We are looking at buying a house which has an odd heating system.
It looks like normal central heating with radiators, but there is no gas, only electric. The house is about 14 years old and apparently there is no gas in that area.
The agent said she understood that the system heated the water by electric and it was pumped around the radiators, but in her experience the systems were not that good and other houses she had sold there had removed the system and replaced with something else like storage heaters.
House in question has been empty for a year and is very unloved. Being sold by a "company" but the agent didn't know who or why. I suspect its a repossession, but as its empty all the services have been disconnected and the heating drained so no way of knowing if it works.
Anyway, I'm assuming it would need new heating, so whats the options these days for an electric only property?
|
When we lived in our last house it also has no gas. It was oil heating, or others in the village used lpg/propane. Electric only sounds very expensive to me.
We've got an electric heating system as a back up in case the gas fails but we've never used it. We were told it was very expensive to run. Although it's cheaper if you heat it at night and run an eco7 system.
What do the other houses in the area use?
|
We've moved house quite a few times over the years, but have always avoided properties that have had electric heating installed.
A relative put this form of central heating into an oldish property many moons ago, and although it was the least expensive to install, it was horribly expensive to run.
I rarely hear anything good about storage heaters, and I don't imagine any other form of electric heating will be remotely economical.
|
>> woodburner
>>
Where to obtain cheap wood and where to store it ? :-)
|
>> What do the other houses in the area use?
>>
Everyone is all electric - the house in question is alongside a marina, and as a result has no private outside space, so no oil or LPG option. Apparently there is gas the other side of the marina
Cost to run concerns me - I had a quick google and found a few heating options which claim to be efficient, but don't really detail what that is compared to a gas system
|
>> We are looking at buying a house which has an odd heating system.
After due consideration, do you really think that is wise?
|
On a marina and no outside space....
Is it a primary residence or will it only have part time use?
Are you getting it very cheaply?
Do the others sell easily?
Will you be renting it out?
Is it easy to insulate VERY effectively? Can you install a heat recovery system or heat pumps?
Is the manufacturer of the original sysytem still in business - are spares obtainable?
Can you install solar panels?
All are factors that go towards the decision.
Last edited by: sherlock47 on Sun 31 Jul 16 at 10:44
|
|
Solar panels wouldn't help much, the times it's usually cooler are the times when you're not generating anything worthwhile... batteries aren't financially viable yet.
|
|
I've never had electric heating, but knowing a few people who have I'd run a mile. Plug in a 1Kw wall heater and watch the wheel on your meter to see how fast your money will be going.
|
>> Plug in a 1Kw wall heater and watch the wheel on your meter to see how fast your money will be going
I haven't got a 1kw wall heater, but I do have a 2kw heater and the wheel goes round pretty fast with that.
(*_*)
|
>> On a marina and no outside space....
>>
>> Is it a primary residence or will it only have part time use?
To give some background to this - It would initially be primary residence and the reason for considering it is that its cheap as it needs work, but close enough that the kids would remain in the same schools (slightly closer for the eldest). Biggest driver though is that we would be mortgage free and have cash in the bank - nothing else comes lose on £s per sqft. We could spend 15 - 20K on it and add about 60 - 70K to its value so it could be a stepping stone house if we dont like it or a longer term move
>> Are you getting it very cheaply?
Potentially yes - if its not cheap then it doesn't work for us
>> Do the others sell easily?
Yes and no! Demand is outstripping supply in this particular area, but this house is a little unusual in that its bigger than its neighbours so agent has been honest and told us its a bit niche
>> Will you be renting it out?
Not the initial plan, but could be an option down the line - would rent very easily
>> Is it easy to insulate VERY effectively? Can you install a heat recovery system or
>> heat pumps?
EPC gives the house a good rating for insulation, but poor ratings for the heating system and lighting, so there is some room for improvement, but not sure how much. Not sure about heat recovery / pumps so will look into this
>>
>> Is the manufacturer of the original sysytem still in business - are spares obtainable?
No idea - I'm assuming the existing system is a write off from what the agent has said
>>
>> Can you install solar panels?
Might be possible although none of the neighboring houses have - there are some covenants to protect appearance so they could be restricted
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> All are factors that go towards the decision.
>>
|
>> >> We are looking at buying a house which has an odd heating system.
>>
>> After due consideration, do you really think that is wise?
>>
Lots of factors to consider - price reflects some of the houses issues, but I certainly wouldn't reject a house based on its heating system. There is always a solution to these issues, its just a case of weighing up the options
|
|
... and gas, while it remains cheaper than electricity, if not as relatively cheap as it used to be.
|
|
Vastly cheaper I would think...
|
>>Batteries
A good friend of mine is having lithium batteries installed at a cost of £3,000 and they store 6kw hours generated from his solar panels.
As electricity is about 10 pence per kw hour it will take about 5,000 days to recoup the investment.
Even with man maths this cannot be economical and he is a very capable electronics engineer!
|
>>We could spend 15 - 20K on it and add about 60 - 70K to its value
If it has this much potential, builders will soon be showing an interest.
|
If those figures are accurate, and your primary residence, a £40k tax free gain is not to be sniffed at, allowing of course for any capital appreciation on your current abode.
Slightly off tangent, a friend of mine has recently deceased parents, and is selling their tired 40yo bungalow. It is in a much sought after residential area, sat on a large plot, and ripe for development. He asked my opinion and I advised he employ a project manager/ architectural technician, flatten it and rebuild, as has been the case in similar developments on the same road. Even allowing for tax on the capital gain I considered it a worthwhile exercise, but he cba. I think it's about to be bought buy a builder.
|
>> It is in a much sought after residential area, sat on a large plot, and ripe for development.
Could be tempted myself if it's in KL.
:)
|
Sadly not in KL otherwise I would have borrowed the money using my own place as security and bought it directly off my friend.
Still a lovely area though ( I had a drive past yesterday just to see if it was still on the market) and oodles of potential if you have the vision. Which hopefully a good architect would.
And capital!
|
>> If those figures are accurate, and your primary residence, a £40k tax free gain is
>> not to be sniffed at, allowing of course for any capital appreciation on your current
>> abode.
Fair point, prices here have risen very quickly of late, and agent is desperate for me to agree to let her market ours. Given that she has asked for a quite minimal flat fee even before I've started haggling then I have a suspicion that she already has at least one punter lined up.
40K sounds great, but in reality there would be stamp duty and legals / agents fees to deduct so maybe 30K is more realistic
|
>> >>We could spend 15 - 20K on it and add about 60 - 70K to
>> its value
>>
>> If it has this much potential, builders will soon be showing an interest.
>>
I was thinking much the same, the return seems incredible. I'd be surprised if there wasn't lots of interest.
|
Zippy, there is a wealth of discussion by real experts on another forum I use about the right type of battery, for the kind of charge/discharge they would get from solar panels. I think for used batteries, ex forklift ones seem to be preferred but there are new style batteries in the pipeline, which may well be lithium, which they are waiting for the prices to drop. So I hope your mate knows what he's doing with them!!
The forum is here in case you want to pass on the details - www.navitron.org.uk/forum/index.php/board,7.0.html
|
|
Thanks Smokie, I will pass it on!
|
|
Some posts have disappeared from this thread. Any mods know anything about it?
|
>> Some posts have disappeared from this thread. Any mods know anything about it?
>>
...PeterS has taken them to mend his fence..... ;-)
|
>> Any mods know anything about it?
Not me.
|
|
Okay cheers, must be the forum software again.
|
This geezer is somewhat knowledgeable regarding reducing energy costs:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VM87o_fP2cQ
|
|
When we moved here 38 years ago the house was all electric with storage radiators. The two problems with them was running costs & lack of control, you needed to know how cold/warm it was going to be the day before ! Fortunately the main road about 50 metres from the house had a gas main. My neighbour & i paid about £200 each to have a gas main bought up to the house. This was about 20 years ago.
|
>> This geezer is somewhat knowledgeable regarding reducing energy costs:
>>
>> www.youtube.com/watch?v=VM87o_fP2cQ
>>
It's hard to watch that without wondering how he manages to feed himself.
:-)
|
>>It's hard to watch that without wondering how he manages to feed himself.
I wonder howl Angel Adoree (his 2nd wife) gets on wivvit angeladoree.co.uk/
Interesting chap though: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Strawbridge
|
|
Ah yes, Scrapheap Challenge - I thought he looked familiar!
|
Check out these storage (not night storage) heaters mister mikeyb. If the house is only 14 years young, I'd presume it's pretty well insulated so these heaters may be worth considering - expensive to buy though.
www.fischerfutureheat.com/electric-heaters/electric-storage-heaters/
uk.trustpilot.com/review/fischer-futureheat.co.uk
|
whats the electric rads you see in the weekend papers every week .making all sorts of promises.
had a cold call from them recently from a call centre. some german make i believe, going to cut your gas and electric bill by 70% there so efficient.. with that i cut him off
|
|
There's plenty of evidence online to suggest that Fischer Future Heat is a company to steer well clear of.
|
Can anyone explain to me how a Thermaflow boiler works (in idiot terms)
It appears to work like a conventional wet system, but somehow uses Economy 7 to "charge" at night so it continues to provide heat and hot water through the day - claims being made that's its 40 odd percent cheaper to run than storage heating but I'm not clear how it achieves this
|
|
Has snake oil got anything to do with it?
|
|
Google, Themaflow Boiler Reviews. It sounds expensive to run to me.
|
>> had a cold call from them recently from a call centre. some german make i believe, going to
>> cut your gas and electric bill by 70% there so efficient.. with that i cut him off
Would you expect gas use to drop even more if you're using electric to heat the house?
Does sound a lot like snake oil to me.
|
Electric Heating - sooty123
