I have looked at some new build flats, which are almost complete. All electric. There is only one CU and sub main so doesn’t look like any off-peak. The heating consists of thermostatic controlled oil filled electric radiators (which look like normal wet radiators) wired into a fused spur each. The fused spurs connect to a 32A heating ring circuit in the CU, which is controlled via a programmer/contactor. Is this common now? I’ve seen it twice (first fix). It looks like the place will be always cold and expensive to run. Hot water runs off one immersion and separate timer.
I read an article in a recent prof electrician mag about these & the manufactures seemed to me to make a few dodgy statements such as: Unlike some conventional systems,each rad has its own temp control.(Never heard of thermostatic valves?) These are unlike the old offpeak rads & can be plugged into any socket.(Expensive to run & could the ring main stand it?) By 2020 we will rely much more on renewable energy(is that likley?) Regards,LI
An inevitable consequence of the excellent insulation demanded of the building regs..., it is now feasible, especially for flats which will probably have short tennancy, to heat using electric. I personally suspect a 32A ring for heating will be fine considering my 1920's house has a total rad output of around 7.5kW. Although v.expensive to run compared to gas of course. Then again probably about £3k less to install.
The heating consists of thermostatic controlled oil filled electric radiators (which look like normal wet radiators) wired into a fused spur each. The fused spurs connect to a 32A heating ring circuit in the CU, which is controlled via a programmer/contactor. ...................................................... I've seen it all now. I thought pre-fab roofs and screwed and glued chipboard floors were bad enough - but this? Its a joke.
The guy has his facts mixed up ,if not then the designer has and why oil filled rads ? slow heat build up slow down. At least yer pans are instant. Why not take advantage of cheap tarrifs. BUT if they are just two room flats then OK all in all a straight foreward tarrif ,,insulation accepted I Dunno mums shouting COME ON! GET TO BED ! IT@S 1o'clock ,,,is it that time in Engerland ?
I see a wet heat storage system is now being used where a central tank is heated and water is circulated as and when each room requires the heat. Also they can use solar panels to supplement the power required. Seem to used water which seems to be a bit of a limitation oil would allow a lot bigger temperature differential but I suppose worried about leaks. I would think water tanks would need to be quite big but since they don't rely on thermo siphon they can be located on ground floor. With the advances in telemetry I suppose in the future the provider could have more control on our power usage and more than 7 hours may be available for cheap heating. As I understand the whole idea of the ring main and 13 amp sockets designed during the second world war was to heat the house with electricity so can't see any real complaint in using the sockets for their original design.
I see a wet heat storage system is now being used where a central tank is heated and water is circulated as and when each room requires the heat. I looked into building a system exactly like this for an outbuilding but even with a thermal load of only ~1kWhr I was looking at a 360 litre tank at dT 40K to run it for the full 17hrs off-peak. So in the end I went for a heat pump air con system for £700 which cools and heats at 430% efficiency