Looking for some advice please RE storage heaters and prepayment meters

Richie-from-the-Boro

Cbe2012 wrote: »

Thank you for everyone's help and advice. Sorry I've only just got chance to get back online.
I've changed the storage heater timers to charge for the whole 7 hours but on a lower input and output so I'll see what the meter says tomorrow to compare the costs. I dug out a hot water bottle and purchased an electric blanket so these have been appreciated tonight!
I've also spoken to our energy supplier and we are having a meter fitted so we can go onto direct debit, so although it still won't be great, hopefully with using the heaters properly, we will be better off, and hopefully can move house one day.
Richie-from-the-boro; thank you for the link to your other post, I read through it all, but unfortunately I don't think we can do much in terms of moving heaters around etc as it isn't our house. I have however turned the kitchen heater off and we're going to get a panel heater tomorrow to use in there. The bathroom heater I've turned down to 1 on both input and output and set to charge all night so I'll see what the heat is like in there tomorrow.
Thanks again, hopefully we may be slightly warmer and have more credit left than we would have done otherwise tomorrow. Fingers crossed!

- kitchen - any cheepo LiDL panel or convector will do just as well, no need to spend much, switch on and off as needed
- bathroom - input needs to be enough to keep the cold off all the next day, with the output closed

sheffield_lad

Cbe2012 wrote: »

I've also spoken to our energy supplier and we are having a meter fitted so we can go onto direct debit,!

That sounds OK but I hope you have set the dd to a realistic figure?

From what you have said £140 per month would be about right. Any lower and you are ignoring the running costs and may end up here again asking if your bill is correct.

Cbe2012

I've set it to £150, so it's better than we're paying now, and fingers crossed we'll build up some credit during the summer.

Richie-from-the-Boro

Cbe2012 wrote: »

I've set it to £150, so it's better than we're paying now, and fingers crossed we'll build up some credit during the summer.

Cbe201, if you speak to your supplier and ask for a payment plan, they will [CAC] calculate ± your average annual bill then divide by 12 for you. More in the summer but complete peace of mind when the chilly winds blow.

Best of luck

fabbman

grahamc2003 wrote: »

Could you take a moment and explain why leaving the output on 0 is the most effective way of using these?

Doing so just leaves quite a lot of residual heat in the central core of the heater, and dampers were designed into storage heaters to release this heat by convection.

Any idea why storage heater engineers decided to design in an output control to release heat from the central core if, as you say, it should never be used?

The output control is a major feature allowing better temperature control and heating by both radiation and additionally by convection. Leaving the output on zero heats by radiation only - and that means exactly the same as in the days of thick ineffective storage heaters which basically just heat up and then cool down (by radiation) with no control whatsoever, and that's what gave storage heaters a bad name. Radiant only heating (i.e. that from old style thick heaters with either no or ineffective output control, and from slim line heaters with the noutput constantly set to zero) simply throw out the maximum amount of heat at 07:30 in the morning, and gradually heat less and less as the day goes on until the surface temperature is no longer warm, when it stops heating altogether, even though the internal core is still probably very hot. Opening the damper means this heat is released. It aint rocket science.

The 'output' is obviously there for a reason and you if you wish you can choose to release the stored heat from the 'core' at any time by opening the output, however with this in mind once the 'stored' heat has gone it's gone until next charge cycle.

The heater should have (imo) enough heat to radiate without opening the output. (I used mine for 4 years and was told my house was always warm)