margie Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 Anyone have any useful advice on the pros and cons of electric central heating, i.e. type of radiators and is it possible to buy electric night storage heaters in France?...or would it be cheaper to source night storage heaters from the UK?Thanking you in anticipation.[8-)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Trollope Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 [quote user="margie"]Anyone have any useful advice on the pros and cons of electric central heating, i.e. type of radiators and is it possible to buy electric night storage heaters in France?...or would it be cheaper to source night storage heaters from the UK?Thanking you in anticipation.[8-)][/quote]Electric CH is cheaper to install, more expensive than most (although not LPG or nowadays, fioul, IMHO) to run.Storage radiators are available here, but expensive. Uk ones are cheaper, but probably not approved for use in France.I have a (rented-out) house with HC (like economy 7) heating, backed with electric panel radiators. probably costs 1500€/year to run - less than we spend on oil in our house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooperlola Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 People's experiences with this seem to be so different and I don't know why. We are here full time, run 5 pannel radiators with a remote timer and our total electricity bill is 1200 euros, including cooking, computers, TVs, you name it. It may just be because the house is well insulated, don't know, but we are all in favour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benjamin Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 [quote user="cooperlola"] It may just be because the house is well insulated, don't know, but we are all in favour.[/quote]Exactly. So it's very unlikely that anyone can answer the question of costs accurately.As an example our EDF bill for November and December (I've just looked on their website) is 226euros and we're totally electric and have had the underfloor heating on since the start of November.BUT.........we live in a modern well insulated bungalow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gastines Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 As mentioned before,I have brought several Dimplex slimline storage heaters over from UK. You often find them advertised for sale in local free-ads. usually in the £30-£50 price range. Obviously heavy to move and transport but they can be dismantled and reassembled quite quickly and easily. We leave ours on on the off peak hours and with 3 on most nights +electric water heater/oven/dishwasher/washing-machine etc our yearly EDF bill is nearly spot on 900 euros. We have a log burner in the lounge. As we have 6beds with B&B April -Sept. it seems we may be getting off lightly?One thing worth checking before you think about installing storage heaters is to make sure you have sufficient supply to your house.Regards. 5 mins St.Malo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Smith Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 We have been thinking about putting central heating into our place, but as we don't spend much time there in the winter it has been a low priority. Our present heating is 3 gaz burners, 3 electric radiators and a wood burner for a house of 3 bedrooms 2 reception. Night storage heaters I have seen seem very expensive (c€1000). Electric radiators don't seem to make a lot of difference as the rooms are quite large, and we would need to increase our power supply if we were to have more. Gaz heaters seem a bit harsh, the woodburner heats the room it is in, but has little effect elsewhere. What are my options? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fulcrum Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 DickFor your requirements, and if you're not letting the place out during the time heating is required, I would definately consider the blower assisted parrafin heaters. They are simple to operate, and I think, ecconomical. They are not suited to houses with sealed doors and windows but are ideal for the older properties where there are a few air gaps.We have used one in two properties and the running costs for a 3400kw is about 280ltrs of parafin per year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blanche Neige Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 Margie / DickYou could try the Acova, fluid filled radiators. We had two fitted this year, they are really easy to control, heat the rooms well and so far seem excellent. IMHO They are certainly better than night storage and readily available in France.http://www.acova.com/index.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Smith Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 Thanks for that, Snowy. That is a very useful site, pity there are no prices! Believe it or not I had never thought of a heated towel rail in our little cold ensuite, even though we have one in England...My only problem is going to be the additional wiring (if that is a problem) and the extra wattage necessary on our supply. I suppose we try something like that and see what trips?In fact we have to think of the tradeoff in comfort against the extra abonnement for more watts, I suppose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blanche Neige Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 DickI think their site could be more informative. It's probably worth getting your local electrician to look at the wiring that will be required and give you a quote. Ours is an old stone house and wiring etc. was straightforward. In the shower rooms we also have electric heated towel rails (not Acova) and these are bliss on chilly days / nights and of course they dry the towels.[:)]"In fact we have to think of the tradeoff in comfort against the extra abonnement for more watts, I suppose."The Acova radiators can be left on a frost free (or a low) setting while you are away and will certainly make your house more comfortable for off season visits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Smith Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 I've had a bit of a search and they can be sourced in the UK quite reasonably, so I guess that if I could find them in the Bricosheds they would be much the same. The thought of having a warm bathroom attracts me strangely as we approach February half-term! I like the frost-free idea as well, especially as I forgot to winterise before we came home in October.Given the time we are there, I think it is the sensible option, the only problem being the draw on the supply.Thanks a lot for the advice, you may have made my showers much nicer!We have also taken on the advice about a petrole fan heater, and think that may be a good idea in the downstairs hall to try to warm the upstairs in general. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chancer Posted December 31, 2006 Share Posted December 31, 2006 I have just fitted "Heures creuse" night storage heaters bought from BDC in the UK and am very happy with the results.The French ones are much more expensive but also more sophisticated as they have a ventilator fan that can be used to boost the output and control the temperature in conjunction with a thermostatic controller, for this reason they need a separate fan control wire. If the house is already wired for electric heating you will be likely to have the 4th wire for a "fil de pilote".I paid from memory between £85 and £149 for units between 0.85 and 1.7 KW, they are in fact quite controllable with seperate charge, discharge and ambient temp (to restrict the charge on warm nights) controls.The only problems that I found were that I needed to balance the input and output controls to avoid either uncomfortably high night-time bedroom temp or insufficient heat in the evenings, I now only open up the discharge controls fully late afternoon/evening and have to remember to turn them down before going to bed.If I had fitted bigger units (with more storage capacity) I would not have had these problems but I was limited by my 30 ampere supply.In fact my main disjoncteur tripped last night whilst the washing machine was heating, I have chucked away the manual so does anyone know what size heating elements are fitted to the cheapest budget machines? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gastines Posted December 31, 2006 Share Posted December 31, 2006 I have got around the mains tripping out during the night by putting time switches on the heaters so that they don't all come on at the same time. The water heater is obviously a drain on the supply at night. We have 30 amp supply and it very rarely trips out now.On a funnier note regarding Storage heaters.I did get a very nasty letter from a client that I re-furbed a flat for.The lady wanted 4 New heaters supplied and fitted along with new kitchen/bathroom etc and on completion I gave her all the guarantees to send in for all the new appliances. I bought the heaters from my wholesaler and the client went bananas!! She thought as I hadn't got them from the Electricity Board she wouldn't be able to get the off peak electricity!!!My neighbour tells me that the Heures Creuse is not being offered anymore on new connections!!Regards. 5 Mins. St.Malo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BJSLIV Posted December 31, 2006 Share Posted December 31, 2006 DickI can vouch that the Acova fluid filled radioators are excellent. We have two in our living room and one in each of the bathrooms.They typically cost £500-£800 for each radiator and £200-400 for a towel rail.http://www.webmarchand.com/a/liste_produit/idx/5050840/id_mag/104/mot/Acova/liste_produit.htmAs they say on the BBC other models are available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassis Posted December 31, 2006 Share Posted December 31, 2006 We had Acova towel rails and rads fitted in our guest rooms last year - I didn't think they cost that much, but I'll check. I can vouch for their excellence, though! Or are you talking about price fitted?EDIT:Seche serviette ACOVA type CALA 750w 347€Radiateur ACOVA type TAIGA 1250w 345€Wiring and fitting with pilot wire 64€ a pop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Smith Posted December 31, 2006 Share Posted December 31, 2006 Thanks all, that's cool. Or not, if you see what I mean... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassis Posted December 31, 2006 Share Posted December 31, 2006 Pleasure, Hotlips. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nimportequoi Posted December 31, 2006 Share Posted December 31, 2006 I'm another Acova fan - I put Acova rads in the gites a few years ago to replace the old convector heaters in there - they are excellent and seem a lot cheaper to run! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blanche Neige Posted December 31, 2006 Share Posted December 31, 2006 "Radiateur ACOVA type TAIGA 1250w 345€"CassisNow you mention it I remember TAIGA is the name of the ones we have had fitted. We had a lot of other electrical work done at the same time so have not got any idea of the price but I know we thought they were reasonable. They have thermostats and are very easy to adjust for suitable daytime and night time temps. also easy to take off the walls if you are decorating. Edit:Seems to be popular, perhaps we should all take out shares in ACOVA......................................[8-|] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonshun Posted January 2, 2007 Share Posted January 2, 2007 Another brand i've seen (but not used) are:http://www.kalirel.comI see they have just had a UK launch as well. Their website is quite informative. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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