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Rank 2
January 17, 2023
Solved

Electric combi boiler cost to run?

  • January 17, 2023
  • 40 replies
  • 5546 views

Hi all,

Just moved into new rented accommodation with electric heating and water with a combi boiler which seems to be showing about £2.70-£3 an hour estimated cost on the smart meter when heating is on. When boiler is on and ticking over is even showing about £2.30 an hour even when heating is off.  Is anyone else on a similar system and know if this is normal as it seems a lot? Sorry have come from being on oil so not used to this type of heating.

Cheers

Chris

Best answer by M.isterW

Electric boilers are notoriously expensive to run. They are a bit more efficient than a gas boiler (100% efficient instead of approx 90%) but electricity is more than 3 times the price of gas per kWh. So whatever someone else pays to heat a similar property with a modern gas boiler, you will pay 3 times as much.

40 replies

Jeffus
Rank 20
Rank 20
January 17, 2023

Ah. So it must keep running all throughout the day then ☹️ Surely once it’s got a full tank it shouldn’t need 7-9 kW ?? That’s what my car charger uses !!

 

I suspect you turn the actual central heating on off a bit like most people use their gas boiler and not like a heat pump.

 But exactly how the water tank works i really wasn't sure. There wasn't a simple diagram or description like you get with the sunamp heat battery which is the obvious comparison.

I think you would have to run it for a day to see what happens after speaking to the manufacturer. 

Interesting i haven't heard of this setup before with all the talk about thermal stores. 

Jeffus
Rank 20
Rank 20
January 17, 2023

I've had a look at the rest of the manual and it isn't very good. Link here https://thermaflowheating.co.uk/downloads/

 

This is what the off peak timer control looks like.

 

Yep i gave up when skim read the manual. What it doesn't say is how a customer should setup and use the system in very simple terms unless i missed it. 

Jeffus
Rank 20
Rank 20
January 17, 2023
juliamc
Rank 20
Rank 20
January 17, 2023

@Jeffus those links tell a tale of woe. What a shame as it’s got potential with all that wind power available in Scotland. In an ideal world the renewable power tariff would be peanuts and all those boilers could be working a treat. Is this the Total Heat Total Control I’ve seen Scottish customers talking about? now being phased out? Meanwhile @Chris0291 is going to have huge electricity bills. I hope that’s reflected in the rent?

Jeffus
Rank 20
Rank 20
January 17, 2023

@Jeffus those links tell a tale of woe. What a shame as it’s got potential with all that wind power available in Scotland. In an ideal world the renewable power tariff would be peanuts and all those boilers could be working a treat. Is this the Total Heat Total Control I’ve seen Scottish customers talking about? now being phased out? Meanwhile @Chris0291 is going to have huge electricity bills. I hope that’s reflected in the rent?

I think @Chris0291 needs to speak to the manufacturer about the heating system and the best way to run it, also the landlord and any neighbours if they have the same system perhaps.

There must be an optimum way of using it to keep the bills reasonable with an appropriate tariff.

I was surprised i couldn't find more about the systems. 

juliamc
Rank 20
Rank 20
January 17, 2023

Are you on Scottish Power’s E2000 tariff ? This is from a happy customer testimonial on the thermaflow website

 

juliamc
Rank 20
Rank 20
January 17, 2023

 

Blastoise186
Super User
Super User
January 18, 2023

Economy 2000 is/was only available in MPAN Area 18, Central and Southern Scotland.

It appears to be a legacy RTS Meter setup which means future support is NOT guaranteed.

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Newcomer
January 21, 2023

HELP ! We have just moved into our new build house, it has wet underfloor heating and an electric combo boiler, just had our first bill in and I nearly fainted, nearly £1,000 averaging out at £20.00 per day, any tips on what I can do to reduce this as I will be bankrupt at this rate ☹️😢