GAH Heating Electrastream Electric Boiler

...Electrastream system which is a GAH heating product .

This system is advertised as “a cost effective solution for hot and cold water supply and electric central heating with water filled radiators” and is designed to be suitable for flats, bungalows and smallish dwellings.

I decided to go for this system for the following reasons:

The system only requires water and electricity so I didn’t have to have a bulky ...
...it doesn’t use gas or oil there was no need to have a boiler installed in my kitchen.
The system uses conventional water filled radiators which are far more attractive than the storage heaters.
I can get heat on demand 24 hours a day whenever I want it.
I can take advantage of the economy 10 tariff and have the control unit system that controls the hot water and the heating On/Off times programmed accordingly.
I have a far ... more

As I have lived in rural Wales for the past three years without access to mains gas I have had to use storage heaters to heat my home. On first moving here I looked into having oil or LPG central heating installed but both involved having tanks outside the property. Now this doesn’t sound too bad but with all the new buildings regulations and health and safety issues I was told the tank would have to be in the middle of my back garden. As the garden was one of the features that attracted us to buying the house in the first place we were not too thrilled at the prospect of having an oil tank as a prominent garden feature, so we persevered with the storage heaters.

Now the storage heaters are great they provide more than enough heat for the house and I have never been cold but they unfortunately, do not allow the convenience and flexibility of use. They have to be switched on the night before to heat up. So on some occasions we have set them to come on only to have all the windows and doors open the following day to let the heat out. This is such a waste of money and energy. The weather this year has also been so unpredictable so we decided to have another look at central heating.

It was then that I found out about the Ariston Electrastream system which is a GAH heating product .

This system is advertised as “a cost effective solution for hot and cold water supply and electric central heating with water filled radiators” and is designed to be suitable for flats, bungalows and smallish dwellings.

I decided to go for this system for the following reasons:

The system only requires water and electricity so I didn’t have to have a bulky tank in the middle of the back garden.
Because it doesn’t use gas or oil there was no need to have a boiler installed in my kitchen.
The system uses conventional water filled radiators which are far more attractive than the storage heaters.
I can get heat on demand 24 hours a day whenever I want it.
I can take advantage of the economy 10 tariff and have the control unit system that controls the hot water and the heating On/Off times programmed accordingly.
I have a far more flexible heating control than I did with storage heaters because of the thermostat control.
There is a 25 year guarantee
There is also a frost free protection setting that can be used if I should go away over the winter months.

The system consists of a large white cylinder measuring 115cm high with a diameter of 50 cm approximately with a capacity of 150 litres. Copper pipes are attached to it in different locations. Mine fits snugly into the airing cupboard so it is out of sight and actually replaced the old boiler.

The basis idea is that water is heated by a high powered titanium tri-core heater. The hot water is drawn from the cylinder and mixed with cold water by a thermostat valve to ensure a safer lower temperature at the hot water taps. The hot water within the cylinder also heats the water for the heating system via a indirect coil within the cylinder. The circulating pump for the heating system is controlled by the thermostat that I have in the hall and the programmable timer which has an override facility so I can get heat whenever I want providing of course that there is hot water.

To have the whole system installed with 8 radiators cost me under £5000 which was a lot cheaper than the gas and oil alternatives I was quoted for. It took 3 days to install with 2 very competent plumbers and a qualified electrician.

There are two models available TD1125 and TD1150 and more information can be obtained from www.gah.co.uk or telephone 01394421160

Now I am not suggesting that this system is any better than oil or gas central heating, but, if like me you are only stuck with electricity as your main source of power it is worth a look. I am very pleased with the system as I don’t have to have the heating on all day like you do with storage heaters and so far it has proved to be far more economical.

This review is also published on dooyoo under poppyash.
 

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