I am thinking of installing a Electric Central Heating Boiler but would like to know how much it cost to run?

Question

I am thinking of installing a Electric Central Heating Boiler but would like to know how much it cost to run?

Answer 1

A lot as electricity is much dearer than gas. If you think it is greener then think again as the generating station will produce more CO2 as it is not very efficient at turning one energy into another. All that happens is that the pollution emits from the generating station instead of at the different usage points such as your boiler. Investigate a Condensing Gas Boiler as they are very efficient on energy conversion and with the correct temperature controls you will reduce your Carbon Footprint.

Answer 2

i have just removed elec & gas heating & gone back to coal & logs lovely & warm & brill toast

Answer 3

YOU would be better of running a gas one.

Answer 4

obviously that depends on you but in general it will be cheaper to run than an equivalent gas boiler!

Answer 5

Too much.  It takes a lot of energy to turn water into steam. It would be better to use electric baseboard heat or a heat pump to pull heat from the ground.

Depending on your generating source you could be increasing your environmental impact.  You could use a solar steam generator to produce your electricity and the waste heat could be stored in heat sinks to provide warm air all night.

I fail to see why this question is under Alternative Fuel Vehicles.  This is obviously a stationary system.  Using electricity just moves the pollution to another place.  Hydrogen power is best suited for a stationary system, just remember that with H you are still just moving the pollution to the electric generating plants, since it takes electricity  to make H.

The least impact would be from passive solar heat collectors and using a solar reflector to make steam to run a steam engine to turn a generator and charge up some batteries.  As the steam condenses it adds to the heat storage from the passive collectors and recycles.  The batteries operate your heating system, a thermostat or two, a circulation pump for the hot water storage and a fan to take the cool air in the house, blow it through a heat exchanger and move the warm air through the house.  Zero fuel, zero pollution and very little impact. It will soon pay for itself too.  

Too bad the local councils, the government, won't allow you to build it.  But then they would lose tax revenues if you did, they couldn't control your life as much.  Your neighbour might have to look at something they deem an "eyesore", therefore you will be prevented from doing it.  If able to do it, it will actually take away from the value of your home as it would not be standard, it would be an experimental system, without certificates and warranties.  At least that's what the bankers would say and it would be nearly impossible to borrow money to buy it if you needed to sell. You would have to sell for less than the tax office says it's worth.  The tax men would say you had added to the value and your taxes would rise.

The ones in government that push most for "green" living also want to control it and make money from it. As a conservative I want cheaper energy, independent energy, which also is cleaner. I oppose paying more into someones pocket just because something is called "green".

Answer 6

I don't know where u live but here in Texas electricity is expensive and all the Global warming thing is just an excuse to raise it more.

Answer 7

Depends where you get your electric from.

electricity is a primium/secondary energy source, mostly produced from burning gas or other fossil fuel.

so it is a much less efficient & much more costly to use electric to produce heat than burning gas.

Unless... you use a heat pump, especially ground source or water systems. These are currently quite expensive to install.

You could buy cheaper "off-peak" from the base load nuclear generating capacity, but then you need a heat store to keep it thorugh the day ie night storage radiators.