long run

That's what I thought. However this:



...suggests otherwise. It's 2 years out of date and oil has only become more expensive since then. One apparent advantage I have discovered this morning is the Scottish Hydro Economy 10 tariff, designed for wet electric, allowing you to run these things for less than 4p/unit between 0430 and 0730, 1330 and 1630, and 2030 and 0030. The other advantage of the E10 tariff is it is whole-house. Everything you use between those hours is at the lower rate.

*apparently!*

incidentally, the tariff comparison is E7 in the above graphic, but Amptec is a wet electric boiler.

[swoop101]

I remember that my gran used to pile loads of 'slack' (coal dust) on top of the fire when going to bed, so that it kept going very slowly overnight and kept the water warm.

I have seen auto feeders for solid fuel fires,(on discovery channel) but I can't find them (might have been for the US only).

[Chris T]

Originally Posted by swoop101

I remember that my gran used to pile loads of 'slack' (coal dust) on top of the fire when going to bed, so that it kept going very slowly overnight and kept the water warm.

I have seen auto feeders for solid fuel fires,(on discovery channel) but I can't find them (might have been for the US only).

Yep, I've had that recommended to me as a way of keeping the fire burning. The only problem is, if I'm going to buy coal (instead of using wood, which is free until the huge pile outside the house is used up), then I have to compare the cost with other fuels, and coal is expensive (Anthracite, on the grpahic in my previous post, is a smokeless coal).

I remember British Coal advertising auto-feeders way back when. But I don't have a coal-fired boiler as such; it's a back-boiler integrated into the chimney of the fire in the lounge. I don't think I could get a feeder installed (even if I particularly wanted to!)

[swoop101]

well I know that she used wood in the day, so you might be able to limit the cost.

[Salu]

What about underfloor heating?

[altis]

I remember hearing over 20 years ago of someone who worked for one of the electricity boards. He had a well-insulated 500-gallon fuel tank full of water behind his house. At night it was heated by off-peak electricity and during the day it circulated through the radiators. My second-hand information suggests that it worked okay. Sounds like the same kinda idea.

This place might help too:
http://www.est.org.uk/

[skyblueheroes]

A new combi ?

Originally Posted by Chris T

That's what I thought. However this:



...suggests otherwise. It's 2 years out of date and oil has only become more expensive since then. One apparent advantage I have discovered this morning is the Scottish Hydro Economy 10 tariff, designed for wet electric, allowing you to run these things for less than 4p/unit between 0430 and 0730, 1330 and 1630, and 2030 and 0030. The other advantage of the E10 tariff is it is whole-house. Everything you use between those hours is at the lower rate.

*apparently!*

incidentally, the tariff comparison is E7 in the above graphic, but Amptec is a wet electric boiler.

electricity has gone up a lot recently as well. Also consider why its using E7 electricty? What assumptions did they make as E7 might not be applicable, i certainly dont have my heating on when im in bed asleep. I asssume they heat water at night in that example?

[Chris T]

Originally Posted by gary_580

electricity has gone up a lot recently as well. Also consider why its using E7 electricty? What assumptions did they make as E7 might not be applicable, i certainly dont have my heating on when im in bed asleep. I asssume they heat water at night in that example?

I know it's not perfect. In fact, Economy 10 has only been around for a year or so, apparently due to pressure from maufacturers of wet boilers (well, that's what the sales bloke from one of the manufacturers has just told me!). The off-peak hours in E10 are 0430 to 0730, 1330 to 1630 and 2030 to 0030. If anything, that's a whole lot better than E7.

[SMHarman]

I would imagine that the cost is also very much driven by the rest of the system. Our new (well 2 yr old) Megaflow has reduced our heating bills by being so well insulated (the outside is almost room temperature to touch) and having a double helix convection system inside the tank. I would imagine whatever is used to heat that tank will result in a cheaper bill due to the insulation and speed of heat reacharge.

Have you thought of suplimenting your CH with electric UFH. Devi or similar, I don't know what works you might be planning on this property, but this would certainly take the chill off, keep your toes warm and as the heat rises is an effective method of heating, the wall control units can be programmed to operate during the E10 times maximising it's cost effectiveness.