Electric/storage heaters (small flat)-inhabitants out all day

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Are these out of date now? Electric seems cheaper to install and less maintenance But it seems gas is in as cheaper long term?

Living in a flat with electric heaters I hate them! They don't heat the rooms right. They cost a fortune to run. And smell of not been on all day. Plus you have to turn them all on one by one!

storage heaters should work fine with organisation, planning and the right electricity tariff, and are perfect for people who are out all day.

assuming you are planning to rent, this also avoids gas safety checks.

BUT most people prefer gas heating, much more flexible. Unless you are somewhere that people fight over rentals, put a gas system in and cope with the £150-odd annual bill for servicing and certificate.

I thought a service and cert were approx the same so you get clobbered twicea
But if you let I suppose it is all tax deductable? also when you sell gas is
more attractive

a landlords gas cert inspection is not the same as a service.

yes, it is tax deductable if you let the place. It will be the least of your expenses.

round my way properties that are surprisingly cheap for sale are the ones that still have the old storage heaters.

I used you get the gas cert and servicing done at the same time. The company I used gave a discount if you did that.

Coming from a tenants perspective (assuming you plan to rent), I wouldn't even consider viewing somewhere with electric storage heaters.

Storage heaters are the absolute worst thing. Please don't do that to yourself, or your tenants if you're planning to let out. They're cripplingly expensive to run and release the heat in the day so you freeze come 6pm when you get home and actually want it. Yes, I know that's not how they're supposed to work, but it is what ends up happening no matter how you set them. And you have to be psychic - if the weather changes you need to adjust the storage heaters 24 hours in advance or you'll either roast or freeze. Awful invention. Needs wiped off the face of the planet.

I've tried every setting on my storage heaters, they are cold by 5. So you have to put a plug in heater on. It costs a fortune and there's wires everywhere. I would not rent with them again.

You need to ring up and ask for the deal that gives an afternoon boost (recharges the heaters) which they don't always advertise. It made a huge difference to us and our house was always warm...

However we got gas installed as we want to sell the house eventually. It's slightly cheaper annually to run but we'll never get back the money you spend on installing/boiler/safety checks!

BTW I lived in a flat with them over an extremely cold winter. I got that magic mid day boost tariff and we were fine - and quite often home during the day.

good insulation certainly helped.

but I still wouldn't choose them over gas.

Energy from electricity currently costs three or four times as much as energy from gas, so it would be very strange for a house with gas available to go for electric heating. Additionally, storage heaters are not very controllable, and tend to give out most of their heat while you are out at work, leaving a cold house in the evening.

There are some crooks people selling electric heaters which must be magic, because they are alleged to give out more heat for less electricity. Since electricity and heat are both forms of energy, this is impossible.

When we costed it yes the monthly bills are cheaper but with gas you have to factor in boiler costs and servicing which did make electric cheaper overall.

However, for the difference in price gas is so worth it. We had the added benefit of a decent shower too once we turned to gas which is worth it all...

Although you'd need also total into account value of flat and rate you can rent it for. Presumably gas would be preferable if it's there!!