Electric heaters/heating which type???

stickman

HI all,
Currently have storage heaters but like lots of you say, wasted heat when not at home then freezing at night when home.
Realise that all electric is 100% efficient at source its just the way it's distributed and that is my dilemma. Which type to choose, panel, oil, wet system, electramate,trianco, the list is endless.

Ideally would like wall mounted, thermo controlled and be able to set times to suit warm in morning then again when I come homefrom work.

Also do I stay on E7 or switch to standard rate can't see much difference really,swings and roundabouts.
All help appreciated.
Thanks

Pincher

The storage heater is already wall mounted.

If the storage heater can be set to ON permanently,
all you have to do is put a timer on the wall socket.
Get one with an override or boost button.

I would leave Economy 7.

macman

No point in being on E7 without storage heaters, you'll be paying a premium price for all your heating and other electricity.

stickman

Realise have to come off E7 and storage heaters have to go also. Which still leaves dilemma of which system / type of heaters to use. panel, oil, wet system, electramate,trianco, the list is endless

Pincher

If you are talking wet system, which involves lifting the floorboards,
then under floor heating with ASHP (air source heat pump) should be considered as well. It does not give instant heat.

Airconditioning units with outdoor heat pump do not need lifting the floorboards, and save money in the long term. The problem is the outdoor unit is noisy and can annoy the neighbours, so you are likely to need planning permission. You get cooling thrown in. Annual service is required. Wait for the RHI grants, due for April 2011.

andyrpsmith

This is what I decided to do last year to save £1200 per year. The house is listed, 350 years old and electric only, no cavity walls and then single glazed.

1). Move away from storage heating (disable meter) and Southern electric E10 tariff which was 12.1p normal and 8.93p off peak to OVO fixed at 8.61p for everything.

2) Use good quality oil filled heater with thermostat and timer (use energy meter to ensure heater set up to provide minimum running costs based on settings for each room with heating elements and thermostat. Meter shows that it is slightly cheaper to run heater at 2.5KW setting than 1KW or 1.5KW - this will depend on size of room and heat loss via windows & walls).

3) The thermostat and timer are essential to ensure low as possible running costs. Each room to set to come on and off to meet the needs of who is home.

We have also just installed secondary glazing which of course hes greatly improved noise and heat retention of each room.

My annual usage is about 25000KWH so even a small change in tariff is important.

Andy

stickman

andyrpsmith wrote: »

This is what I decided to do last year to save £1200 per year. The house is listed, 350 years old and electric only, no cavity walls and then single glazed.

1). Move away from storage heating (disable meter) and Southern electric E10 tariff which was 12.1p normal and 8.93p off peak to OVO fixed at 8.61p for everything.

2) Use good quality oil filled heater with thermostat and timer (use energy meter to ensure heater set up to provide minimum running costs based on settings for each room with heating elements and thermostat. Meter shows that it is slightly cheaper to run heater at 2.5KW setting than 1KW or 1.5KW - this will depend on size of room and heat loss via windows & walls).

3) The thermostat and timer are essential to ensure low as possible running costs. Each room to set to come on and off to meet the needs of who is home.

We have also just installed secondary glazing which of course hes greatly improved noise and heat retention of each room.

My annual usage is about 25000KWH so even a small change in tariff is important.

Andy

Thanks for that, can you get wall mounted oil filled heaters?

elver_man

stickman wrote: »

Thanks for that, can you get wall mounted oil filled heaters?

Yes you can try searching for Dimplex or Elnur oil filled rads. ( There are others but I've only used these)

Owain_Moneysaver

stickman wrote: »

Thanks for that, can you get wall mounted oil filled heaters?

Yes. Other makes and suppliers available.

stickman

Only concern is how long to keep heaters on when we come home and how long does it last, hopefully for the whole evening. Realise they will be on timers and timed to come on to suit,have heard that oilfilled heaters take longer to heat up than electric panel heaters. I know electric is100% efficient and its down to how the heat is distributed it's jus trying to balance the twol How long to leave on and how long the heat will last.
Thanks

albyota

if an oil filled panel radiator takes 20 minutes to get up to required heat output as opposed to an instant type...then you will need to put it on 20 minutes earlier, it will lose its heat 20 - 30 minutes after being switched off, so you would switch it off 20 minutes earlier than an instant convector / fan type. Bearing in mind that none of these heaters have any 'storage' facility like night storage heaters on E7.