In brief
16.6% of Crewe Central households heat with electricity alone, against 5.6% across Cheshire East. Storage heaters and solar panels work at opposite ends of the day and the year, so panels help most with daytime use and with hot water through a diverter. Cheshire East’s Local Grant lists both solar PV and high heat retention storage heaters.
Which Crewe households heat with electricity
Census 2021 asked every household what fuel its central heating used. In Crewe Central, 16.6% answered electricity alone, about 540 households. Crewe South came next at 9.8%, roughly 510 households. The other four Crewe wards sit below the Cheshire East figure of 5.6% (ONS via Nomis).
| Ward | Electric only | Mains gas only | Flats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crewe Central | 16.6% | 69.6% | 38.6% |
| Crewe South | 9.8% | 75.6% | 22.7% |
| Crewe West | 4.6% | 82.8% | 10.3% |
| Crewe North | 4.6% | 84.1% | 3.2% |
| Crewe St Barnabas | 4.3% | 82.4% | 9.6% |
| Crewe East | 3.5% | 84.3% | 6.0% |
| Cheshire East (borough) | 5.6% | 76.9% | 10.5% |
The census category covers households whose central heating runs on electricity and nothing else. It does not say what kind of electric heating they have, so a ward’s figure will include storage heaters, panel heaters and other systems together. Households with more than one fuel are counted separately, which is why the columns do not sum to 100%.
Night-time charging, daytime sunshine
Storage heaters are built to take in electricity overnight, usually on a tariff with a cheaper night rate, and give the heat out during the following day. Solar panels do the opposite: they generate only in daylight. Left alone, the two barely meet, because the heaters have finished charging before the panels start.
The year has the same mismatch. For a south-facing roof at 35° near Crewe, PVGIS 5.3 gives 152 kWh per kWp across November to February, against 458 across May to August. The months when an electrically heated home needs the most heat are the months when panels make the least. The full monthly pattern is in the table below and on output on a Crewe roof.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 32 | 50 | 82 | 110 | 120 | 117 | 117 | 105 | 88 | 61 | 40 | 30 |
Some heater controls can take part of their charge during the day, and some tariffs make that worthwhile; others cannot. That is a question about your particular heaters and supply contract, best put to the firm and the supplier together before assuming solar will feed the heating.
Where solar does overlap
Daytime electricity use is the clearest overlap. Lighting, cooking, washing, a fridge and anything else running in daylight can draw on the panels. On a two-rate tariff, daytime units are normally the dearer ones, so solar power used during the day displaces the more expensive part of the bill. Direct-acting heaters used on a cool spring or autumn afternoon can also draw on the panels, at a time of year when output is still reasonable.
A household that is at home during the day tends to use more of its own solar power than one that is out from morning to evening. Export and self-use explains the pattern and how the SEG scheme pays for the rest.
Hot water: the easiest win
Electrically heated homes usually heat their water in a cylinder with an immersion element, often on the night rate. A diverter is a small controller that notices when power is about to flow out to the grid and sends it to the immersion instead. On a bright day that can warm much of the cylinder, and the usual night-rate heating stays in place for the days the sun does not oblige.
A diverter needs a cylinder, so it does not suit a home where hot water comes from an instantaneous electric heater. It also competes with a battery for the same surplus, and the firm should explain which gets priority if both are fitted.
Where a battery fits
A battery stores daytime surplus and releases it in the evening, which suits an electrically heated home where the evening is busy. On some tariffs it can also charge from the grid at night and run the house on stored power in the morning. What it cannot do is move summer sunshine into winter. Sizing, the grid step and the questions to ask are on batteries in Crewe.
What the Local Grant lists
Cheshire East Council’s Warm Homes: Local Grant, with funding until 31 March 2028, names high heat retention electric storage heaters as an eligible measure where a heat pump is not suitable, and solar PV as another. Only homes rated EPC D, E, F or G are in scope. On income, either someone in the household receives an income-related benefit or the household’s income is at most £36,000 before tax or £20,000 after housing costs. Owner-occupiers and private tenants can both qualify, and the work aims to raise the home by at least two EPC bands.
Because the target is two bands, the council looks at the whole home rather than one measure. For an electrically heated home the right package could include insulation, better heaters, solar, or a mix. Where the home is let privately, the council expects the landlord to put in at least 50% once past their first property. Tenants can read renting in Crewe, landlords landlords and solar, and every scheme is compared on grants and schemes.
Heat pumps and electric homes
The grant’s wording, storage heaters where a heat pump is not suitable, shows the order in which the council looks at heating. A heat pump draws warmth from outdoor air or from the ground and concentrates it for radiators and hot water, producing more heat than the electricity it consumes. It needs room outside for its unit, generally a cylinder indoors, and a home whose heat loss suits it, which rules it out for some flats and small houses. Where one fits, solar can cover part of its electricity in spring and autumn, though very little in midwinter.
Tariffs and meters after solar
Storage heaters are switched by the meter, a timer or their own controls, depending on the home. Before changing meter or tariff to suit the panels, ask the supplier how the change would affect when the heaters charge, so the house is not left with heaters charging at the wrong time. An export tariff under the SEG scheme also needs a meter that records exports, which is usually a smart meter.
Landlords of electrically heated flats and houses in the town centre can find the wider picture, including their own duties, on landlords and solar.
Flats with electric heating
Crewe Central’s high share of electric heating sits alongside its high share of flats, 38.6% of households. A flat rarely has a roof of its own, and panels on a block most easily feed the communal supply rather than any single flat’s heaters. Flats and solar explains the options, including plug-in kits and who has to agree.
Questions to ask before going ahead
- What heating does the home have, and can its controls use any daytime electricity?
- Which tariff is the home on, and would it still suit once panels are fitted?
- Is there a hot water cylinder with an immersion element that a diverter could use?
- Would a battery fill often enough in spring and autumn to be useful, not just in summer?
- Could the Local Grant cover better heaters or insulation alongside, or instead of, panels?
Ward-by-ward heating figures are on Crewe homes by ward. A question about a particular home can go through the question form.