Industry Comment The heat is on
With continued innovation in energy-efficient electric heating, there are plenty of reasons to support this growing market. Chris Stammers, pictured, Marketing Director at Dimplex, looks at the relative cost of electric heating compared to other appliances in the home – and why wholesalers could be missing a trick if they don’t know the facts.
A
ccording to Consumer Futures, 3.9 million British homes rely on heating fuels other than mains gas.
Many of these homes still rely on outdated heating systems, whether storage heating, coal fires or inefficient oil boilers, which continue to hit fuel poor households in the pocket. With millions of off-gas homes looking for a more cost-efficient heating source, it provides a huge opportunity for electrical wholesalers and their customers. Common misconceptions about electric heating costs are not surprising when you consider the poor level of understanding about how much energy different electrical appliances use – and how much they cost to run. The Department for Energy & Climate
Change’s 2013 Energy Housing Factfile, which looks at 40 years of energy use in our homes, highlights this lack of understanding. Despite continued focus on reducing gas bills to cut household bills, the same emphasis is not placed on reducing electricity consumption – as demonstrated by some worrying usage habits. For example, households use washing machines an average of 5.5 times per week – but only a quarter of those wash at 30°C. More than 80 per cent of all washes are dried in a tumble dryer – all year round, even when they could be dried outside – and households use nearly double the amount of energy using dishwashers than they do washing clothes. Standby appliances are also an issue. These can amount to 16 per cent of a household’s total power demand and modems and routers, often left on 24-seven, have the highest standby use amongst ICT equipment – around double the next highest device.
Despite what many home owners still believe,
electric space heating does not need to dominate the monthly outgoings. And as the number, penetration and usage of other appliances such as home entertainment and household gadgets continues to grow, so the share of heating energy in the home will continue to fall.
Understanding the issues Of course, there are occasions when
Compare this to modern, energy efficient
electric heating appliances like the Dimplex Quantum off-peak heating system. The truth is that households spend far more on ‘other electric appliances’ than they do on electric heating – and the gap is only set to widen in the future. According to the Housing Energy Fact File, the
total cost of running household appliances such as the washing machine, tumble dryer, fridge freezer, TV and lighting costs the average household up to £534 per year – or £44.50 per month. Electric heating meanwhile, using an Economy Seven tariff and a representative combination of Dimplex Quantum heaters and electric panel convector heaters, would cost just £455 per year for a two-bedroom flat (65m2) refurbished to typical 1990s Building Regulations standard, according to independent testing calculated using SAP 2012. That works out at less than £38 per month.
Many people, of course, will pay the same again each month for a monthly mobile phone bill, home entertainment package or gym membership – or even all three.
According to the Housing Energy Fact File, the total cost of running household
appliances such as the washing machine, tumble dryer, fridge freezer, TV and lighting costs the
average household up to £534 per year – or £44.50 per month.
www.ewnews.co.uk
electrically heated homes do pay over the odds for space heating, and more often than not there are valid – albeit preventable – reasons why. It is important for electrical wholesalers to understand the pitfalls. Incorrect specification is the top reason why homeowners or tenants would find their electric heating bills disproportionately expensive. Some manufacturers will boldly state that direct acting electric heaters, commonly referred to as electric radiators, aluminium radiators or panel heaters, are the ideal replacement for storage heaters. Put simply, it is not always the case – and wholesalers must recognise this. Whilst direct acting heating is undoubtedly the best option for some rooms, it is not always better than storage. Those users who spend most of the day at home, for example, such as retired or unemployed homeowners, will always find it cheaper to have off-peak heaters. The high penetration of electric heating in
privately rented homes is another contributing factor to the misconception that electric heating is expensive to run. Landlords reluctant to invest in the property will often ‘make-do’ with outdated or incorrectly specified appliances, even if it means their tenants are paying over the odds for their bills. However, from April 2016, landlords must consider any request from tenants to improve the energy efficiency of their property and after January 2018, properties must have an EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) rating of ‘E’ or above if they are to be rented out. With almost four million privately rented homes in the UK, it is another huge opportunity for wholesalers.
www.dimplex.co.uk September 2015 electrical wholesaler | 5
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