Oooh, I'm really interested in this topic too. Our old boiler is on its last legs and we have been looking into the alternatives for replacement. Air source heat pumps are hailed as being more 'green' but seem to have a long list of drawbacks like high initial expense and not actually being that effective at heating water in cold weather. An electric boiler could be a good bet, at least more environmentally friendly than a gas version, but it would be helpful to hear if anyone has experience of installing / using one and how effective it is in practice. Although electricity still has a muddy footprint currently, no doubt this situation will continue to improve as more is invested into generating green energy going forward.
An electric boiler could be a good bet, at least more environmentally friendly than a gas version, but it would be helpful to hear if anyone has experience of installing / using one and how effective it is in practice.
Thanks Sam, I’m still a bit unclear about how the condensation issue is typically considered an issue for old houses not modern, well insulated ones. Is it just that the internal walls never get cold enough for moisture to condense on them?
Is there any easy way of figuring out where draughts enter the house, short of doing an air leakage test, which I know would fail so dismally as to be meaningless.Our house definitely feels decidedly colder on windy days, could plug any obvious gaps with expanding foam if I knew where they were.
Quote from: NaoB on February 08, 2022, 12:44:10 pmOooh, I'm really interested in this topic too. Our old boiler is on its last legs and we have been looking into the alternatives for replacement. Air source heat pumps are hailed as being more 'green' but seem to have a long list of drawbacks like high initial expense and not actually being that effective at heating water in cold weather. An electric boiler could be a good bet, at least more environmentally friendly than a gas version, but it would be helpful to hear if anyone has experience of installing / using one and how effective it is in practice. Although electricity still has a muddy footprint currently, no doubt this situation will continue to improve as more is invested into generating green energy going forward.It all depends on your motives.If you want to save money and lower your fuel bills, install new mains gas combi (while you still can). If you want to help fight climate change, install an electric combi boiler, (might need electrics upgrade etc) and let the government worry about supplying a green grid. However, your fuel bill will sky rocket. If you have the capital, install solar PV panels to help reduce the electricity usage/fuel bill (and perhaps even a battery storage unit such as a tesla solar wall). There is much talk of mains gas being replaced by Hydrogen. All a nice idea, however I suspect we are a long long way off this. You'll hear politicians talk about it, but not about where they're suddenly going to find all the hydrogen.
Thanks for the expert advice. Do you think gas will genuinely still be the cheaper option with all the recent (and future) price hikes?
My motive is to reduce my carbon footprint, but I don't have the luxury of being able to afford to do that by the sound of it. It's a shame that the greener alternatives for heating and transport have such high price tags attached, also seems like the technology and national infrastructure has some catching up to do before the majority of the population could consider switching.
Let's pretend I did decide to fork out for the higher running costs of an electric combi boiler - would it be as effective for generating hot water as a gas version?
modern combi boilers are about as efficient a way to use gas as possible
On the negative side - we have an Aga.
For one, as a permanent WFH-er I try not to have the heating on when it's just me in the house, so have discovered the benefits of layering, quilted "shackets" and sitting with a down jacket over your legs!
Quote from: tommytwotone on February 09, 2022, 10:52:32 amFor one, as a permanent WFH-er I try not to have the heating on when it's just me in the house, so have discovered the benefits of layering, quilted "shackets" and sitting with a down jacket over your legs!North Face down slippers are absolutely incredible for this.
North Face down slippers are absolutely incredible for this.