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Electric central heating boiler

8 years ago

My gas boiler will likely need replacing at some point. An electric boiler offers an alternative to burning fossil fuels.
Does anyone have any experience of them?
Are they a similar size to gas boilers? Do they need a flue? How do the acquisition, installation and running costs compare?
Thank you for any insight.

Comments (5)

Victoria
8 years ago
What about an air source heat pump?
Jonathan thanked Victoria
Jonathan
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
I think an air source heat pump sounds like another great idea. Thanks.
Does anyone have any experience of these.
Specifically I am after an idea of how the acquisition, fitting and running costs compare with a conventional gas boiler.
Also is the compressor outside noisy like an air conditioner?
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I looked into air source heat pumps for a house that I didn’t buy in the end. I concluded that if a gas boiler is possible then it’s initially an easier and cheaper option but an ASHP is a better option long term because although there is a higher acquisition and installation cost the grants reimburse this and long term the running costs will be much less than oil. Grants pay out for 7 years- most people claim to have clawed back the set up costs after 5/6 years and then enjoying lower fuel bills are much better off. There are a couple of things to bare in mind- that the initial cost is high, that the grants reimburse people without gas better than those with gas, to get a grant you have to have a wet system which means radiators or wet under floor heating (so you can’t have a hot air system as they would have in lots of other cold countries). You would lose a bill for oil but gain a bigger electricity bill..... overall it will be cheaper by some margin. You might have to upgrade your electrical fuse board. People who have an ASHP complain that it doesn’t get radiators as hot as a conventional boiler which means that they have upgraded radiators too which is an extra cost although possibly one you would be considering if the whole system is old (it does seem that you can get new and smaller radiators that give out more heat than a big old one). You need to have somewhere for the ASHP outside (they are about the size of a fridge). And lastly it seemed to me that an ASHP provides hot water at a lower temperature than a conventional boiler which is why so many people also put panels on their roof in order to offset the cost of boosting the hot water- again this is an extra acquisition cost. My research is now a year old and possibly out of date so if you like the idea of an ASHP you need to find an engineer who specialising in this type of installation to talk you through how it would work for your house.
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Victoria
8 years ago
I believe they are noisy. Air source heat pumps are much cheaper to install than ground source. Apparently they make noise about same volume as a washing machine but that is outside.
Jonathan
Original Author
8 years ago
my neighbours are close so if noisy then probably not the best option.....interesting I found an aunt has one and she doesn't think it heats the house sufficiently so I am back to exploring the electric boiler idea..... my research suggests that I may have to have more than one in tandem plus a separate tank to deliver the same output of a gas boiler. This means that the purchase price is a shade higher than a gas boiler and I assume that the installation is more expensive.

Does anyone have one....how do the running costs compare?
Jonathan
Original Author
8 years ago
Any insight from the lovely Houzzers?

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