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Can You Replace Storage Heaters With Electric Radiators?

The short answer to this question is yes. If your outdated storage heater is not heating your home the way it should, you’ll find a better replacement in electric radiators.

Being more modern and efficient, electric radiators offer a wide range of benefits which storage heaters can only dream of. Let’s have a look.

• Unlike storage heaters, electric radiators do not need to be charged up the night before which makes it totally controllable as you do not have to guess what your heating needs will turn out to be the next day.

• The above benefit leads to an even better one as the controllability quality of electric radiators makes them a lot more efficient than storage heaters. Electric radiators usually comes with programmable timers and thermostats which allows you to set various heating schedules for each of your rooms, meaning you’re only heating when and where its needed.

• Unlike some storage heaters, electric radiators do not cause wall blackening and also happen to more elegant and stylish.

• Electric radiators are not tough on allergies like storage heaters as they do not depend mainly on convection to heat

• Electric radiators also have an easy installation process with all you need to do to switch from storage heater to one being the removal of the former and inserting the radiators into the sockets.

However, if you want to make a switch to electric radiators, there’s the need to change to a standard electricity tariff from your economy tariff. And while the standard electricity tariff rates may be more expensive than the night time rate provided by Economy 7, the standard tariff rates are a bit cheaper than the daytime Economy rate. You’ll also get to use much less of electricity while also saving money on your heating bills and more.

How Long Does It Take To Service An Oil Boiler?

Are you about to service your oil boiler and wondering just how long it would take to completion? Well, you should first know that during an oil boiler service, there are a wide range of things that needs to be checked. As a result, the service can actually take some time and even more, depending on the present condition of your oil boiler.

During a boiler service, your qualified heating engineer will carry out the following tasks:

• Detach and clean both the burner and fan.

• Examine the combustion chamber rope seal.

• Wipe clean and descale baffles.

• Wipe clean and descale the main heat exchanger

• Detach, clean and replace turbulators

• Examine the combustion levels after cleaning.

He’ll also perform some tank and system checks which includes:

• Inspecting and cleaning condensate

• Testing the fire valve

• Cleaning or replacing the filter

• Cleaning the condense trap

• Conducting a thorough inspection of the tank and oil supply pipe to identify possible damages, deterioration as well as debris.

• Pressure testing the oil supply pipe at the point where it goes underground.

• Examining the system pressure.

With all the aforementioned activities and more, an oil boiler service may take relatively longer period of time when compared to it’s counterpart - gas boiler. This is mainly due to the fact that the boiler itself requires a thorough inspection as well as the oil tank where the fuel is being stored. You get your gas through the mains supply, however oil must firstly be stored inside the tank then filled up when it’s almost low. The oil tank will be inspected to identify possible leaks, bulging, corrosion as well as water.

So generally, an oil boiler service should take between the range of 1 to 2 hours to be completed.

Are Electric Radiators Expensive To Run?

Just like many home additions, the running costs of electric radiators varies largely on a number of factors. Great number of electric radiators typically comes with an in built thermostat which is designed to turn itself off automatically when not in use in order to save energy.

However the energy provider’s set electricity charge tariff will also have a great influence on an electric radiator’s running cost. Let’s take a look at the running costs of an electric radiator!

A 600 Watt electric radiator ( on a standard electricity tariff) will usually have a running cost ranging between 4 to 6 pence each hour. However you should also take note that this scenario might change in situations whereby the electric radiator is not calling for heat the full 60 minutes of each hour. And this is more likely to be the situation as the thermostat is programmed in such a way that enables it to turn itself off immediately there’s an achievement of your required room temperature level - usually within 10 minutes from the time it was switched on. As a result of this, the running cost per hour of electric radiators will be greatly reduced to just about 1 to 2 pence.

It’s also important to note that enhancing the insulation of your home can go a long way to add to the heat retention value of each room. Consequently, the duration at which the electric radiator calls more heating will be significantly reduced, which in turn, implies a lower electricity bill.

Another key factor that can play a huge role in saving on your heating bills is the programming as well as usage of your electric radiators. Every radiator comes with an independent digital thermostat with a number of 24/7 programming options to help achieve maximum efficiency. When the radiator is properly set according to your lifestyle, you can save as much as 50 percent on your heating bills.

When it comes to boiler insurance in the UK, two companies easily comes to mind - British Gas Homecare and Homeserve. Just like any other choice you’d have to make, choosing the company that’s best for you might be a bit difficult especially if you don’t want to make the wrong choice. This article will give you a good insight into the pros and cons of the two companies’ boiler cover to help you make the best choice for your home.

British Gas Homecare Cover

Pros

• Reduced cost of services as a result of the annual payment option.

• An array of affordable packages including both few and several services

• Although vulnerable customers are prioritized, the company offers a 24/7 services.

• Unlimited claims

• Depending on what you wish to get, be it only a monthly boiler cover or more services, you’ll get several services’ options.

Cons

• With a 50% bad rating on a reliable customer review site, you know there is a question mark on the company’s customer service.

• Increment in renewal price after first year of service.

• Lacks cover for the boiler’s sludge or scale.

Homeserve Cover

Pros

• For most individuals, the 5 packages offered are affordable.

• 24 hour help hotline

• From reliable customer rating websites, the company offers a great service.

• Cover costs include both parts and labour.

• There are good options for one-off repairs.

• The options are cheaper than British Gas services.

• There are multiple choices for excess payments for various packages.

• An option for annual boiler repair.

Cons

• Lack of annual payment option

• The price of the packages will increase after the first year

• The services are mostly for houses or flats, while businesses and other types of property are being neglected.

Modern oil boilers do not require a lot of maintenance. OFTEC recommends that oil boilers are serviced and inspected every year. This keeps them running as efficiently as possible and will ensure any issues with your boiler are identified before they cause bigger problems. This servicing is also vital because of the increased risk of carbon monoxide leaking from a poorly maintained boiler.

Biomass boilers do require some maintenance. Many manufacturers recommend servicing twice a year, although this is often included in the installation cost. Many systems have automatic fuel loading that removes the need to manually load fuel. You will need to remove the ash from the boiler, but this is as easy as emptying a vacuum cleaner.

Smart controls such as Hive are the next generation technology with more and more people now converting their houses into smart homes to control multiple devices in the homes remotely. Smart technology can be incorporated with several household devices such as security, lighting, entertainment and more. But what if there’s an oil boiler installed in your home, can you still connect your Hive with the your heating? Well, simply read on to find out.

The answer to this question is yes, most oil boilers are compatible with Hive and can substitute for either an existing conventional programmer or thermostat. The smart technology works to help derive more benefits from your heating system and they usually come with apps which can be used to control your home’s heating from anywhere with just your mobile device. Hive, however, cannot work to replace the functions of smart oil boiler heating controls to modulate your heating as they only work on an on or off basis. To make use of the modulating technology in an oil boiler, the cost of manufacture would be considerably higher while offering little advantage in efficiency for the home or property owner. Ultimately, this implies that you can’t incorporate smart technology to control the output in a similar way as a gas boiler, but there are still some ways to utilize smart technology with your oil boiler in such a way to boost your efficiency and lessen the energy bills.

Do you want to use your Hive with your home’s oil boiler? We’d advise you get in touch with an OFTEC qualified engineer if you wish to install Hive Active Heating on your oil boiler, as British Gas engineer do not offer this service.

How Much Oil Does A Boiler Use?

Are you also interested in knowing the quantity of oil that a boiler consumes to heat up and keep a house warm? Well, you’ll find the answer here. There are so many influencing factors that determines the quantity of oil that’ll be used by a boiler. These factors include the number of hours they’re subjected to use on a daily basis, the boiler’s size as well as how efficient it is. Another factor is how you use your boiler, whether it’s only to provide heating or to provide both heating and hot water will as influence the quantity of oil your boiler uses. As a result, it’s almost impossible to provide an accurate estimate of the amount of oil that an appliance would require to keep running effectively.

In general, to provide a rough estimate, a mid sized oil boiler appliance could make use of up to 3.5 litres of oil per hour when full, but if it’s a large appliance, then it can burn up to 4 litres of oil per hour. However, it should be noted that this is only when the boiler is operating flat out. In the event whereby the water inside the heating system is already hot and the boiler is only working to maintain the level of warmth, much less quantity of oil will be used. And as expected, there will also be times in which your boiler will not be on, and therefore no oil or fuel will b used.

Your home’s size as well as how properly insulated it is can also be a significant influencing factor here. As you would have guess a big home and/or poorly insulated will use up more oil because it’ll be harder to heat up or keep warm. Overall, for some households, 1000 litres of oil will be sufficient to get them through the year, whereas the same quantity may not be enough to get other households through just the winter months.