purcashing our first house, whats are options?
The purchase of our new house is going through (very exciting stuff!)And was wondering if there were any tips to save money on energy?
As it stands its well insulated, fully double glazed, has a gas fire in the living room and then for the rest of the heating it has those electric economy 7's so no gas or oil heating.
People have made comments about electric heating being expensive.. but so is gas and oil! is there much difference between the 3 or can anyone reccomend a renewable energy (not solar as the roofs facing the wrong way)
Cheers Electricity prices are about three times higher than gas prices per unit of energy. So gas central heating with radiators is cheaper than electric economy 7 central heating with storage heaters. When working out costs, don't forget to factor in the cost of the various systems, their life expectancy and annual service charges. (British gas Central heating breakdown cover, currently £8.50 per month then add in an annual service charges etc, it soon mounts up)
Storage heaters?On-going service charges aren't usually a problem.
And most well insulated houses could quite happily do with more, driving costs down further. Oil is only for out in the middle of nowhere properties nowadays. It is not allowed in cities any more.
In my experience I have found electrical heating slow to warm the house then when switched off the warmth seems to go really quickly.
I personally prefer gas but then I have a gas powered hob in the kitchen as well.
What you dont say is how old the house is that you are buying. It maybe worth checking that you have covered all the obvious energy saving options. e.g. loft insulation, cavity insulation. The first thing to do is to make sure you are with the cheapest supplier in your area for your meter type, chances are you'll be put on the standard Economy 7 tariff by default. Get online and check! Now is a good time to switch, all of the suppliers have changed their prices and are likely to stay that way until next year. If you plan to switch supplier (rather than just tariff), places like Money Saving Expert have some excellent affiliate style links which can get you up to an extra £50 for switching via the usual price comparison sites.
Secondly is looking at reducing the energy you use. As maf1970 said look at the usual major options of loft/cavity insulation (these can be bought at heavily subsidised rates from most energy suppliers). You said the windows are double-gazed but check all the units are still working well and are well sealed. Look at the major things first (it is so annoying when people go on about chargers, ~0.1% of consumption) before looking at the BIG savings.
I know it sounds obvious but if you've never had E7 before Remember to take advantage of your tariff by running energy hungry appliances like washing-machines, dishwashers etc on timed overnight cycles too.
If the heaters are in good working order/relatively modern units then I doubt you'll save enough money to pay for a new gas central heating system. If they are old/need replacing then it is worth installing a gas CH system...
PS GOOD LUCK with the house! We've just bought our first place and it is very exciting!
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