# price of running electric rads



## buster mammy (10 Nov 2012)

I am building a log cabin 9m by 13m, in the main living area im putting wood burning stove, the builder has suggested putting thermostat controlled electric radiators in as well as additional means of heating especially when wont have time to light stove and just need to flick switch ie when i come home late from work 11pm etc am i mad? i have been reading old post and it says its the most expensive form of heating, would i be better to go with oil/gas or with all the hikes does it make a difference now, i have the night saver electricity and when off will just use stove, any advice appreciated before plans go ahead , they are doing the wiring for free and im just paying for rads which will cost 2200 for 7 which will come from latavia thanks in advance


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## burmo (10 Nov 2012)

See page two of this document for comparison of energy sources... they have gone up a lot since the 2009 version I have!
[broken link removed]

If you are putting electric heaters in then I personally would get a couple of electric oil radiators or electric convection heaters... a lot cheaper than 2200 euro and the exact same efficiency.


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## Shane007 (11 Nov 2012)

buster mammy said:


> I am building a log cabin 9m by 13m, in the main living area im putting wood burning stove, the builder has suggested putting thermostat controlled electric radiators in as well as additional means of heating especially when wont have time to light stove and just need to flick switch ie when i come home late from work 11pm etc am i mad? i have been reading old post and it says its the most expensive form of heating, would i be better to go with oil/gas or with all the hikes does it make a difference now, i have the night saver electricity and when off will just use stove, any advice appreciated before plans go ahead , they are doing the wiring for free and im just paying for rads which will cost 2200 for 7 which will come from latavia thanks in advance



It really depends on what type of heaters you install. Storage heaters are a disaster. We recently installed Farho heaters in a whole house and they worked out brilliantly. Very cheap to run, heat up in minutes and are thermostatically controlled. The 500w one would cost 10cents to run for 1 hour if the thermostat never kicked in.
To put in a wet system as an occasional back up would be a very expensive option and over-kill if the stove is going to be the main heating.


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## burmo (11 Nov 2012)

Shane007 said:


> It really depends on what type of heaters you install. Storage heaters are a disaster. We recently installed Farho heaters in a whole house and they worked out brilliantly. Very cheap to run, heat up in minutes and are thermostatically controlled. The 500w one would cost 10cents to run for 1 hour if the thermostat never kicked in.
> To put in a wet system as an occasional back up would be a very expensive option and over-kill if the stove is going to be the main heating.



Agreed, storage heaters would take far too long to heat up.


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## Shane007 (11 Nov 2012)

Also, Farhos are on demand heaters.


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## buster mammy (11 Nov 2012)

thanks very much for replys have got back to builder to see exactly what he is putting in ,shane007 what do you mean by wet system ,is it oil?


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## Shane007 (11 Nov 2012)

buster mammy said:


> would i be better to go with oil/gas



I was referring to your above question. This would be a radiator system and would be considered as a wet system as it has water flowing through it, rather than electricity.


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## buster mammy (12 Nov 2012)

thanks shane007 for replying how do these farho rads work? the rads im getting from latvia works on spirals are the farho more advanced again


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## Leo (12 Nov 2012)

buster mammy said:


> thanks shane007 for replying how do these farho rads work? the rads im getting from latvia works on spirals are the farho more advanced again


 
Do you have a manufacturer/ product name? 'Works on spirals' doesn't really reveal anything aout how they operate.


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## Shane007 (12 Nov 2012)

buster mammy said:


> thanks shane007 for replying how do these farho rads work? the rads im getting from latvia works on spirals are the farho more advanced again



As Leo says!

Farho are on demand electric thermostatically controlled heaters. They are excellent at heating and very cheap to run.
www.farho.es

They are Spanish but I bought the through my local electrical wholesaler in Kilkenny. You can change language in their site to English.


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## buster mammy (13 Nov 2012)

thanks once again shane007 will follow up


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## burmo (13 Nov 2012)

buster mammy said:


> thanks shane007 for replying how do these farho rads work? the rads im getting from latvia works on spirals are the farho more advanced again



Hi, the efficiency will be exactly the same as a small convection heater or a hairdryer... i.e. 100%. All the energy is being converted to heat with the exception of the small amount if you have a fan. If you have any documentation that shows otherwise I'll have a look.


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## Molli (14 Nov 2012)

Do the farho heaters have to be installed or are they plug in?


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## Shane007 (14 Nov 2012)

Molli said:


> Do the farho heaters have to be installed or are they plug in?



They should be installed with a switched fused spur for each one with each fuse sized to suit the output of the unit.
Depending on where the supply is taken from, this must be taken into account.


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## Molli (14 Nov 2012)

Thanks Shane


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## SparkRite (15 Nov 2012)

Shane007 said:


> They should be installed with a switched fused spur for each one with each fuse sized to suit the output of the unit.
> Depending on where the supply is taken from, this must be taken into account.




Just a word of warning here.........

*NEVER* *EVER* size a fuse to suit the rated current of a unit but *ALWAYS* size a fuse to suit the "current carrying capacity" ( CCC ) of the supply cable, which incidentally should be of ample cross sectional area ( CSA ) to handle the demanded current.

Remember, in domestic installations, a fuse is *NOT* there to protect the electrical device but rather to protect the cable.


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## pudds (15 Nov 2012)

SparkRite said:


> Just a word of warning here.........
> 
> 
> Remember, in domestic installations, a fuse is *NOT* there to protect the electrical device but rather to protect the cable.




To bring this down to an idiots guide then, is it ok  to say that on all 

2.5mm cable runs, always use a 13amp fuse.

And on 1.5mm cable runs, use ....... 5amp fuse??


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## SparkRite (15 Nov 2012)

pudds said:


> To bring this down to an idiots guide then, is it ok  to say that on all
> 
> 2.5mm cable runs, always use a 13amp fuse.
> 
> And on 1.5mm cable runs, use ....... 5amp fuse??



Without getting into too much detail/depth, yes you are more or less correct if you are referring to plug top fuses. 
However  you will often find devices wired to a plug top with 1.5mm flex employing a 10/13 Amp fuse, which is fine.

Remember standard domestic sockets are rated at 13Amps.


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## Shane007 (16 Nov 2012)

Are you 100% sure about that?
Gas boilers are always rated with 3amp fuses, that is regulation and they are there to protect the appliance. Oil boilers are rated with 5amp fuses, again to protect the appliance.
What you are saying, then if there is a heavier cable running to the boiler than required, a larger amp fuse must be used!


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## bstop (16 Nov 2012)

The fuse or mcb at the consumer unit protects the fixed cables in the house.
Spur unit or plug top fuses protect the appliance they are connected to and the flexible cable leading to the appliance.


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## SparkRite (16 Nov 2012)

Shane007 said:


> What you are saying, then if there is a heavier cable running to the boiler than required, a larger amp fuse must be used!



Absolutely not! I never said that a higher rated fuse MUST be used nor did I even infer it. I suspect you knew this already.

Boilers (or indeed any electrical devices) requiring a 3/5 Amp inline fuse, to be within regulation, as you also know, are commonplace, however these fuses are NOT there to protect any components within, other than the light gauge wiring used within such appliances from overheating/catching fire, should a high current be called for through a component failing.  

A  properly designed PCB handles overloads in a totally different way than relying on a basic fuse, to protect itself. 

A fuse is a very crude safety device and even a fuse (generally quick blow rated) mounted on a PCB is there to prevent ALREADY failed electronic components from drawing currents that may lead to overheating and hence a potential fire risk.

To sum up, if any device is blowing a fuse (main board/plugtop/spur unit) that is rated to be capable of carrying that devices expected current, then there is a fault within said device ie. the fuse did not "protect it". The blown fuse however has stopped unknown currents being drawn and thus heating up supply cables to the point of causing a fire.

However we are drifting away from the OP.


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## buster mammy (17 Nov 2012)

hi shane007
once again thanks for your knowledge and time they do seem very good as you said ,anyway
i got on to a distribution company for farho in cork 
they quoted me for the following
1x13panel zana plus=511euro
1x9 =432
2x7=764
3x5=998
my question is do you think these prices seem roughly the same or would i be better to do like you did and go to electrical wholeseller


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## Shane007 (18 Nov 2012)

Are those prices inclusive of VAT or plus VAT?


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## buster mammy (18 Nov 2012)

it was an e-mail so i assumed they include vat otherwise i sure he would have specified


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## Leo (19 Nov 2012)

Distributors/wholesalers generally quote ex-VAT. Contact them and make sure, then just phone a couple of electrical wholesalers and see what prices they offer.


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## buster mammy (19 Nov 2012)

cheers Leo


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## Shane007 (19 Nov 2012)

If it is VAT inclusive, then it is a good price. If not, then my local supplier is better. I can pass their number to you and a contact name there.


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## buster mammy (20 Nov 2012)

thanks shane awaiting confirmation re vat will reply again when i confirmed


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## buster mammy (21 Nov 2012)

hi shane 
the price excludes vat so could you please give me the number of your local supplier
vat price=3,328


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## Shane007 (21 Nov 2012)

buster mammy said:


> hi shane
> the price excludes vat so could you please give me the number of your local supplier
> vat price=3,328



Just sent PM to you with details.


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## buster mammy (22 Nov 2012)

thanks a mill shane007 for info


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## farmerfred (5 Sep 2013)

Hi just found this discussion about fahro heaters and also have a cabin. Wondering how you got on please as I need to purchase something asap. Have lived in it for past ten years with just a stove. Now have moved out and set it as a holiday home and better keep the clients happy.
Really would appreciate some advice.


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## Bemused (8 Aug 2014)

Hi Shane, you had previously advised bustermummy (by pm) details of suppliers of Farho Storage Heaters.  I wonder if you would be so kind to pass the same suppllier name to me?  I'm moving into a house shortly in Castleconnell and no heating whatsoever.  No gas meter either so it looks like i'll be installing a stove into the open fireplace and the Farho radiators but prices seem to vary a lot.  Thanks for any help or advice you are able to give Anne


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## pudds (8 Aug 2014)

These are the Distributors in Ireland.

South Coast Sales
Doughcloyne Industrial Estate
Wilton. Cork - Ireland

Tel: +353 21 4346143
Fax: +353 21 4341271
E-Mail: info@southcoastsales.com
Web: [broken link removed]

Contact Person: Pat Mc Carthy


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