yieldhog wrote:MrFoolish wrote:Aren't the running costs going to be expensive? And you won't get much energy from solar during the cold months.
From what I understand, gas and electric costs are roughly on a par in terms of energy consumption.
Who told you that - the infra red panel salesman? Gas is circa 7p/kWh, electricity circa 27p. A gas heating system would need to be phnominally inefficient to even come close to costing as much.
All I would be doing is switching my energy consumption from gas/electric to all electric. Your comment about solar is valid but all the energy from them will reduce the our electricity costs although not eliminate them completely.
This is very common but completely false thinking. You generate and export electricity in summer, you import it in winter for heating. Consider the solar panels as offsetting your gas costs, as much electricity comes from gas anyway.
Other factors to consider will be:
1. The cost of switching.
2. Value added/subtracted to the value of the house.
3. Ease of use and servicing costs.
4. Space saved by removing all radiators.
5. Any other factors?
I was hoping to hear from someone who has installed some domestic infrared heaters. Anyone out there?
Y
I suspect you won't find many
All the info out there seems to be from people selling them. The illustrations still being used quote low running costs, but when you drill into the details you find things like 12p/kWh and 5 hours per day being used as the base figures.
Also they heat you, not the room, so as soon as you move out of their target zone, you're not heated, so OK if you have one pointed at your favourite armchair, but the Jehova's Witness on the settee might be shivering.
Element Energy did a study for the Govt a few years ago for replacing LPG/oil heating on non-gas properties in Wales, at they time they said IR heaters were pretty much the most expensive form of electrical heating.
Google "element energy off gas heating study" and it will be near the top.
Paul