"Modular Electric Heating"

[Mark]

What do you think? Snake oil or worth considering?

"Heating that provides greater economy, higher levels of control and power, with simple installation, rivalling ANY, yes ANY other form of heating for overall economy and performance. There is NO waste, no flue, no chimney, no long charge up times. No wet pipe circuit constantly losing heat. We believe Sunflow heating surpasses ALL other types of heating for power, control and low running costs, combined with no waste and simple installation."

[meow2222]

a joke

[Dave Plowman (News)]

In article , Mark What do you think? Snake oil or worth considering?

All electric heating is as near as makes no difference 100% efficient, so there is no room for improvement. Which makes this ad snake oil.

[tim.....]

This is the sort of nonsense that my sister falls for.

Whilst they are undoubtedly "tidier" than "wet" systems they are no more efficient than using normal electric heaters to produce the same output but at 1/20th of the installation cost.

tim

[ARW]

I do believe I have seen similar bollocks by other fraudsters:-)

At least I cannot see a claim that they are using German made clay filled radiators like some other firms.

[usenet2012]

In message , Mark writes

Energy in = energy out. If it uses little electricity then it gives out little heat.

A central heating 'wet pipe circuit' can only be 'losing heat' if the pipes are routed OUTSIDE the house. In reality the heat given off by pipes is simply released into the house.

Cleverly worded sales con.

[alan]

"Our surveyor will bring a sample for you to examine"

Is this the salesman who will not leave until you sign on the dotted line?

BTW, other forums suggest £1,200/£1,400 per radiator.

[Andy Champ]

Probably works as well as their web server:

Service Temporarily Unavailable

The server is temporarily unable to service your request due to maintenance downtime or capacity problems. Please try again later. Apache/2 Server at

Port 80

Andy

[Dave Liquorice]

" ... a specially developed heat storage technology that uses less than a third of the electricity."

Already been noted that energy in is always greater than energy out. So shoving 1/3 less energy in means less energy out.

" ... Sunflow heating technicians work to rigorous standards and have to identify all the factors that may be the cause of current inefficiencies."

Why do I think they also up the insulation, remove draughts and claim it's down to their "special" heaters.

't quite state the above but it's close.

" ... by our team of specialists which include fully qualified plumbers and electricians."

Plumbers? Why does an electric heating instalation require plumbers?

[Bill Wright]

"Warning, simply extending a wet central heating system into the conservatory contravenes building regulations. If you simply add a radiator to your existing system you run the risk of a huge upsurge in gas/oil/lpg usage because there would be an excessive call for heat. This is why the legislation exists. The conservatory must have separate controls (not just a separate thermostatic valve). Contravening this can become a problem, especially if you try to sell the property in the future."

Is that right?

Bill

[alan]

When you buy one electric radiator from them they will helpfully dispose of your "wet" central heating system. Don't forget their system is so efficient and you can instantly heat your whole house from one 13Amp socket.

[John Rumm]

Yes and no - as with most of that site, a thin shell of truth, stuffed with a large helping of bollocks.

If you have a conservatory and it itself does not meet the building regs standard of insulation (hence it must be isolated by doors from the main property) then it should not be heated along with the rest of the house. If its part and parcel of the house and not divided off from it - then it meets the insulation requirements for a house and can be heated as such.

In a normal discrete conservatory adding a rad that is part of the house system will not result in any excessive "call for heat" since that comes from the room stat, and that won't be in the conservatory. You will waste some energy however since you are heating a room that won't be used as often as the rest of the house. A conservatory like that should be on an independent heating zone with its own controls such that you don't have top heat it when not required, and you can heat it without heating the whole house as well.

[harry]

As others point out, all electric heaters are 100% efficient. However, sometimes a radiant heater can be cheaper to run as it can provide local heat in a large space. Also good for intermittent heat. Also capital costs low. Also where no gas is available. Storage heaters can be as cheap to run as tanker gas. (and cheaper to install)

But any form of convector heater for continuous heat in a sizeable area where mains gas is available and it's bollocks.

[Windmill]

Not merely 'as near as makes no difference'. It's *exactly* 100% efficient. Never any more, and never any less. Even if an electric heater produces some light, that ends up heating a surface somewhere.

You put in 4.2 joules (4.2 watts for one second), and in this universe you get 1 calorie out. No ifs, buts, or maybes. (Unless someone can redesign the universe).

Of course you can make a huge difference by directing the heat differently. If you're in the open air, radiant heat helps, but convection heat is a waste of energy.

[dennis]

Some are more than 100%, see link below.

The stuff on the site doesn't look like its anything more than a convection heater but they aren't exactly giving much information.

I expect they just want to get a foot in the door for a hard sell.

I would consider fitting these electric driven heaters/coolers

are cheaper than the stuff on that site.

[ARW]

dennis?

[RJH]

Assuming that light and sound (from fans) stays in the area to be heated ;-)

Rob

[alan]

But it appears that the products from this company are x3 the price of the 'same' item from other suppliers and possibly x10 the cost of a similar electrical heating technology.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I'd be very cautious about claiming 100% efficiency for anything.

[The Natural Philosopher]

in terms of making heat almost anything is 100% efficient. The question with e.g. CH boilers is how much goes out the flue...