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AIBU?

To turn down the 'perfect' flat because it has electric heating?

93 replies

PeachyParisian · 06/01/2015 23:59

Lovely flat that ticks all of our boxes but DH is kicking up a fuss because it has electric radiators. It's only to rent, not buy and I'm not sure if it's worth continuing our search (we've been looking since September!) because of this one thing.

Are they really that much more expensive to run? I've only ever had gas heating in the UK. We had electric heating in France and it was quite expensive (although had nothing to compare it with really) which is probably why he is against it.

We have to decide by tomorrow over to you wise MNers!

OP posts:

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PeachyParisian · 08/01/2015 23:05

maybe because it was a house rather than a flat?

I'm wondering whether high electric bills are worth it as the rents cheap. Seems a bit risky though as you all seem to have had varied experiences!

OP posts:

Pipbin · 08/01/2015 22:30

Peachy My £800 underpayment was for a tiny wee two bed mid terrace.

PeachyParisian · 08/01/2015 22:27

Thanks millymae I did a little survey on an energy comparison site and if we had an economy7 tariff it would be around £65 but obviously that's not based on actual usage so who knows how accurate that is!

OP posts:

millymae · 08/01/2015 14:44

OP I live in a 4 (3 and a half in reality)bedroom semi built in the 70s with double glazing insulated loft and cavity wall insulation. We have the biggest heater in the kitchen diner a slightly small one in what we call our living room and the same size in the hall. The storage heater is the bathroom is smaller again. The storage heater in the living room has a convector heater built in that has a separate electricity supply which we have never had cause to switch on and neither have we used our electric coal effect fire for anything other than effect. This and the convector heater were a waste of money.
We removed the storage heaters from the bedrooms and replaced them with panel heaters. We have never used ours at all and have the ones in the children's rooms timed. If I leave the bedroom doors open during the day the heat from the hall heater takes the chill off all the bedrooms. I rarely touch the Emersion heater as it heats the water overnight during the economy 7 period and other than if I've used a lot of water during the day it's hot enough for the children's baths. OH and I shower in the morning usually when electricity is cheap so we are not using huge amounts of water for baths.
I am not very good at switching lights off, use the cooker and washing machine a great deal and have the computer on all day as well as either the TV or the radio. For all these reasons I think I pay a pretty fair price each month and have never found myself owing a massive amount at the end of the winter months as my useage in the summer months when all the heaters apart from the bathroom are off is much less so this means my winter bill is covered. Hope this helps

bbcessex · 08/01/2015 13:52

I had a flat in the early mid 2000's with these; it was great, no issue with it at. All blocks nearby also had electric heating; there were no gas pipes to this specific area so gas not even an option. Lots of new blocks going up, all still with electric heating.. still no gas pipes to this specific block/s (and this isn't a rural area)

PeachyParisian · 08/01/2015 13:30

I'm going to ask the landlord for the energy rating.
I suppose my concern isn't so much that we'll be cold, years as a stingy student have taught me to layer in winter but I'm worried if we do choose to have the heating on in the evenings during winter that the bill will be astronomical.

OP posts:

HalleLouja · 08/01/2015 08:51

I had electric heating in my flat. My flat was always really toasty. It was a while back and I can't remember it costing a fortune as the flat was naturally warm I didn't need the heating all the time. It was an '80s block.

muminhants · 08/01/2015 08:45

When I was 11-16 we lived in a house with storage heaters and it was lovely - warm all the time. My mum has an all-electric house and it's much warmer than our house - and it's warm all the time. With gas, it's only warm when the heating is on and most people can't afford to keep the heating on all the time.

girliefriend · 07/01/2015 22:36

I live in a 2 bed ground floor council flat that is heated with storage heaters, tbh I have always found them alright!

When it is very cold I put on an additional electric heater (one that I bought in Argos) but mostly the flat is very warm, infact guests often moan it is too warm (but I like it that way )

I pay £89 a month for gas cooker and electric.

PeachyParisian · 07/01/2015 22:30

Holy moly, I dont fancy that sort of underpayment haha. Was it a big house?

OP posts:

PeachyParisian · 07/01/2015 22:29

Are you going to see it again? Is it lived in at the moment? If it's empty then the heating won't be on and you can get an idea of how warm it is.

It's empty and the heating wasn't on when we went for a look again this afternoon. It was quite warm inside which I'm putting down to the fact it's smack in the middle of the block with one flat on each side and it's on the middle floor.
Thanks for the neighbours tip. I'll pop back tomorrow and ask and try not to come across as a weirdo for asking about their bills!

OP posts:

Pipbin · 07/01/2015 22:25

Peachy in my last house my monthly payments were £90 which was fine until I moved and found I had been underpaying and owed £800.

PeachyParisian · 07/01/2015 22:20

millymae may I ask how big your home is? Just trying to get a vague idea of how much I'll end up paying!

Just spoke with Dsis and turns out she has storage heaters and has been paying pennies per month but hasn't yet given them a reading for the winter months!!

OP posts:

Cutleryhands · 07/01/2015 22:09

If the flat is in a block with other flats above and to the side you will be ok. If its a flat in house/terrace top or bottom and the roof insulation is crap it will be shitty.

TotallySociallyInep · 07/01/2015 21:36

Yes they are a type of electric heater. But they are alot more economical then a fan heater that some are using instead of the storage heater they already have, and as they are oil filled they keep the heat a lot longer once they have been turned off

JenniferGovernment · 07/01/2015 20:50

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Pipbin · 07/01/2015 20:17

Those are just a type of electric heater, so they can't be cheaper to run than any other type of electric heater.

Well it depends on how efficient they are at turning electricity into heat really.
Also storage heaters are on overnight for 12 hours at a time. Yes the electricity is cheaper then but you wouldn't have an oil filled radiator on for 12 hours.

Pipbin · 07/01/2015 20:15

Run away. I lived for 11 years in a house with storage heaters and I was never warm. We had an oil filled radiator for the front room and bedroom and just used those rooms.

Are you going to see it again? Is it lived in at the moment? If it's empty then the heating won't be on and you can get an idea of how warm it is.

The thing to be aware of with storage heaters is that they heat up and store the heat at night, slowly letting it out during the day. The problem is that it's warm enough at 11am when you are at work but the heat has all gone (not nonsense as said above) by 5 in the evening.
I guess if it's in a block then it might be warmer. We noticed the difference when the houses either side of us were standing empty.

DownstairsMixUp · 07/01/2015 20:05

My bungalow is electric only. We have a woodburner for the kitchen and lounge but our room and the boys room we each have a oil filled radiator with in built timers. We time them so they come on at 5pm for two hours then off for an hour on for an hour etc etc till 7 am then they stay off. It's a single skimmed build and we don't have any mould or condensation (I check frequently as I'm paranoid! ) and it's always toasty. Our bills in winter are £67 a month though I'm always in credit so even without the woodburner and another oil filled in front room our bills would still be fine as we don't have any gas. We also have am immersion for water we use the shower mostly tho tbh but if we fancy a bath we just flick it on the evening then turn it off while we are done bathing!

Theoretician · 07/01/2015 20:01

To everyone saying they are having to use fan heaters and such. I really recommend getting a one or two of the 750Kw oil radiators that I linked to on page one. As they kick out plenty of heat and don't cost as much to run, you can leave them on low or half all the time.

Those are just a type of electric heater, so they can't be cheaper to run than any other type of electric heater. (Unless like storage heaters they store energy at a time of day when electricity is cheaper, which I assume they don't.)

ZombieApocalypse · 07/01/2015 19:54

I rented lots of 80s/90s flats with storage heating and without exception they were terrible for all the reasons people have mentioned. If you do end up in a flat like this, oil radiators are brilliant. Mine had a timer on so I'd set it to come on about an hour before I got home.

Storage heaters have got better since then - my new build flat has them, is well insulated and the heaters are super efficient. I only ever needed a couple on in the whole flat.

millymae · 07/01/2015 19:50

I'm almost on my own here but I love my storage heaters. They are relatively modern ones though which are set to give out more heat during the evening. Our house is never cold at any time which is good for me as I am a SAHM and the water is always hot. The Emersion heats up during the night when the economy 7 tariff applies and I rarely have to boost it during the day. I set my washing machine to come whilst my electricity is cheaper and am usually up in time to get it dried in the tumble dryer as well.The only cold room in the house is the bathroom (and it isn't really). The storage heater in there is only small and whilst it's perfect during the cold mornings by the time it comes to the evening and it's time for the children's baths I often feel the need to put the wall fan heater on to warm the room up a bit.

When I hear my friends talking about the problems they are having with their boilers and their radiators and complaining about the noise they make it makes me realise that electric heating really doesn't deserve the bed press its gets as it does have some advantages. I also only have one standing charge to pay and think the £120.00 I pay each month is pretty good value considering I have no other bills for lighting and cooking.

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Fluffy40 · 07/01/2015 19:47

Storage heaters are supposed to charge up at night and release the heat in the day. I've never found them any good.
A 2kw convector heater will cost 30p an hour to run, but will keep you nice and warm. I would look for another flat.

TotallySociallyInep · 07/01/2015 19:24

To everyone saying they are having to use fan heaters and such. I really recommend getting a one or two of the 750Kw oil radiators that I linked to on page one. As they kick out plenty of heat and don't cost as much to run, you can leave them on low or half all the time. Plus they not noisy and I found the fan heaters dried my throat.

Rebecca2014 · 07/01/2015 19:05

I live in a small 2 bedroom house with electric storage heaters. I turn them on at night and they don't even heat the house during the day so my house is freezing. I now resorted to using fan heaters and they heat my living room a lot better.

My electricity bill is very high for such a small property. I would never move to another properly with electricity.

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