storage heaters

lday77

Our house doesn't have gas, we have currently renovating the house (very slowly) the living room is nearly done and we have just invested in a wood burner, which should be effiecient as O/H is a carpenter so all the wood is free (as long as he cuts it up small enough!)

The room did have a storage heater in it but it never seemed to come on and looked horrible so we have taken it to the tip and need to buy a new one. Can anyone advise were a good place to buy a replacement would be? What should I look for for fuel efficiency? Also I don't think I really got to grips on how they are supposed to be used, I either seem to have them turned up so high I burn myself if I touch them or so low they are not hot, I know this isn't right but I have always inheritted my storage heaters so don't really know what to do with them.

I would really like to get it right as we will be replacing all the ones in the house eventually. I would really like central heating but we don'thave any gas.

Sazbo

Hiya. Can't say I'm an expert on storage heaters, but I do have some. They are a bit of a faff and I would much rather have central heating, but like you I don't have gas. Problem I find is that you need to know 24 hours in advance what the weather going to be like, in order to get the temperature right!

Anyway, not sure what settings you have on yours, but with mine I have a 'boost' setting and a temperature setting. I always leave mine on no boost, so it puts out a steady amount of heat throughout the day. And even on the coldest of days, I've never needed to have the temperature setting on maximum. In winter, somewhere between halfway and three quarters of maximum is usually adequate, but then I have a smallish flat with small rooms.

- HTH

Be_Happy

Over the years we've had equal number of gas centrally heated houses and those using electric storage heaters. We now prefer storage heaters. May be more expensive to run, but are clean, don't have maintenance contract costs (gas used to be £12 a month) and the modern ones are efficient if correctly controlled. Wouldn't choose for an older house, but great in modern ones.

Anyway, we've just replaced the 20 year old ones in our house with modern Dimplex Automatic ones. I got them at trade price through a relative, but was looking at them on the web in https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk whose prices seemed very reasonable. We paid more for the automatic ones to make controlling easier.

Haven't used them yet, only tested for 2 days, but are attractive and seemed very efficient.

lday77

Thanks to you both, that is a great help I think I have been using them all wrong, I have constantly had the boost on as well as the high temperature.

I do quite like the storage heaters and I hadn't thought about the fact that there are no maintenance costs so that's a brill saving that I hadn't even considered.

I will check out the link

Thanks again

Cardew

This article is interesting.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/...xpright12.html

EDIT
the link doesn't work here but does from my original post?? Bear in mind it is 10 months old so prices are a little out of date - but the principle still applies.


On the level: what gas really costs
(Filed: 12/10/2005)
Ask Jeff
There's a lot to be said for wiring-in electric panel heaters or night-storage heaters, writes Jeff Howell

A month ago I wrote about switching energy suppliers, and have since been asked by several readers for my views on the most economical energy source. I get a steady trickle of letters with this query anyway, but the recent rises in gas and electricity prices, press stories about diminishing stocks of natural gas, and the increase in the crude oil price following hurricane Katrina have all led to a greater concern about energy supplies and prices.

Most readers in urban areas will have natural gas piped into their homes, and might assume that this is the cheapest fuel. But over the past few years I have viewed a lot of new housing developments (many as a judge for The Daily Telegraph/What House? awards), and I have been struck by the fact that most new houses and flats these days tend to be fitted with electric panel heaters rather than gas-fired central-heating systems. On the one hand, this could be seen as a cynical ploy by the developers to cut costs. After all, wiring is cheaper than pipework, and there are no boilers, pumps or radiators to break down or leak, requiring remedial call-backs. On the other, it might be a blessing in disguise for the new owners. Sure, they are paying more per unit for electricity than for gas, but their annual maintenance costs will be practically zero, whereas gas-fired central heating incurs considerable maintenance and depreciation costs. So let's have a closer look at the subject.


Fuel prices vary across the country, and different suppliers have different charging practices (some add standing charges, and some operate a sliding tariff, with the first hundred or so units being more expensive). But roughly speaking, a standard "unit" of electric power, a kilowatt-hour (kWh) - which will heat a one-bar electric fire for an hour - costs about 7p. Off-peak electricity ("Economy 7") costs about 3.5p per kWh. Natural gas piped into the house ("town gas") costs about 2p per kWh, but gas boilers might be only 75 to 80 per cent efficient, giving a truer cost of nearer 2.5p. Heating oil and LPG (liquefied petroleum gas, or "Calor Gas"), using similar boilers, currently provide heat at a rate equivalent to 4.5p and 4p per kWh respectively.

On the basis of fuel costs alone, gas, oil and LPG are cheaper than standard-rate electricity. But this does not take into account the costs of buying and installing boilers and fuel tanks, nor the annual maintenance costs, nor the fact that boilers have a finite life. The trade price for a new gas boiler is about £600, but you'll be lucky to find a gas fitter who will supply and install one for much less than £ 1,500. Big companies such as British Gas routinely charge £3,000 or more.

Old gas boilers had few moving parts and could be expected to last for 30 or 40 years, but the new ones are packed full of electronics and might last 10 years or less. So let's budget £200 per year in boiler depreciation. Then there's an annual servicing cost of at least £50 - and some readers are still paying £180 or more to British Gas for annual breakdown cover, even though this does not include a proper strip-down service. So readers who think that gas is the cheapest fuel should remember to factor in £250 to £400 per year as an extra "standing charge" when they do their calculations. (Add to that the annual landlord's gas safety certificate - £50 - and the Government's proposal that in future every home might also have to have an annual gas safety inspection.)

Electric heating, by comparison, is practically maintenance-free, and has a conversion rate of energy into heat of 100 per cent. For readers with an existing gas, oil or LPG heating system, the most economical option is probably to keep it going. But for those considering a change of fuel, or starting from scratch, there's a lot to be said for wiring-in electric panel heaters or night-storage heaters, or even simply plugging oil-filled electric radiators into the existing wall sockets.

Be_Happy

Cardew wrote:

This article is interesting.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/...xpright12.html

EDIT
the link doesn't work here but does from my original post?? Bear in mind it is 10 months old so prices are a little out of date - but the principle still applies.


Reply to reader's letter in Sunday Telegraph by same writer advised person considering changing from existing storage heaters to gas, to stay with storage heaters, but modernise. Seems continual energy rises to gas and to electricity (at a lower %) are narrowing gap between gas and electricity prices.

Cardew

SilverLady wrote:

Cardew wrote:

This article is interesting.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/...xpright12.html

EDIT
the link doesn't work here but does from my original post?? Bear in mind it is 10 months old so prices are a little out of date - but the principle still applies.


Reply to reader's letter in Sunday Telegraph by same writer advised person considering changing from existing storage heaters to gas, to stay with storage heaters, but modernise. Seems continual energy rises to gas and to electricity (at a lower %) are narrowing gap between gas and electricity prices.

The main factor in favour of electricity is the 'saving' of £250 - £400 that has to be factored in for gas - see article. Obviously for those with low to medium consumption that saving is a high percentage.

The main disadvantage of storage heating is still the lack of flexibility - you have to plan ahead.

I think anyone with oil or LPG heating would be advised to look at E7 storage heating and heating water - and keeping their other system as a back up.

Xbigman

I think the OP has the best system there is, E7 with a woodburner. You do need to think ahead but its not rocket science is it. Meanwhile in cold snaps, late autumn and late spring (or in the late evening when the storage heaters are running out of heat) you just fire up the woodburner.

It is worth learning the ropes of E7 systems otherwise you can waste a lot of energy.
Regards



X

Cardew

Xbigman wrote:

I think the OP has the best system there is, E7 with a woodburner. You do need to think ahead but its not rocket science is it. Meanwhile in cold snaps, late autumn and late spring (or in the late evening when the storage heaters are running out of heat) you just fire up the woodburner.

It is worth learning the ropes of E7 systems otherwise you can waste a lot of energy.
Regards



X

Agree with what you say about 'learning the ropes' of E7. However sometimes your plans change and storage heating and wood burners don't really have much flexibility.

If you are getting cold in the late evening you would hardly want to start up a wood burner for 30 minutes or so. They are not so convienient in a 4th floor apartment either;)

Xbigman

Cardew wrote:

They are not so convienient in a 4th floor apartment either;)

Or an igloo!

Seriously, I agree location is a major factor. If you can't have the heating system you want its a bummer.

For myself, I'll run my gas system until it seriously breaks down then I hope to have enough saved up to replace it. This gas system was fitted by the council as my father was disabled and his previous system packed up. The previous system was a woodburning stove with a back boiler that powered the central heating. Yearly running cost about £50. The council refused to fix it (about £300) instead they insisted on spending £3000 on a more efficient combi gas boiler that my father ran up a £400 bill with in the 14 months before he died. Ho hum.
Regards



X