storage heater/economy 7 queries

Sorry for earlier post....I lost interest in providing the full explanation as it was my first post for a while and I was going out. The 30 units that were used were the reason of running the heater stats outside their normal operational limits to a tempreature that could never be achieved (it was 29degrees not 24). In short if I want a room to be 21degrees and set the stat at 21degrees ,as long as the heater is correctly sized for the room it will reach temperature and then cycle the heat on and off to maintain that temperature. this is normally a pretty basic operation in which a 1kw heating element for example draws 1kw of heat input to set temperature then zero current until room temp drops then 1kw and so on. By using a microprocessor (kalirel) controlled device that operation gets smarter. It draws full current for approx 10mins max then as it approaches the set temperature it automatically reduces input current to the required amount to just hit temperature all be it 50%, 17%, 3% of maximum. As you sound quite accomplished at saving money and also well read check out https://www.kalirel.co.uk for the full technical how they work. it is the way that you can monitor, alter and control each individual heater real time that allows the savings to be used. for the record as you know if it is a very cold day and for example your xl18 (2.55kw) storage heater has the input set at maximum it can suck up an input charge of 18kwh or units at 3.55p per unit (kwh) that is in fact 64p per heater approx per charge. You would save money by converting over to economy 10 as your input charge could be set lower and you could use your washing machine, etc during the 8-10pm slot. Read the tech info on the kalirel site though for the how they work information, as i said I can only speak from what I have seen and what units I have actually seen being used. regards. ps for Cardew as you will see on the website it is the thermodynamic gel that maintains the heat effect for such a long time that makes them so efficient as you may know that grannys bar fire will actually go from red hot to luke warm in approx 8mins from when you remove the electric, the kalirel heater will give you around 40+ mins which means the bar fire would use 5x the energy input for the same heat ouput even though they are as you pointed out both using 1000w elements. When we size a room we work on a 50% ratio to Storage heaters. They need 2000w we only need to size for 1000w. again look forward to your further questions

ACEELECLTD wrote: »

as you will see on the website it is the thermodynamic gel that maintains the heat effect for such a long time that makes them so efficient as you may know that grannys bar fire will actually go from red hot to luke warm in approx 8mins from when you remove the electric, the kalirel heater will give you around 40+ mins which means the bar fire would use 5x the energy input for the same heat ouput even though they are as you pointed out both using 1000w elements. When we size a room we work on a 50% ratio to Storage heaters. They need 2000w we only need to size for 1000w. again look forward to your further questions

You say the 1000w Kalirel heater is 5x more energy efficient because it stays hot for 5 times as long after its been switched off? So you measure the efficiency of a heater based on how long it stays hot after you switch it off then?
Ok, my storage heaters stay hot for around 15 hours after they're switched off. On the basis of that, it must mean that the storage heaters are about 20 times more efficient than kalirel then? :rolleyes:

ACEELECLTD wrote: »

The purpose of the whole postings was how do we get to be the exact temperature in our homes exactly when we need it for the cheapest way possible.

Well we would all agree with that aim.

The problem is that(with your vested interest) you are implying that a Kalirel system can go some way toward achieving that aim - and it won't.

A Kalirel system, along with any other form of non-storage electrical heating(including Granny's 1 bar fire etc), is the most expensive way to heat a house it is possible to find.

The reason installers favour the Kalirel system is that they are simplicity itself to install as they are no more than 1kW oil-filled(well gel!!) radiators with a 'posh' thermostat sold at an inflated price, with doubtless a huge margin of profit for those installing and manufacturing.

They are 'pushed' relentlessly on forums like this and have a website that is a disgrace IMO.

If you decide on electrical heating, for most people, storage heating using Economy 7 or Economy 10 is the cheapest option.

Obviously storage heaters have drawbacks, not least that they 'leak' heat during the day and you need to 'plan ahead' with your heating requirements. But to 'top them up' during the day if required, costs exactly the same as electricty for a Kalirel system if you are on the same tariff.

If you do decide to have electrical heating on a 'normal' 24/7 tariff,(and remember your water heating will then not be at E7 rates) then it is far cheaper to buy some cheap heaters(oil filled radiators if you want the same effect as Kalirel) rather than install a expensive Kalirel system. Remember they all produce heat at the same cost.

The post above should be repeated and repeated for the benefit of anyone tempted by the misleading adverts(and posts!) for Kalirel and similar systems running on day time electricity.

Even if you do need to top-up at daytime rates(and some people will) you are still using electricity for that top up period at the same price as Kailrel uses all the time.