Frequently Asked Questions

Central Heating

Which of the two should you opt for?  Here are some of the pros and cons.

Electric central heating

The main benefit of installing electric central heating is that it is available to homes not on the gas grid. In addition, electric night storage heaters are easier to install than gas central heating apparatus, as far as central heating installation goes, mainly because they require fewer parts.

In terms of cons, it is worth noting that electric central heating is often more expensive as electricity unit prices are up to four times more costly than gas prices. On top of this, electric central heating storage heaters do not provide instant control. This means you will have to plan your heating needs ahead as switching the heating on at night means it will heat up for the next morning.

Gas central heating

The main advantage of gas central heating is that it is cheaper, per unit, than electricity. On top of this, gas boilers are getting more and more efficient. Replacing an old boiler with a new energy efficient one is pretty straightforward in terms of the installation process.  We are happy to prove a competitive quote.

Gas central heating boilers should also be serviced regularly to ensure they are in good working order.

As well as taking care of your heating needs, combi boilers provide instant hot water. They have the advantage of freeing up space in a home, because there’s no need for a hot water cylinder (tank) like there is with a conventional boiler.

In most cases, heating water instantly is more energy-efficient than ‘stored’ hot water systems. However, the flow of hot water is slower than if it was coming from a cylinder, so a bath will take longer to run. Some combi boilers can in any case also heat water in a cylinder.

Modern boilers generally no longer have tanks in the loft to ‘pressurise’ the system through gravity. Instead they are sealed systems, and typically only require manual topping up from the mains water supply when the internal pressure has dropped (usually because of tiny leaks). This is a simple operation that takes a few seconds and involves opening a valve on a pipe below the boiler.

Underfloor heating involves installing pipework in the floor, so that the whole floor acts as a radiator, warming the room from the ground up.

There are two main types:

• ‘warm water’ or wet underfloor heating
• electric underfloor heating

If you choose for a whole-house underfloor heating system, there will be separate pipes in each room. This means that you can control when those rooms or ‘zones’ are heated and for how long, preventing you from having to heat unoccupied spaces. There is also the option to control these by from your smartphone.

Water or Electric underfloor heating?

Water-based underfloor heating generally requires more space for the pipes and is more complex and more expensive to install. It’s also more complex than electric systems to install retrospectively.

Electric underfloor heating systems can be easier and cheaper to fit but are more expensive to run in the long run. The type of underfloor heating system you install will depend on the size and shape of the room you’re heating whether there is insulation whether you’re installing the system on an existing floor whether you’re installing as part of a whole refurbishment or new-build project.