When discussing with prospective clients the option heating of their home by electricity, one of the most commonly expressed comments is, “Electric heating! I remember those old storage heaters we had in Britain; always cold by the evening.” It’s then time to dispel the myth.

Electric central heating in France is a world away from the brick-filled storage heater. Here the method is to have direct heating, i.e. the appliance draws the current when required, rather than storing it from a different period of the day. Advances in technology mean that the heat emitting appliances can be highly responsive to the room’s temperature requirement and work in a variety of levels of output to suit the activity. Moreover, the appliance can be installed as part of an integrated central heating installation with programmable control of temperature and time and with energy management to minimize the EDF tariff. In fact, the programming can even be carried out remotely, by telephone or internet connection.

As this is quite a large subject, I’ll tackle it over a series of articles. To start with, I’ll deal with some of the reasons for choosing to heat by electricity?

Installation costs.

An electric heating appliance requires no more than a four-core cable running from the consumer unit and an outlet plate on the wall. The cost of installing this would be a fraction of the cost of installing a system of pipes throughout the home.

Fuel stockage.

Of course, there is none. The fuel is delivered as and when required. There is no need for an oil tank in the garage or a gas cylinder in the garden. Therefore, there is no need for ensuring timely deliveries of fuel and no risk of running out over Christmas.

Maintenance.

It is a totally clean form of heating. No soot, no fumes, no cleaning out of boilers or flues, no annual maintenance. There is no maintenance requirement at all. Once the system has been installed and programmed, there is nothing else to do.