# Electric heaters  compared to oil fired central heating



## galen1 (6 Nov 2017)

My radiators are old and need replacing.  Are there electric heaters available for heating a house with a similar cost to oil fired central heating?


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## cremeegg (6 Nov 2017)

Simply replacing radiators is surprisingly inexpensive.


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## lledlledlled (6 Nov 2017)

galen1 said:


> My radiators are old and need replacing.  Are there electric heaters available for heating a house with a similar cost to oil fired central heating?



Your #1 priority should be to insulate your house to a high standard. 
Assuming that is complete and you do not have access to a Natural Gas supply, I would retain the OFCH and replace the rads. Electric heating is very expensive. 
How old/efficient is your oil boiler? 
Are you above/below average user of heating?
How big is the house?
Your house may suit a Heat Pump. These have come down a lot in price and increased a lot in efficiency in the last few years.


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## galway_blow_in (6 Nov 2017)

galen1 said:


> My radiators are old and need replacing.  Are there electric heaters available for heating a house with a similar cost to oil fired central heating?



no , electric heating is the worst of the worst in terms of value for money and performance


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## Leo (7 Nov 2017)

As above, electric heating is the most expensive by a long way. Look at the SEAI cost comparisons [broken link removed].


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## galen1 (7 Nov 2017)

Thanks for the replies!


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## SDMXTWO (15 Jan 2018)

Was reading this article only the other day about changing standard rads for new aluminium ones as they seem to use less energy to heat up. Not that cheap here but maybe changing some to aluminium would help in heavily used areas. http://www.bestheating.com/info/blog/why-buy-aluminium-radiators/


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## RETIRED2017 (15 Jan 2018)

SDMXTWO said:


> Was reading this article only the other day about changing standard rads for new aluminium ones as they seem to use less energy to heat up. Not that cheap here but maybe changing some to aluminium would help in heavily used areas. http://www.bestheating.com/info/blog/why-buy-aluminium-radiators/



I suspect they will also lose there heat faster ,More efficient radiators is what i would be looking out for,


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## dub_nerd (15 Jan 2018)

SDMXTWO said:


> Was reading this article only the other day about changing standard rads for new aluminium ones as they seem to use less energy to heat up. Not that cheap here but maybe changing some to aluminium would help in heavily used areas. http://www.bestheating.com/info/blog/why-buy-aluminium-radiators/



That doesn't make sense. Heat _is_ energy. The heat that comes out of a radiator is the heat that goes in. None is ever lost or gained -- it's a fundamental law of nature. The only thing that can differ is the rate at which the radiator heats up and cools down. If it takes longer to heat up it will also take longer to cool down, i.e. there is a slight time lag in heating between different materials. However, that's also affected by the size and shape of the radiator, the colour and composition of the paint on it and other factors. Most people don't need to be able to turn the heating on and off like a light switch, and I doubt that aluminium will make any practical difference at all.

Have a look at this. Of course, it's from a steel rad maker so is probably as biased as the articles from the aluminium pushers. But worth getting both sides of the arguments.


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## mathepac (15 Jan 2018)

Leo said:


> As above, electric heating is the most expensive by a long way. Look at the SEAI cost comparisons [broken link removed].


Nothing to see there unfortunately, as the new website is being "rolled-out", manually no doubt.


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## Leo (16 Jan 2018)

mathepac said:


> Nothing to see there unfortunately, as the new website is being "rolled-out", manually no doubt.



Latest report is [broken link removed].


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## goosebump (22 Jan 2018)

I replaced my wet heating system with electric rads. You can read about it below. It is more expensive, but not vastly so (unless you want your house to be like an oven). I did it because I have a particular circumstances and my house is relatively small.

https://www.askaboutmoney.com/threads/replacing-central-heating-with-electric-rads.199994/

Couple of things:

You need to ensure you have really good voltage. The ESB will upgrade your voltage for free if it is sub par.
You need to ensure that you have a 60 amp mains fuse.
You need to ensure your load is evenly distributed around your circuits.
You need to shop around for best rates, and regularly change supplier to get discounts.

It also helps if you have some sort ancillary heat source to reduce load, like a wood-burning stove or an air to air heat pump. Its a great solution for me. Zero hassle, which I am prepared to pay a bit more for.

Let me know if you want more info.


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