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Having researched this recently for a potential house purchase, there's a need for innovation before electric heating becomes a reality. The standard is still

Having researched this recently for a potential house purchase, there's a need for innovation before electric heating becomes a reality. The standard is still storage headers and other wall mounted electrical heaters. I remember those from childhood, and how happy we were to switch to gas-fired central heating. There are electric boilers which can power a hot-water based heating system; they are substantially more expensive to operate than current gas boilers (due to the UK price differential between gas and electricity). My most favoured approach is an air source heat pump, and larger radiators/underfloor heating to make use of the lower temperature heat source. More expensive to install and run than a gas fired central heating system. Perhaps in the house after next, this will be standard - or I might even be able to buy a Passivhaus.

m-i-l 7y ago
Also had a look at electrical heating options again recently. Everywhere I've lived that burns fossil fuels to generate heat has been plagued by costly maintenance. At my current place, not unique to these issues, I've now spent an average of £175 a year on repairs (£1230 total over 7 years). In contrast, I lived for 10 years in a place with electrical heating and never had to do any maintenance whatsoever. Certainly gas is cheaper to run in terms of the price per unit of energy consumed, but if you factor in the maintenance and the hassle factor of taking time off to be in for the repair people, then I'm not convinced there's such a big difference. If you ask a boiler repair person about switching to electricity though, they'll say they strongly recommend against it, but part of me wonders if that's because they have a vested interest in keeping people using the high maintenance options. I used to joke that the only reliable thing about my boiler was the revenue stream it generated for the repair people. Underfloor electrical heating is apparently a lot more efficient than radiators, e.g. because you only need to run them at a much lower temperature. If you combine with things like ground source heat pumps and solar panels, the electric heating proposition looks a lot more appealing. That said, the conclusion I came to is that for an old place that doesn't otherwise need major work, it just isn't worth the expense of making the switch. It might be that if I were to move somewhere that needed a complete refurbishment anyway, then I would. Even then, with most homes, at least in cities like London, being flats rather than houses, then things like solar panels and heat pumps become much more difficult if not impossible to arrange.
sourcesmith 7y ago
Have you looked at thermodynamic panels?
- pbowyer 7y ago
  I've never heard of them, thanks.
tonyedgecombe 7y ago
There is a new development behind me that is all air-source heat pumps however they are very expensive houses. New flats in the area are nearly all using storage heaters.

m-i-l 7y ago

Also had a look at electrical heating options again recently. Everywhere I've lived that burns fossil fuels to generate heat has been plagued by costly maintenance. At my current place, not unique to these issues, I've now spent an average of £175 a year on repairs (£1230 total over 7 years). In contrast, I lived for 10 years in a place with electrical heating and never had to do any maintenance whatsoever. Certainly gas is cheaper to run in terms of the price per unit of energy consumed, but if you factor in the maintenance and the hassle factor of taking time off to be in for the repair people, then I'm not convinced there's such a big difference. If you ask a boiler repair person about switching to electricity though, they'll say they strongly recommend against it, but part of me wonders if that's because they have a vested interest in keeping people using the high maintenance options. I used to joke that the only reliable thing about my boiler was the revenue stream it generated for the repair people. Underfloor electrical heating is apparently a lot more efficient than radiators, e.g. because you only need to run them at a much lower temperature. If you combine with things like ground source heat pumps and solar panels, the electric heating proposition looks a lot more appealing. That said, the conclusion I came to is that for an old place that doesn't otherwise need major work, it just isn't worth the expense of making the switch. It might be that if I were to move somewhere that needed a complete refurbishment anyway, then I would. Even then, with most homes, at least in cities like London, being flats rather than houses, then things like solar panels and heat pumps become much more difficult if not impossible to arrange.

sourcesmith 7y ago

Have you looked at thermodynamic panels?

pbowyer 7y ago
I've never heard of them, thanks.

tonyedgecombe 7y ago

There is a new development behind me that is all air-source heat pumps however they are very expensive houses. New flats in the area are nearly all using storage heaters.