Electric v Gas combi boilers - whats your verdict

[sean141]

hi there, i live in a 2 bed masionette, around 1960, so quite large rooms, when i moved in it had economy 7 heaters. so have decided to go for a wet central heating system. i've fitted the plumbing and rads and and was just going to get a gas combi-boiler installed. I didnt realise that you could get electric boilers for both hot water and CH, i'm now wondering what peoples views and experiences are regarding how well the electric boilers work/cost against running a gas combi CH system. obviously i i could install the electric one my self, as with the gas, firstly i need a gas connection, then run the pipes through the property, then have the gas boiler installed, connected and commisioned. any view welcome
regards
sean

 

[chrishutt]

Just compare the cost of a kWh of energy from gas and electricity. Even allowing for some inefficiency in the gas boiler and reduced economy 7 or 10 prices for electricity, gas is by far the cheaper fuel.

 

[sean141]

thanks for that, what im after some opinions, either from the trade or people who have had these electric CH boilers installation.

all feedback welcome

 

[kevplumb]

electric CH boilers installation.

post it in the sparks forum then

 

[ACOperson]

Most people know very little about them as they are percieved to be expensive and rubbish.

 

[sean141]

kevplumb. why so negative, obviously i posted it in here because although its electric, its for central heating.

 

[Gasguru]

I suspect few heating engineers have any experience of them, if electric showers are anything to go by, electric boilers will be rubbish as well (ie burnt out connections, poor wire crimping, scaled elements etc).

On the other hand are modern boilers any better

 

[croydoncorgi]

Electric boilers are a perfectly reasonable idea IF electricity is the same price as gas, kilowatt for kilowatt. But it's not!
Also, the only way to get cheaper electricity is to use it off-peak (Economy 7, etc.) But a wet central heating system normally has no heatstore, so nowhere to store heat if you did run the boiler off-peak. Also, if you have a significant heat demand (more than one or 2 radiators / rooms to be heated) you will need a VERY large heatstore to be of any practical use. Such systems DO exist, however. See Gledhill, for example.
Also, remember that an electric boiler is inherently more efficient than a gas boiler - ALL the electricity used will be converted to heat in the water. (Yes - I DO know that there are condensing boilers that have a nominal efficiency greater than 100% - but it's very seldom actually achieved with gas heat. )

 

[Stoday]

In choosing between electricity and gas, you should take the higher gas maintenance costs into account. Also pilot light if your boiler has one.

On the other hand, electricity's only financially viable if you buy off peak, for which you need a large heat store. Something like a tonne (i.e. a cubic meter) of water for a 3kW output.

I have seen this sort of thing. In one of Rothschild's houses.