"tim (in sweden)" wrote in message
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"Tony Bryer" wrote in message
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On Wed, 15 Mar 2006 12:02:07 GMT Fray Bentos wrote :
When it finally runs out / becomes too expensive / rare , will we
be living in all-electric homes?

Standard tariff electricity is 3-4 times the price of gas per kWh. But
as we build better insulated and better sealed homes that need a lot
less energy and as the price of gas c.h. servicing and repairs goes up
the TCO of electric heating may well become lower than for gas.

In some cases it already is.

When I owned a rental flat it used to cost me almost as much
to service the aged boiler [1] each year than I payed in electric
to heat my own all electric (UK) house.
There were some studios in the same block with GCH that could easily have
been kept warm with 2 NSR at less TCO.

What is an NCR? Nigh storage rads? If so, then say that.

GCH is installed because buyers 'expect' it. It really annoys me
when I see these property programs criticise a small flat with
perfectly adequate for the size of the property NSRs because
"it needs GCH installing".

Night storage rads are basically crap. They tend to be big and don't give
out heat when you want it.

The only time electricity is viable for space heating is when the house is
highly insulated. One current thread someone mentioned his friend did this
and his heating system rarely comes on. Swedish insulation levels. In fact
he is insulated to higher levels as we have a temperate climate.

Electricity tends to be "service" free, but not maintenance free. Things do
go wrong. In a highly insulated house it may be worth having individual wall
hung electric heaters that can be unplugged and replaced by the user to
avoid maintenance bills. It is usually cheaper to replace than repair these
days.

But!! Try selling a house with electric CH, even though it may be cheaper
overall. Myths go for decades. Another myth is forced air too. "Much"
superior to a rad system if well designed and fitted, but the stigma of the
1960s cheapo systems council blocks lives on.

One classic case was in Milton Keynes in the early 1990s, when one of the
countries first heatingless eco houses in Energy Park went on sale. The
dumbo estate agent dropped the price by £2 to 3K as it never had a heating
system.