Alternative to Storage Heaters

monika_2

Hi there - I'm looking for some advice on replacing Storage Heaters with an alternative source of Electric Heating.

We live in a very old and drafty 3 bedroom cottage which still has the massive, bulky, old Storage Heaters that were probably installed over 30 years ago.

They really are useless in terms of allowing us to have heat as and when we want it - as with all storage heaters they seem to pump out heat throughout the night when we're asleep - even if I do follow the instructions to turn down the boost/input etc. it still doesn't heat the house during the day/into the following evening.

Our village does not have a gas supply, we also live right beside water therefore we cannot have an Oil tank or even a Gas bottle (too close to water to have a safe distance).

So it looks like our only option is to replace the old Storage Heaters with another source of electrical heating – which is where I’d like the advice over what to choose in terms of being most economical and also easiest to use in terms of having heating & hot water as and when we want it.

We work most of the week so really are only in the house full time at the weekend – but still our monthly electricity costs are £288! We also have two small children who are sick to death of being cold all the time and having to be wrapped up in several layers!

I don’t want to buy plug in electric heaters (from Argos etc.) – I’d like them to be wall mounted with a sleek design so that they don’t look as glaringly obvious as the bulky storage heaters do.

Any help or advice anyone can give would be much appreciated.

jalexa

monika wrote: »

We live in a very old and drafty 3 bedroom cottage...

Storage heating is not appropriate to a poor insulated property so I won't suggest newer storage heaters.

Unfortunately there is no cheap way to electrical heating. Have you made a determined effort to track down the draughts? Maximised loft and (if possible) underfloor insulation?

It is your choice to want style but every electrical heater converts at the same efficiency, though a higher radiant output might appear more "effective".

Before you waste a couple of thousand ££s on "fancy" heaters I suggest you get a couple of cheap heaters and timers. Try Argos or Lidl. Then switch off one or more storage heaters and compare consumption and effectiveness.

If you are happy to spend money, a modern factory insulated E7 hot water cylinder and modern controls will be a significant improvement (over a 30yo installation).

Pincher

What about something like this:

http://www.airandwatercentre.com/2kw-wall-mounted-fan-heater-with-digital-display-1229-details/

You can mount it above the door frame, so it doesn't take up useful wall space.

grahamc2003

- I wouldn't rule out new storage heaters - a big leap over old types.

- Could go for ASHP, you can get grants for Air to water systems like Ecodans. But they haven't proved themselves under all conditions yet, imv. The governemnt are allowing the subsidy for these in order to gather more data about them.

- Air to air HPs are another possibility, although currently with no grant. You could install a single unit (ab £1300) and see how you like them. If you do, then you could install more.

- Any chimneys? You could try a multi-fuel stove. Free/cheap fuel available if you're prepared to put in a lot of work. Porbably little or no savings if you buy ready-to-burn fuels in.

- Cut heat to bedrooms, and use electric blanket/hot water bottle in cold weather. Use a dehumidifier if damp is a problem in the colder bedroom.

- Any form of resistive heater on peak rates will be very expensive to keep your place warm. Why not sort out the draughts and insulate more, whatever form of heating you end up with?

[Deleted User]

Sounds like your money would be best spent on insulation and blocking drafts as your heat is going straight out of the window so to speak...

Having done this on our own old house the difference is staggering and we still have some more to do in the loft. EDF are doing this shortly for free through the Mark Group

So far we have done CWI, insulate under non ufh heated suspended timber floors, high quality windows and doors with high tog underlay and carpets.

monika_2

Thanks everyone, I appreciate your advice.

Yes our house is very badly insulated, however we've made a start on sorting this out - we had the Mark Group out to insulate the loft and I'm just about to contact someone to see if they can sort out our Sash and Case window as they let in a massive amount of cold air. I've also bought thick curtains to hang over the front and back door as they are about as useful as having no doors at all!!

I guess the most annoying thing about our current storage heating system is the lack of ability I have to control the heat - I really want something that I can switch on & off when we need the heat/don't need the heat.

Our house is a listed building in a conservation village so we are limited as to what we can do in terms of replacing windows, wall insulation etc. I have had a look at the Air to Air HPs and they are a pretty expensive option and again as our outside space is very limited we wouldn't have the room to install them.

We have a wood burning stove in our living room so at least that's one room we can keep warm in!! I think I'll just look into new storage heaters (I think the newer versions are slightly better?!!!) or a timed electric radiator type of thing.

If anyone else has any other suggestions I'd be grateful to hear them (or perhaps I'm just looking for a miracle?!!)

HappyMJ

The newer storage heaters are better insulated but it's not really worth replacing old ones as the savings are minimal. Are you using them correctly? The input should be on max and the output set to minimum except when you want heat and turn the output up when you enter the room and turn them down when you leave the room. The heat is controllable and by your statement "I really want something that I can switch on & off when we need the heat/don't need the heat." it doesn't sound like you are turning them on and off.

monika_2

Hi there, yes I'm doing everything that you mentioned re the input/output but doesn't seem to make any difference to be honest. I think that because the Storage Heaters themselves are so old they just don't work properly - most of them are slightly cold at various parts of the heater (someone said something to do with the blocks that are in the heaters no longer working?!!) - that's why I'm wondering if I update the heaters it might work slightly better (although definately not going to save me any money on my monthly bills) or if I'd be better just replacing the whole thing with a more up to date electronic heating system (what ever that is - still to research this!!) and switching to the cheapest day time electricty tarriff I can find?!

HappyMJ

monika wrote: »

Hi there, yes I'm doing everything that you mentioned re the input/output but doesn't seem to make any difference to be honest. I think that because the Storage Heaters themselves are so old they just don't work properly - most of them are slightly cold at various parts of the heater (someone said something to do with the blocks that are in the heaters no longer working?!!) - that's why I'm wondering if I update the heaters it might work slightly better (although definately not going to save me any money on my monthly bills) or if I'd be better just replacing the whole thing with a more up to date electronic heating system (what ever that is - still to research this!!) and switching to the cheapest day time electricty tarriff I can find?!

Storage heaters are very basic. It's just an element similar to the one in the oven and it's surrounded by bricks then the whole lot is covered in insulation with a damper that you open and close by changing the output setting.

The cheapest to run daytime electricity heater is just a simple convector heater, bar fire or oil filled radiator. They are all the same cost to run just different types of heat is output.

It would be cheaper buying a gas bottle and portable gas fire but you need to keep the window slightly open which isn't very efficient.

rogerblack

One cheap - in principle - though not perhaps in practice solution would be a water-water heat-pump, run from a heat exchanger going to the water.
Do you have the legal rights to do this?

Assuming for the moment that this cottage has solid walls, and plasterboard 5cm away from them - not dissimilar to mine - and no underfloor insulation - the roof insulation will have limited, though not no effect.
Double glazing will do F all, over simply draughtproofing the windows.

However, even with draughtproof windows with secondary glazing on, and roof insulation this is at best going to cut your bills by - say - a third.

To do it significantly, you are going to need to take up the floor, insulate beneath it, and then dry-line the property after ripping out your existing plasterboard.
Done right, this might reduce your heating bill to under a quarter.

Firstly, consider if your radiators are actually working properly - they may be faulty, and not properly damping when charging, so not charging properly at all.
It may be possible to fix them, which may slightly improve the performance.
But you will need more storage heaters, and your bills won't go down much if at all, as it sounds like you both need more heat, not just to rearrange the existing heat.

You've also considered solid fuel - wood or coal?
I'm unsure on the costs of each.

The costs of all of these vary enormously.
While a huge project, in principle doing the insulation is DIYable.
This reduces the costs _ENORMOUSLY_.
It's a lot of work though.
If not DIYing, I'd see if I could get a few quotes from local builders about the cost of insulating the property to near current 'new-build' standards.
Perhaps include some options like what would the prices be if you and some friends had done all the required demolition first.
(ripping up floors and removing plasterboard/...)

grahamc2003

Modern storage heaters are worlds apart from the very old bulky type. Used correctly, if you turn the output up at say 5pm, the heat should come blasting out, and should do so for four or five hours. Don't expect to keep really warm 24/7 in an uninsulated house if the weather is like last winter - but that shouldn't be a problem for you with your woodburner. While nowhere near as controllable as gas, the controllability is far better than old non-slimline storage heaters. Don't forget you get no maintenance/servicing/filter changes/frozen coils or any other problems with storage heaters (unless you're unlucky, or they are 30 years old!)) - so don't forget to cost that in.