Rental property - alternatives to Night Storage heaters

Werdnal

Just doing a revamp on my rental flat and wondering what I can do to improve the current heating. It has Night Storage heaters, which are old, bulky and unsightly, and whilst I appreciate Econ7 is supposed to be a cheaper option, I wonder if normal slimline electric panel heaters might be a better alternative.

The flat is compact, double glazed and fairly easy to heat, so perhaps an "on demand" electric heating may not work out any more costly to run, than the NS. Some of my previous tenants have ignored the NS altogether and bought in their own portable oil-filled rads instead, so its a waste of time having them!

If I go down this route, as the existing switches and wiring are in place, would it just be a case of an electrician re-routing the connection at the fusebox/meter, to take supply from the "normal" power instead of through the Econ7 night-time supply, or would it need a complete new installation?

Any advice appreciated. Thanks

Johnandabby

I haven't personally lived in a property with night storage, so can't comment on what is better. However, I do some work as a DEA producing Energy Performance Certificates for properties, and there can be a significant difference in EPC rating between night storage heaters and non-Econ 7 electric heaters. There are government plans to not allow landlords to rent properties from 2016 if they have a poor EPC rating - you might fall foul of this if you change from Econ 7 without checking what the revised EPC rating would be, and end up changing it back in 2016.

Werdnal

Thanks for that - my plan obviously needs a little more investigation!

Might look to getting newer model NS heaters (2nd hand perhaps) just to improve the look of the place, as the ones I have are ancient.

motherofstudents

I have them in my rental flat, they must be 12 years old now. I don't like them but the tenant has never complained. I got someone round to see if there was any way to improve the efficiency in the flat but the person who came said no as it is already double glazed, well insulated etc. So, in the absence of a gas supply I will keep them.

G_M

Werdnal wrote: »

If I go down this route, as the existing switches and wiring are in place, would it just be a case of an electrician re-routing the connection at the fusebox/meter, to take supply from the "normal" power instead of through the Econ7 night-time supply, or would it need a complete new installation?

I'm no electrician, but I think yes - the existing wiring should be fine.

In fact you may not even need to re-connect at the Consumer Unit.

If you switch from econ7 to a standard tariff, both the day and night-time usage will be billed at the same rate so you can continue to submit readings from each meter.

But you'd best check with the supplier to be sure!

Modern storage heaters will certainly make the place more attractive, and rentable, as well as being more efficient. If the tenant finds the place is heating up too much (if really efficient insulation) they can always turn off one or two once they get used to it.

Is the water also heated at night on Econ7? Is there a time switch so washing machine can run at night? If so, switching to a standard tariff might well be costly!

theartfullodger

In what way is a newer rad more efficient? Surely identical.....

Naf

I'm in a property with NS heaters, and old ones!
And they're actually not all that bad as long as you understand how to best use them. If you're not going to go down the route of having gas connected and all that, I'd suggest the best thing is to update the NS heaters. Particularly consider in the living room installing one with a secondary convector heater attached.
Essentially, any form of electric-only heating system is likely to put some people off at first glance because they make an immediate assumption that it'll cost them too much. And if they are of that opinion, then they will be correct. However, someone who is prepared to do a little homework quickly realises that this needn't be the case - particularly with up-to-date equipment.
The only proviso I would make is to consider the most likely market for the flat. NS heaters (even the newest models) leak heat all day, keeping the rooms warm-ish, but then don't always have a great deal left in the evening, meaning you need extra heating anyway (we have additional convector heaters). If your tenants are likely to be leaving the property empty during most of the day (working daytimes), or working irregular shifts - the electric panel heaters would most likely suit their habits better than NS. However, if the property is likely to be occupied most of the time, NS is preferable.
If both markets are reasonably likely to consider the property, the NS is likely the better choice, as people can choose not to use them and rely on their own electric heaters for ad-hoc warmth.

Werdnal

G_M wrote: »

If you switch from econ7 to a standard tariff, both the day and night-time usage will be billed at the same rate so you can continue to submit readings from each meter.

Don't want to cut off E7 completely as useful for immersion heater.

I too wondered if the modern ones are actually more efficient than the older style, but I have been advised elsewhere that as the "internals" are pretty much the same, there is not a lot of improvement, if any, so a change would be purely aesthetic!

Naf

Modern ones are less bulky, a little better insulated, and have better controls. Old ones charge at whatever power they're set to every night; new ones account for any residual heat from previous charge and therefore save on charging usage.
But they do look better and take up much less space.

nanna1959

Have you seen the price of new ones... even second hand!! astronomical !! I just changed the heating in my rental from a couple of expensive to run panel heaters to NS heater and even the old ones fetch a fortune on Ebay

HappyMJ

Werdnal wrote: »

Don't want to cut off E7 completely as useful for immersion heater.

I too wondered if the modern ones are actually more efficient than the older style, but I have been advised elsewhere that as the "internals" are pretty much the same, there is not a lot of improvement, if any, so a change would be purely aesthetic!

New night storage heaters are no more efficient. It's just a heating element, a thermostat, a few bricks and some insulation. Not much to them really.