How To Tell It’s Time To Replace Your Radiators Create Team - April 1, 2019 - Leave a comment Brrr! Are you guys feeling the chill? It’s hit a bracing 5 degrees in the UK this week, and by now most of the country has their heating well and truly turned on. But for some, they’ve turned on their heating and are still waiting for the heat to turn on. It’s been idle for half a year, and there’s nothing worse than discovering your heating won’t work properly. But unless it’s just not coming on, how do you know if it’s time to replace your radiators this year? They’re Leaking In general, the water works best when it’s actually in the radiator. So if you’re seeing puddles of water or drips coming off your radiator, it’s a pretty good sign that there’s something wrong with your radiators. Leaks are sometimes the result of a loose radiator valve but more often than not, it’s a leak from the body, which is caused by corrosion and pretty much impossible to fix. If you can identify where the leak is coming from, you will have an idea of how serious an issue it is. It Won’t Heat Up If your radiator isn’t living up to its primary function, something is probably wrong. If you’ve tried the usual fixes (bleeding it, checking the boiler and the thermostats), then odds are you have a problem with the valves. If your radiators are on the older side, then prolonged use could have caused a number of problems with these valves that prevent them from opening and closing. This is why your radiators won’t heat up. Again, this is an expensive fix, and usually, one that makes it cheaper to replace the system. It’s Rusting And Rattling Many people keep radiators for a very long time. Replacing them tends to only happen when something goes wrong. But over the years, all of the water running through your radiator will cause 2 things – corrosion damage and rust. With rust, the metal will become brittle and flaky, resulting in murky water that will flow through and damage the whole system. It also makes noises as the water erodes it or causes blockages, resulting in rattling. With corrosion, you will start to see holes in the internal and external metal, which is one of the leading causes of leaks. Why Not Try Electric Heating? If your radiators are starting to go on the fritz, why not consider replacing them with electric radiators instead? Electronic heating will not only last longer than a traditional radiator (thanks to the lack of water damaging the metal interior), but they will also be far more energy efficient for your home. On average, electric radiators need to be run for half the amount of time than traditional water radiators, thanks to their quick heating design, helping you significantly reduce your gas bill and warm up your home in time for Christmas. At Electric Heating Expert, we specialise in the supply and fitting of electric radiators. Our range provides enhanced heating comfort through innovative design, are fully programmable, non-intrusive and incredibly energy efficient. For more information, just browse our range or get in touch with us today.
Turning Electricity into Heat – The Efficiency Game Create Team - April 1, 2019 - Leave a comment When it comes to energy usage at home, it’s all about efficiency. The more efficient you are with your energy use, the less money you have to shell out for bills every month. The problem is that not many of us know how to significantly improve the efficiency of our homes energy usage. Sure, you can hand wash dishes instead of running the dishwasher and make sure you turn the lights off when you aren’t in the room, but how much difference does that really make? But if you look at your bills (particularly at this time of year), you will notice that heating takes up a pretty hefty chunk of what you’re paying for. If you’re on gas and water heating systems, there’s one way you can make a real change to your efficiency – switch to electric heating. Electrical To Thermal Energy Electricity and heat are both, at their heart, forms of energy. The entire world around us is made up of different kinds of energy, some of which can be converted from one form to another. At its core, electrical energy is a form of energy that occurs as a result of either stored or moving or charged particles. When the energy is stored it’s called electric potential energy, and when it’s moving in an electrical current it is a form of kinetic energy. Thermal energy, on the other hand, is an energy that results from moving atoms or molecules, resulting in heat. The faster the atoms or molecules move, the more heat or thermal energy they have. So how do you convert one type of energy to another? In this case, it’s all about resistance. When resistance builds up in an electrical system, the molecules will travel and vibrate faster, producing thermal energy. This is usually done by using coils within an exterior casing. It’s why there’s a coil at the bottom of the kettle. What Has That Got To Do With Heating? The reason we mention this is because converting electrical to thermal energy is at the heart of what electric radiators are all about, and it’s what makes them more energy efficient than water heated radiators. In a standard water radiator, the heat comes from hot water, which is being pumped through the pipes inside the radiator and flowing out. This means that the water needs to be heated at its central source (the boiler, for example) and then pushed out to each radiator. It’s why this kind of heating can take a while to ‘warm up’ – because the water has to heat and then get there at the same heat. But with electric radiators, there are no water pipes and no central heating unit. It simply draws an electrical current directly from your mains power supply and using a set of coils, converts that energy into thermal energy that can radiate out and produce heat. This means there is no energy wasted in heating and moving water around, and your radiators will heat up much quicker, so you actually end up running the heating for less time. At Electric Heating Expert, we specialise in helping you turn electricity into heat for your home in the most efficient way possible. Our range of electric radiators are the perfect way to cut your heating bills in half this winter, while still keeping your home toasty and warm. And because we understand that everyone is different, we carry a wide range of styles and looks to suit every room. Want to find out more? Just get in touch with us today for your free, no-obligation consultation and quote.
The Benefits Of Renewable Energy Create Team - July 7, 2020 - Leave a comment Eco-friendly seems to be the word of the day at the moment More people are opting for environmentally friendly, renewable options in their everyday life. But one of the areas many people are still not aware of is the impact running your home is having on the environment – and your wallet. By using traditional gas or combination methods to heat and power your home, you are still using up dwindling fossil fuels. So this winter, why not heat your home the renewable way? How Does Renewable Energy Work? Renewable energy is, essentially, any form of energy generated from natural and renewable energy sources, with the aim of having less of an impact on the environment than traditional fossil fuels. The most common forms of renewable energy tend to be solar, wind and hydroelectric (water) power. For the home user, solar power is the only feasible way to harvest natural energy and turn it into power for your home through the use of solar panels. Simply put, solar panels work by allowing photons (or particles or light), to knock electrons free form their atoms, generating a flow of electricity. This process happens on a massive scale within the photovoltaic cells, which make up the solar panel. Once the flow of electricity has been generated, the metal conductive plates on the sides of the cell collect the electrons and transfer them to the wires, creating useable power. This can be wired to run directly into your home, or into storage batteries. To find out more about the nitty-gritty science behind solar panels, check out this article by Live Science. How Much Does It Cost? Powering your home with solar power has many cost benefits. For a start, you can dramatically cut down on your electricity bills by using the power you have generated yourself. You will only need to use power directly from the grid if your solar power has been depleted. Even better, if you are producing more electricity than you need to use, you can sell the electricity back to the grid for a profit. The UK government currently has a ‘feed-in’ tariff that allows you to earn up to £8,080 a year for selling electricity back to the grid. So if you are clever about when you use your high-power utilities, you can easily power your home using solar energy without giving a penny to the grid, and even earning money from them. But, the first thing you need to do is get the solar panels installed, and that’s where the majority of the cost comes in. The average family home needs a solar PV panel that provides 3kW of electricity to be viable. In the UK, that will cost between £4,000 and £6,000 and cover 21 square metres of roof space. While this is around 70% cheaper than solar panels were when they first hit the market, it’s still a pretty significant investment. But because it’s a positive step for the environment, many local councils are offering grants or bursary schemes to help you afford the installation costs. Heating Your Home With Solar Power While it’s true that the UK isn’t exactly bathed in sunshine, solar power has the capacity to power everything you need in your home. But in most homes, many things aren’t powered by electricity. Heating, for example, is still predominantly gas based in the UK, meaning you are burning fossil fuels and spending a lot of money to heat your home. But with an electric heating system, based on electric radiators, you can use some of that wonderful, clean and renewable energy to heat your home as well. Electric radiators are wired directly into the mains electricity in your home and will draw from your electricity supply when used. There will be no difference between the power generated by solar panels and that provided by the grid – the quality and power are still the same. And if you are utilising solar batteries to store your excess, you can be sure that your home will stay warm, even in the deepest winter power cut. So there you have it. Electric radiators are the perfect way to reduced your carbon footprint while saving money. If you already have solar panels installed on your home, but are still running gas heating, now is the time to look at switching to a more energy efficient heating solution. At Electric Heating Experts, we provide a wide range of electric heating options, including slimline, economy and stylised radiators to suit any home. For more information on how to make your home eco-friendly, get in touch with us today.
How Does Electric Central Heating Work? Create Team - April 4, 2022 - Leave a comment Very few sources will actually dive into the techy bit and tell you how electric heating works, and not just why you should make the switch. We talk a lot about electric heating (obviously), and there are lots of sources on the internet that try to convince you that it’s the right thing to do. Sure, we could also tell you that they are more efficient, that they are cheaper to run and give you more control over the heating in your home, but that doesn’t really tell you how they work, does it? So today, we’re going to buck that trend and explain to you the fundamentals of electric heating, how it works and why it is the more efficient way to heat your home. What Is Electric Central Heating? The term central heating was originally used only in its literal sense. Central heating meant any home heating system powered by a single heating source – most commonly a system of pipes and radiators powered by a gas or oil burning boiler. Electric central heating in this sense is the same as a conventional central heating system but with an electric boiler and radiators. Electric Radiators Where a traditional radiator works by conducting the heat from hot water running through its internal pipes into the air, an electric radiator conducts the heat through electricity. Much like the elements in a hob or a kettle, the elements are heated up that heat is transferred out into your home. The shells are crafted from the pure finest grade Italian aluminium (which is a fantastic conductor of heat) and fitted with a tungsten heating elements, which ensures maximum heat dissipation for minimum energy usage. Because of the way they heat up, they use every single watt of electricity and convert it into heat, so there is no wastage and no long warm-up time either. A microchip within the radiator physically controls all functions, ensuring optimum performance for minimum electricity consumption. Electric Boilers You might think that if you have electric radiators, you don’t need a boiler at all – but since you need water to the rest of your home, that simply isn’t true. An electric boiler simply uses electricity instead of gas to heat your hot water. Just like a gas boiler, it will heat the water in a storage unit before sending it out to your sinks, showers and baths as warm water. They come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, but each one will feature water running through a system to be heated by a heating element – not dissimilar from the one you’d find your kettle. Some of the advantages to this kettle-like system of heating water include the fact that electric boilers can run almost silently, and are usually small, compact units that can squeeze into the tightest of spots. They are also cheap to buy and easy to install and don’t need to be placed on an external wall, as there is no flue or gas pipe. In short, an electric boiler is essentially a very large kettle for your home, just with a slightly different layout. At Electric Heating Expert, we provide a wide range of electric heating solutions, including a variety of styles and sizes of electric radiators to suit your home. If you would like to know more about how electric heating works, or view some of our collection for yourself, just get in touch today.
Why choose electric radiators? Create Team - July 7, 2020 - Leave a comment One of the first questions we’re asked by new customers is why they should choose electric radiators. After all, if you already have a heating system installed in your home, what are the benefits of ripping it out and replacing it with a new, electric system? There are, actually, several reasons that electric heating is the better choice for your home and your wallet and today we want to share some of them with you. Stay Warmer For Longer Electric radiators are a highly efficient way to heat your home and in particular, larger spaces. Unlike gas heaters, electric radiators convert every single watt of electricity it uses into heat, so there is no wastage at all. They also heat up much quicker than traditional heating, which means you are able to run it for shorter amounts of time at lower temperatures, saving money as you do. Installation Is A Breeze The cost of installing a new heating system is one of the first concerns people raise when it comes to the thought of switching to a new heating method. But if you opt for slimline electric radiators, they are incredibly easy to install. You don’t need an electrician, builders or a bag full of tools. If you’re particularly handy with a few basic tools, these radiators can be installed yourself, since there is no water involved. If you don’t want to install them yourself, you can opt for our installation service and have your new electric radiators up and running in no time. It’s Portable Following on from that last point, electric radiators are extremely portable and very easy to move. Because most models are held onto the wall by simple hooks on brackets. This means you can use your radiators anywhere near a wall socket, helping you heat your home efficiently. If you spend a little time before installation understanding how heat behaves in each room of your home, you can position your electric radiators to heat each room in the most efficient way, saving you a lot of money in the long run. Better Control Electric radiators offer you much more control over the heating in your home. Would you like to set a different temperature for each room of your house, or have the heating come on and turn off at different times? With electric heating, you can. The ability to manage the heating down to the second and the degree is the reason electric heating is so attractive to many home owners, as it saves you money and helps keep your home at the perfect temperature while you’re in and not waste heat while you’re out. Lower Maintenance Traditional central heating is not a low maintenance solution. Regular checks, services and certifications mean that you constantly have to keep up with maintenance schedules and their associated costs. But with an electric heating system, there is no need to maintain a boiler and other plumbing equipment. You don’t need to pay engineers for safety checks and services, and you don’t need to remember to book your health checks every single year. Instead, you can be confident that your radiators are under warranty, and can be replaced simply and easily if there are any problems. At Electric Heating Expert, we have a huge range of electric heating solutions to suit any home. Whether you want a slimline, modern model or a classic radiator chassis, we have an electric heating system that will suit your style and budget. For more information, just get in touch with us today.
How electric heating could cut your monthly bills Create Team - April 1, 2019 - Leave a comment In the UK, the average gas and electricity bill is currently £1,316 - more than double what it was 10 years ago. With many gas companies announcing a not so insignificant price rise, more and more homeowners are looking for a way to bring their energy bills down. If you’re looking to save energy without making any major lifestyle changes just yet, the best place to start is with your heating. By converting to electric heating, you can heat your home more efficiently, quicker and cheaper than traditional gas or hot water heating. More Efficient Both, gas central heating radiators and electric radiators, transfer heat in the same way: through a mixture of convected and radiated heat. But within an electric radiator, aluminium elements heat up quickly and warm the surface of the radiator to move heat into the room. Cold air naturally moves through the radiator channels and is heated by the hot elements, sending warm air around the room. This provides a comfortable heat balance within the room, with much faster warm up times than a traditional gas radiator. This ultimately means that the heating doesn’t need to run for as long during a slow warm up time, which over the course of a single month can lead to significant savings. Even if you just cut down your heating use by 15 minutes a day, you will still save on average £54 a month (based on an energy cost of 12.5p per kWh). No Maintenance Requirements Unlike gas radiators, electric radiators are not powered by combustion within the home. There is no running water throughout and only a single set of components to handle. All of this means that electric radiators and heating systems don’t require any maintenance or servicing, which cuts down hugely on ongoing costs. While it might not be your monthly bills, annual services and breakdown costs can be expensive, and electric radiators remove all of it from the equation. All you need to do is keep them clean and they will keep working without maintenance. Reduced Running Costs And of course, there are general running cost advantages. Even though electricity tariffs can be more expensive than gas tariffs, the many opportunities electric radiators give you to reduce your energy usage can help you cut your heating bills to an absolute minimum, to the point where electricity can easily be cheaper than gas. With precision thermostats, which can reduce radiator operating periods down to a third (as we’ve already mentioned), and sophisticated programming scheduled which can half the amount of power used in your home at any one time, your energy usage will be reduced to a fraction of the original cost. If you have the opportunity to run radiators off self-generated electricity, or electricity generated and shared as part of a local collective, then your electric heating will also become incredibly eco-friendly. At Electric Heating Expert, we specialise in helping our customers lower their monthly energy bills with efficient, stylish electric heating. From working with you to calculate what you could save to installing state of the art electric radiators. For more information about our electric heating services and discover how much money you could save by switching, get in touch with us today. For more information about our electric heating services and discover how much money you could save by switching, get in touch with us today!
Smart Heating Options Create Team - January 14, 2019 - Leave a comment What Is Smart Heating? You’ve probably seen the adverts for Hive, with its catchy song and animated bees telling you how great it is to be able to ‘control your home from your phone’. Except ‘phone ‘really means laptop, smartphone or laptop, that’s just not as catchy in a song. And yes, being able to control the heat in your home before you get in is a really cool thing to do. It also effectively sums up what smart heating is all about. But smart heating is also the beginning of a more connected age and is likely to be a key part of all homes moving forwards. As fuel costs start to rise and natural supplies run out, the ability to heat our homes in efficient ways will become essential. Efficiency is the name of the game in smart heating, which is why we have pulled together some of the top smart heating options for 2017, just for you. Hive 2 Hive was one of the first on the smart thermostat market, which isn’t a huge surprise since it is made by British Gas. It’s certainly the best-looking option out there, with an interactive glass touch screen and space age controls. Depending on your existing heating system, you will need to buy the right number of zone controllers, which can make it a bit pricier than others on the market. But the advantage of being made by British Gas is that you can have a British Gas engineer install them for as little as £249 (as opposed to £179 for just the kit and self-installation). It’s important to note that Hive 2 can only handle 3 zones at the moment, and installing a zoned thermostat won’t make your home’s heating zoned – you need to have the right valves and installation there for that. It’s a relatively straightforward installation and it works with almost any boiler on the market, as well as boiler-fired wet underfloor heating systems. Easy to use, versatile and attractive, Hive 2 is still one of the most popular solutions around. Heat Genius Heat genius is an internet of Things smart home heating system. It creates a digital home network designed to save you fuel and money by heating only the parts of your home that you use when you use them. You can control your heating to a granular level – to the temperature and on/off times of each individual radiator. You can also set up sensors that learn when you use what rooms and heats them automatically according to those patterns. The downside of Heat Genius is the sheer amount of parts you will need to make it work in your home, all of which add up to a fairly hefty price. The kit itself comes in at £249, but you will also need radiator valves (£59), room sensors (34), smart plugs (£29) and installation (£99). This makes it by far the most expensive option here. But it is far more sophisticated than any other solution out there too. A truly connected device, the Heat Genius can work in any home and gives you unparalleled control of the heating within your home. Nest Now in its 3rd generation, Nest is an all round good egg (sorry, we couldn’t resist!). It's reliable, well designed and very easy to use. While it doesn’t come with the huge range of accessories and compatibility of some other systems, you can buy separate smart TVRs to control radiators, without changing your plumbing. You can also combine it with the Nest Protect smoke and carbon monoxide alarms and the Nest Camera, all of which works with the thermostat. The 3rd generation update means you can control your hot water, and the latest app update can tell when you’ve gone out. It retails for around £200 and generally performs pretty well. However, it is essentially a remote on/off switch for your home and will only allow you to set temperature from a single thermostat. Perfect for small living spaces but for bigger homes you may start running into problems. Why Use Electric Heating With These Systems? As we’ve mentioned before, smart heating is all about getting the most bang for your buck and running your home efficiently. So, to get the most out of your smart heating, your actual heating system should be as efficient as possible as well. In previous blogs, we have discussed how electric heating could cut your monthly energy bills in half, thanks to their hyper-efficient method of conducting heat through quick heat aluminium elements. This means you will need to run your heating for less time, resulting in cost savings for you. When you combine the efficiency of electric radiators and the ability to control their temperature, timings and turn them on and off at the touch of a button, you have the ultimate in energy-efficient heating solutions. At Electric Heating Expert, we supply a range of electric heating solutions that can integrate perfectly with almost any smart heating system, allowing you to have complete control of your home and your fuel bill. With winter on the way, now is the perfect time to make the switch and see a huge difference in yearly energy costs. For more information, or to get your free quote, just get in touch with us today.
Economiser Electric Radiator design update Create Team - February 14, 2022 - Leave a comment German-made electric radiators haven't changed in decades. Nobody has been able to improve on the ceramic core design - until now. Economiser Radiators are now even more reliable Where electronics are involved, it’s essential that that heat is kept to a minimum. In addition to the discrete air vents that are cut into the end-panel that houses the electronics, the ceramic heat cells have now been reshaped to keep the electronics cooler. Now with more clearance between the ceramic cell and the electronics, the operating temperature has been reduced further. This improvement helps to reduce the operating temperature of the electronic components by around 15% - A real advancement on an already excellent design that now reduces the possibility of failure further still. Further enhanced comfort levels A uniform surface temperature creates the best level of comfort in any type of radiator. That’s why Economiser Radiators are built with two rows of horizontal ceramic heat cells, rather than a single row of vertical plates. Recent testing revealed that the naturally rising heat that accumulates in the top of a radiator causes the top of the radiator to be hotter than the bottom. To counter this, the heating elements within the cells have been changed. The ceramic cells in the upper section of the radiator are now of a slightly lower wattage output than the ones below. The result is an extremely uniform surface temperature which promotes optimal comfort levels. Protection from accidental damage Even our 30-year warranty can't cover accidental damage. The newly-designed ceramic cells help to prevent it though. The cells have new cut-outs to house the electrical connections that run between them. This simple update makes Economiser Electric Radiators are even less susceptible to accidental damage. A bump or knock when you move a radiator for decorating, or when you move house perhaps, is now absorbed without any danger of damage to the internal electrical components.
Electric heating that warms while you chill Create Team - November 30, 2020 - Leave a comment This month we supplied electric radiators from the popular Vantage range to Calm Water Floatation in Nottingham. Calm Water Floatation in West Bridgford, Nottingham, provides a truly unique concept in relaxation at at their state-of-the-art centre. Our electric heating helps to give their visitors a warm welcome. The floatation tanks at the centre session provide a deeply relaxing experience that's similar to deep sleep. Flotation in the mineral-rich water can also help to relieve physical and mental tension, aid in recovery from injuries, and even accelerate learning. There's controllable LED lighting, relaxing ambient sounds, and with the new addition of Vantage Electric Radiators, visitors can now enjoy a balanced combination of radiant and naturally-convected warmth while they dry off. The Vantage range of electric heating is a popular choice for businesses as well as home owners. With a full metal construction, it's extremely robust. Where other electric radiators are made with plastic panels, to cut manufacturing costs, the Vantage is made from 100% powder coated aluminium alloy. The heating effect provides optimum comfort, and the clever electronics help to reduce energy use. The user interface is intuitive and versatile. Users can program their electric radiator for precise times and temperatures, and there's an innovative "adaptive start" function, that begins the heating cycle in advance, to ensure the room is held at the selected temperature at the set start time. Visit www.calm-water.co.uk to find out more about floatation and book your first sessions with an introductory discount.
Electric Heating – Get it while it’s CHEAP! Create Team - July 7, 2020 - Leave a comment Unbelievable prices! Do huge discounts make you more likely to buy? Electrical heating should be affordable. Some special offers make it look just plain cheap. In this blog, we look at the marketing from another perspective... Most people like to see a saving or get something extra when they make a purchase. It’s in our nature to look for a good deal, and saving money is better than not saving money, right? Well, it depends. On the face of it, the deal may appear to be great, but what’s really in it for you? Some electric heating retailers tempt us with the opportunity to save 30% or even more on the recommended retail price. What’s often unclear though, is whether the electrical radiator on offer was actually ever sold at the claimed RRP. In many cases that we've seen, it wasn’t. The Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) have dealt with this matter, and the advice on their website to retailers is clear: "Do not use RRPs given by the manufacturer as your only substantiation for savings claims. Even if they can provide documentary evidence that the quoted RRP was recommended by the manufacturer, marketers should be aware that if they cannot demonstrate it was actually sold at this price the ASA is likely to uphold complaints." It's a stark warning from CAP, but one that is often ignored. It stands to reason that if an electric radiator was in fact 40% higher in price previously, very few would ever have actually sold. If the radiator really did sell successfully at that higher asking price, then why would the retailer reduce the price, and their high profit margin? Let's assume that the huge price reduction is genuine. That premium-priced radiator is now a very cheap one. Surely, something has to give? Some may surmise that the very cheap radiator was actually manufactured at a very low cost - impacting on the quality. Others may think that the retailer is now selling the radiator at a loss. It's seems highly unlikely that the latter would be true, so how do we explain the original price or RRP? Increasing a price can increase the perception of quality. Reducing that price then gives the false impression of value. This method is used increasingly by marketers in online retail. Unfortunately, unlike the high street, online retail prices are rarely checked. At Electric Heating Expert we show complete transparency. We don't advertise huge savings on our product range. We also want to make it very clear that don’t sell "cheap". We offer value. There’s a big difference. "Price" is the amount you pay. "Value" is what the product or service pays you. In all cases, transparency should be key, shouldn't it? .
