Problems with Electric heating

While electric heating can be a suitable for some customers, we are honest in saying electric heating isn’t perfect for everyone. So let’s breakdown and talk about some potential problems with electric heating.

Lower Heating Consistency

Depending on what electrical heater or radiator you have, there could be problems, but they mostly apply to electrical heating that doesn’t have a storage element, such as panel or convection heaters. This is because these types of heaters have no storage element, they do not save electric, so as soon as you turn them off, the heat will go within 10 minutes or sooner. Also, electric heating can be costly compared to gas unless you have energy saving technology in place such as a smart thermostat and a storage element – so make sure you invest in a good electric heating system.

Dry heated air

Electric radiators can cause the air to dry out sometimes causing some unwanted knock-on effects, it can leave you feeling itchy and dry or even trigger Asthma. This is because the air is dryer (which is caused by the radiator warming the air). But it’s not all doom and gloom there are ways to combat these potential problems and not all electric radiators do this. A humidifier can be used to put moisture back in the air.

Higher operating cost

It is well known that electric is the more costly option compared to gas when it comes to heating, especially if you use panel heaters and convection heaters which are not cost effective or efficient. This is because these types of heaters usually do not have any energy saving components such as a storage element or smart thermostat. However, electric can be a cheap option, it really depends on what you have in place and the design of it. It can also depend on the tariff you are on because this can affect the running costs. For example, the economy 7 tariff, which night storage heaters use, are out of date and waste electricity because of a lack of controllability. To save money using electric heating you need a storage element and a flat rate tariff because it has controllability, and it is much better for the environment because less power is wasted, and your energy bills should decrease too.

Controllability

Depending on what electric system you have in place, it can be hard to control, for example a night storage heater will warm up at night and then release that stored heat during the day. So, this lacks controllability, which can waste money heating places that do not need to be heated. Also, if you are not in during the day for example and you are often left cold on the evening because the heat has run out. Ensure you have full controllability of your electric heating system – this will reduce running cost and improve efficiency as you can have the heat as and when you want it!

As an electric heating supplier, you can TRUST, we recognise some of the problems with electric. And to make an informed decision on heating, you will need to know the pros and cons of any heating solution you are thinking about getting installed. Any other questions, give us a call on 0800 5999 109

If you are interested in our electric modern storage radiator, click the here.

Tags: Understanding Heating.