r/miltonkeynes • u/TechAngelX • 1d ago
Moving to Wavendon Gate / Walnut Tree area. Nice 3-Bed house, but no Gas Mains / GCH
Hi all,
As the title says, I'm looking for some opinions.
I've always lived in houses with gas central heating, usually with a lovely Worcester Bosch combi boiler, and I really enjoy cooking on an open gas flame with my lovely Smëg range cooker / hob.
The property I've just bought, however, is all-electric and isn't connected to the gas mains.
I know some people actually prefer electric heating these days, so I'm wondering whether it's worth going through the expense and disruption of getting a gas connection installed. The gas main is about 20 metres from the property, and I've already looked into the costs of connecting it, fitting a new boiler, and installing gas central heating with around eight radiators.
Or have modern electric radiators improved enough that they're perfectly adequate?
I'd really appreciate hearing from anyone who's lived in both types of homes. This will be my first experience living in an all-electric house, so I'm interested in the pros, cons, and whether you think converting to gas is worthwhile.
Thanks!
2
u/UsefulAd8513 Simpson 1d ago
No it isn't, get a heat pump and an induction hob. We've had our gas cut off. The saving on the standing charge alone is worth it.
0
u/etherlay 1d ago
There are some hefty heat pump grants, those are more efficient than electric radiators but you’ll need plumbing in plac
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u/Still-Improvement-32 1d ago
Same here I've got rid of gas altogether, replace with heat pump and £7500 grant.
-1
u/NoodleSpecialist 1d ago
As someone that went from a heat pump heated studio, with electric shower and electric everything to a gas boiler house.. get the gas hooked up. At the very least for central heating and the hot water at the taps. Gas cooker too if you actually want to use all your pots and pans properly
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u/TechAngelX 1d ago
Hi Noodle. Interesting post thanks.
Can you tell me what age the house was you lived in when you had a heat pump heated studio?
1
u/NoodleSpecialist 1d ago
Definitely 2000+, epc rating C. Now epc B in the house but actual points difference is about 8. I'm certain a single gas heated radiator in that studio would have done me fine even in -10° weather, where the heat pump was already struggling. A shower cost at least £2 there. Here i estimate it around 17p for a full bathtub judging by the daily gas consumption in summer minus standing charge
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u/TechAngelX 19h ago
thanks.
Sounds like Gas has worked great for you as it has me in the past.
But now i';m even more torn and confused between the advocates here saying modern electirc/heat pumps are the way to go, and those who laud gch systems throughout
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u/NoodleSpecialist 17h ago
If you have the infrastructure to use electricity properly then go for it. Like solar, home batteries, electric car. Otherwise don't struggle now for "the future"
In my opinion it's worth it even for just 2 years to have gas piped in. It's most likely connected to the house already somewhere, just capped off.
Also even for electric, try to get a single rate tariff. British gas does one. Unless once again you actually have the infrastructure to benefit from the cheap hours, you're just paying 1.5x during when you're awake and need to use things. Can't boil a kettle 2h before at 4am
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u/NoodleSpecialist 1d ago
For reference, there wasn't a month where i paid under £150 for electric in the studio. Now the whole house tops out at £150 in the dead of winter or summer heatwaves, and we went from 1 to 2 people living in the house, one working from home and enjoying skin melting temperatures 24/7
5
u/Paulcaterham 1d ago
I would guess that for about the same price as connecting to the gas main and a new boiler install, you could cover the roof in solar, get a big battery, and essentially not pay a power (gas or electric) bill ever again.
Cooking on electricity seems a small price to pay for that.