There’s been a lot of coverage in the news about how much more it’s going to cost us to heat our homes. Energy prices are shooting up, and smaller utility companies are dropping like flies because their margins have disintegrated as wholesale energy has become so expensive to buy.
For some families living on the breadline, the crisis has resulted in some difficult decisions: heat the house or feed the kids? When money is already tight, even a small energy price rise, on top of higher inflation and food becoming more expensive, can cause huge stress if there’s no cushion to fall back on and no other outgoing to cut.
The issue is likely to affect people in older, draughty houses more than those in newer homes. The latter are built with insulation as a top priority, as well as energy-efficient heating systems and effective ventilation.
Electric is a clean energy that’s as powerful and as effective as gas. As we discussed in this article, electric boilers and electric radiators are proving more popular than ever in new build properties.
The more efficient a heating system, the lower the homeowner’s bills will be. Unfortunately, concerning people in older properties, and especially those living on the breadline, the cost to replace their current heating system to an energy-efficient electric one may be out of their budget, even if it would mean they’d save a few pounds on their utility bills.
Given that the economy is likely to be rocky for many more years to come, the efficiency of the heating systems builders and landlords put in their properties is likely to make a difference when they come to sell or rent them out—particularly in areas where wages of the residents are not much more than the national average.
Electric heaters used to get a bad rap. People commonly had them in their bathrooms, which, nowadays, would give health and safety experts a fright. They were often mounted high up on the wall and were simple two-bar heating rings. Whilst they were clearly a danger, some of us can remember how wonderful it was to get out of the shower/bath on a cold morning when they were on.
The layout of their rooms and lack of suitable wall space prevents some homeowners from adding a wall-mounted radiator/heater, whatever their efficiency. Some people may therefore purchase something like a small fan heater to take the nip out of the air, in the mistaken belief that one of these will be cheaper to switch on in one room than if they ran their entire heating system round the whole house. However, a recent study showed that running just one of these fan heaters for a few hours each evening could cost more than £70 a month!
Oil-filled radiators are slightly cheaper to run, but these are still costly compared to an efficient heating system installed in the home. Log burners are cheaper again, though the best way to create and keep warmth when sitting in front of the TV is probably an electric blanket; these cost 16p an hour to run, compared with 56p for the fan heater.
Insulation and well-fitting doors do just as much to keep a house warm as the heating system it bears. Today’s properties keep the heat in whilst also allowing the house to breathe—as it’s not good when air can’t circulate. This can result in condensation and mould.
Our recommendation to any tradesperson is to invest in and install the best heating system your budget allows, as the focus on energy prices and low heating bills will only intensify as time goes on.