Electric Central Heating Facts
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Our german electric radiators spread warmth evenly – the key to a comfortable, cosy room. Ever wondered why your toes can feel chilly while the heating’s on full? With many kinds of heater, it’s because the warm air is stuck above your head.
Drafts and Cold Air
If you have a draft and you can’t find the source, it may well be caused by a radiator that is the wrong size and in the wrong place. Cold air is attracted to warm air and this may cause the draft so as a rule of thumb no part of a room should ever be more than around 13 feet from the heat source.
Is central heating the best option? Central heating has certain drawbacks, unless of course you are constantly running around the house turning radiators in different rooms on and off every day and night. With central heating the wall thermostat that is usually located in your hall is controlling the heat centrally, which means that the radiators in the bedroom (or other rooms that you are not using) are using up expensive energy when you are in the living room.
You also need to take into account the annual servicing and ongoing maintenance costs of central heating, even today’s modern combi boilers are not expected to perform for a great number of years and can cost thousands of pounds to replace. We believe our modern German electric radiators are the best cost effective solution.
You can arrange for an energy assessment to calculate your U-value (Heat loss calculation) by telephoning a local estate agent as they will have contact details for assessors who can also further advise you on how to improve insulation, often at little or no cost.
What factors affect how much your electric central heating system costs to run?
The cubic volume of your property
The ambient (outside) temperature
The property U-value
The temperature you want your house to be maintained at
The direction the property faces
Your electricity tariff
What is U-value? It is a measurement of the thermal loss through your walls, floor, ceiling and windows. The UK has overall the worst U-values in Western Europe and this alone determines running costs with probably more practical relevance than any other factor. For example, a property with a U-value of 0 theoretically requires no heating whatsoever whereas a property with a typical UK U-value of 3 will require a radiator in every room.
Is our electric central heating system cheaper to run than mains gas? The cost of gas is certainly lower than electricity and it appears on the face of it to be cheaper to run even though it’s unlikely to stay that way long term. If you consider regular servicing and maintenance costs along with the cost of boiler replacement every 10 years, then things start to look very different. When you take into account how much heat escapes via the flue and the inefficiency of gas boilers compared to electric then we can certainly make the case. In addition, government environmental policy is to move away from using fossil fuels so by choosing electric you would be future proofing your heating system.
Furthermore, if you rent out a gas heated property there’s annual inspection charges and the new EU regulation on flues for rented properties means it might be far too impractical to consider mains gas. If you are thinking about retro fitting a mains gas system then be careful because the mess involved in fitting pipework and boilers takes weeks, if not months, to clear up. We regularly receive feedback from our customers and they tell us how they’re doing and how our radiators are performing. Interestingly much of the feedback is not about how much is being saved but more about how much warmer they are now!
Energy bills are a subject all of us are interested in but most people have great difficulty understanding them. When you arrange a survey, your local Ecowarm surveyor will explain exactly how to read your energy bill and he will also advise you of the best way to control your electricity usage.
"Absolutely great service received from Ecowarm! I made the initial enquiry online and had a response within one hour, their punctuality, professionalism, and customer care before and after installation has been outstanding. It was a very smooth process and we are extremely happy with our Ecowarm installation."
"We are confident we chose the right company for our heating needs. We recently moved house and needed to upgrade our heating system. Everyone from Ecowarm was very pleasant and informative. Being of a certain age we took our time familiarising ourselves with the new technology. We are chuffed and very grateful for the service we received, and everything is working nicely. Thank you Ecowarm!"
"I’m really pleased I had my radiators replaced in my flat by Ecowarm. They heat up very quickly and the place is much warmer, and I didn’t think that they were overly expensive. The Surveyor was great, and the installation team were very efficient and tidy. I work shifts, so the App to control them remotely is of great benefit. Thank you Ecowarm."
"We used Ecowarm Heating to upgrade several radiators in our home. The new radiators look great and work very efficiently. Ecowarm were very prompt in responding to our initial enquiry and I found the whole process straight forward and the installation was very professional, neat and of a great standard. Everything is working great, money well spent! We would highly recommend Ecowarm to others."