Would I be better turning off the storage heaters and buying some oil heaters?

lilnell

I've had storage heaters with economy 7 in a flat which had single glazed sash windows and 11ft ceilings-Freezing always had to use convector heater in the evening. So, we ditched those and got the thermostatic electric radiators and economy 10 tariff. Very warm very quickly and easy to control
We had 3 radiators which you just screw to the wall and plug in, cost about £1000 Running costs were the same. I would happily recommend these

JennyR68

Ada3050 wrote: »

I love mine too, but they are pricey for some peoples pockets.

I tend to use mine from mid november to mid march and top up with the coal fire and convector heaters. I find they retain the heat all day and are over 20yrs old, maybe I am lucky??

Your lucky having a coal fire, very envious

Ada3050

I lit it yesterday, having turned off the storage rads. Loverly!.

Jenny, I meant to say I didn't mean you to get flamed the other day on another thread when I asked you to tell me what heaters you had, I was interested what they were and was sorry to see you were got at by posting the info.

ixwood

She wasn't got at for telling people what heaters she had. She was got at for insisting her very expensive rads were in some mysterious way more efficient than other electrical heating and recommending other people get the same.

Being wrong is one thing, but encouraging others to make the same mistake isn't on.

I'm struggling to believe she's genuine. She's either selling over priced crap, or recommending over priced crap.

JennyR68

Ada3050 wrote: »

I lit it yesterday, having turned off the storage rads. Loverly!.

Jenny, I meant to say I didn't mean you to get flamed the other day on another thread when I asked you to tell me what heaters you had, I was interested what they were and was sorry to see you were got at by posting the info.

Nice to have the back up over the transition period. That was always the worst point with the storage, making descision to switch of then the weather turning again!

thills

Ada3050 wrote: »

Been looking in to the basic maths of this myself.
So my big storage rads are 3.4kw, 7 hours charge will cost in the region of £1.30. (3.4kw x 7 hours @ 5.5p = £1.30)
A 1kw heater on my econ 7 tariff can be used for 12 hrs for £1.30 assuming its on all the time at 11p per KWh day rates (11p x 12 hrs = £1.30)

Yes, but you have 23.8kW of heat stored compared to 12kW on demand. It really comes down to heat leakage from the store & when you need to use your heat.
General feeling seems to be if you are out all day, then mostly your 23.8kW will be gone heating an empty dwelling.

Ada3050

Yes, it depends on your lifestyle.
I have been at home this winter due to redundancy, so they were a godsend in the cold snap.

I was thinking out loud when I did the maths, as I have never really worked out the costings for storage heating before and found it interesting.

Also, the heat leak is useful for keeping damp at bay and the house at an even temperature all day. I dry my washing in a spare room so they have some uses.

thills

Truth is, if you don't have gas, you are stuffed. It has the heating power & is so versatile; we are mostly used to living with this system. A heat pump would be next best, if you can have one, BUT you do need to leave it on all the time, so while you do get "free" heat (& less when it is coldest) quite likely you might waste a lot. Proposed subsidies for heat pumps will easily cover this waste.

The debate between storage & panel heating will go on forever - there is no correct answer - every situation is different. I will be heating a flat, you win more heat from your neighbours than in most houses. I will not be able to make comparisons, as I have not yet lived there, so my choice of panel heaters will be my only reference.

My final choice, panel heaters, was largely influenced by appearance.
What I do know, during the last two months, the lowest temp in the empty, unheated flat was 9.5c, if it were an empty house, it would have been below zero.

JennyR68

It is interesting Ada3050

I swapped my 3.4kw storage for a 1.5kw and having a socket monitor handy decided to monitor it's use before the electrician wires them into the wall and the chance is lost.

I found the heater at it's most during cold snap used 12kw in a 24hr period. So your workings out at 12kwh was spot on
Been lovely to see that drop as spring approaches to 6kw.

Though my monitoring days are numbered, hubby has nearly finished the jobs he has to do before the electrician comes

Ada3050

I have gas, but the cost of a new system was going to be £4 - 4.5K.

My storage rads are great for the very cold months, and the rest of the time I will use my gas fire on chilly days, and the coal fire in the other room.

As they cost me £100 15 years ago I see no need to change them for central heating just yet. I only really use them from mid nov to mid march anyway.
I would have to factor in new carpets all through the house so add another £2k on the bill.