Should Storage Heaters be Replaced with Electric Radiators or Upgraded?

If gas central heating isn’t available in your home, the chances are you’re heating is supplied by storage heaters.  But many homeowners today are finding that the drawbacks of old-fashioned storage heaters aren’t suiting their lifestyle.  So should you look to replace or upgrade your storage heaters?  Read on for more advice:

What are the disadvantages of storage heaters?

As storage heaters store heat up overnight and release it during the day, they are therefore cheaper to run overnight on special electricity tariffs.  But this does make daytime electricity tariffs more expensive to offset this.  They may also release more heat than you need in mild weather and run out of heat when you need it in cold weather.  Storage heaters can also produce a very ‘dry’ heat, which may irritate some people.

How do modern electric radiators work?

The ‘dry’ electric radiator system uses oil or water filled radiators; this liquid is heated electronically from the mains supply and heats the room.  Alternatively, the ‘wet’ system uses water heated through an electric boiler which is pumped through a system of radiators or under floor heating.

What are the advantages of modern electric radiators?

Modern electric radiators are efficient and will heat up a room within minutes of being switched on. and you can normally also time the heating of every room with a time-on, time-off system, so you can easily regulate the temperature of your home.  Heat is released more evenly, eliminating cold spots, and they also take up less wall space.  They are often more energy efficient than storage heaters due to their modern controls, and can save you money if you switch to a standard electricity tariff.

Can I simply upgrade my storage heaters?

If you don’t want to switch to electric radiators, you can upgrade to modern storage heaters, which offer better charge controls, enabling them to vary the heat input and storage in response to the weather, and more heat can be supplied using a different element and the mains power supply if necessary.

For more information on electric radiators, visit: http://www.londonplumbers.co.uk/electric-central-heating.asp.

Five Reasons to Switch to an Electric Boiler

If your property has always had a gas or oil boiler, you might not consider replacing it with an electric boiler when the time comes.  But this would be a mistake; here are just a five of the best reasons for considering an electric boiler:

1.     Increased efficiency

As an electric boiler does not require a flue to release a waste product, as a gas or oil boiler does, useful heat is not given the chance to escape the property.  They also have an onboard microchip and control system which regulates the water temperature and provides power modulation. Therefore, an electricity boiler runs at around 99% efficiency.

2.     Quiet operating system

Electric boilers are renowned for their quiet operation.  This is due to the fact that they do not have many moving elements as gas boiler would have; electric boilers are great therefore for small or open-plan properties.

3.     Easy to Maintain

Electric boilers are considered to be like any other electric appliance within the home, and therefore do not need regular servicing.  As they have very few moving parts, they do not need to be fixed very often, and when they do, the parts will be easy for a trained plumber to source and fit.

4.    Space efficient

Electric boilers are perfect for homes where space is at a premium.  As they do not require a flue, electric boilers are space efficient, and there is also more flexibility as to where they can be installed.

5.     Safe operation

Electric boilers do not burn a solid fuel, and therefore do not give off harmful gasses, such as carbon monoxide, making them safer to operate than a gas or oil boiler.

And electric boilers could be greener, too!

There’s still some debate on the subject, but it’s thought that electric boilers are kinder to the environment, as they do not burn fossil fuels.  They can also be linked to green generation sources, such as solar panels.  Another reason to switch to an electric boiler!

For more information on electric central heating and boilers, visit: http://www.londonplumbers.co.uk/electric-central-heating.asp.