How to work storage heaters?

Eels100

We bought our house in May so have only just started to feel the need for heating. Trouble is, the sitting room has a storage heater, which has 2 dials at the top. One is easy - 2-3 for mild weather, 4-5 for cold, 6-9 for very cold, that's fine. But the other one says 'room temp boost' - 1-9, with 1 = no boost, 2 = late boost and 9 = early boost. I've had it on 2 for ages but the room is warm in the mornings and cold in the evenings, should I turn it to 9 or 4 if I want warm evenings? :rotfl: :rotfl:

Skiduck

the boost function simply opens the vents on the storage heater, thus dissipating the heat faster - if you boost the heat , the heater will loose heat fasdt and warm the room up so it won't "last" as long, especially if you have a few draughts. You should keep the boost control on 0 untill you need it, otherwise you will be dissipating the heat throughout the day and night.

huddsta

http://www.kirklees.gov.uk/knh/publications/Economy7Llet.pdf

Basic guide that heled me out^

tyllwyd

Have a look at the tariff that the electricity company have you on to check when the heater is turned on and heating up.

We are on a strange old-fashioned tariff, that means that the power is on to the heaters from about 8pm until 12pm, then again 5am to 12pm. It can be difficult, because on a warm autumn day you don't want the heaters heating up in the middle of the day - but then if they don't come on until 8pm, you get chilly in the early evening.

When we first moved in, we didn't understand the heating at all, and ended up with the heaters heating up when we had windows open. Luckily for us, the meter was broken, which we didn't realise until a HUGE bill arrived and we started looking more closely at it (it wasn't turning off, so the heaters were on 24/7). The electricity company replaced it and reduced our bill because of the faulty meter, but to be honest I think we would have had a big bill anyway, so we got away with it.

The moral of the story is - make sure you understand how your heaters are working, don't assume they will take care of themselves. We are very strict now about turning them off when they are not needed.

JennyW_2

tyllwyd wrote:

Have a look at the tariff that the electricity company have you on to check when the heater is turned on and heating up.

We are on a strange old-fashioned tariff, that means that the power is on to the heaters from about 8pm until 12pm, then again 5am to 12pm. It can be difficult, because on a warm autumn day you don't want the heaters heating up in the middle of the day - but then if they don't come on until 8pm, you get chilly in the early evening.

When we first moved in, we didn't understand the heating at all, and ended up with the heaters heating up when we had windows open. Luckily for us, the meter was broken, which we didn't realise until a HUGE bill arrived and we started looking more closely at it (it wasn't turning off, so the heaters were on 24/7). The electricity company replaced it and reduced our bill because of the faulty meter, but to be honest I think we would have had a big bill anyway, so we got away with it.

The moral of the story is - make sure you understand how your heaters are working, don't assume they will take care of themselves. We are very strict now about turning them off when they are not needed.

my mum has storage heaters. Says they are VERY expensive to run. If you have Economy 7 electric, many people turn them on during these hours as it's cheaper.