Might get stuck with storage heating

amiehall

I doubt the landlord would give you consent to remove them. While they can be a bit of a pain and might not be ideal for your lifestyle, the property would be very hard to let without them. Clearly they have pros and cons but for many people, the advantage of the cheap overnight unit rates outweighs the "wasted" heat given out when you're not home. You would be best encouraging your landlord to insulate. This would help you get the full benefit of the storage heaters.

tyllwyd

If it is a block of flats, I really don't think your landlord would ever consider letting you change the type of heating.

If you hated the storage heaters, you could always turn them off and use free-standing electric heaters plugged in at the wall BUT the storage heaters will probably be on an Economy 7 tariff which is very cheap overnight but expensive at other times, so you need to find out if the heaters and the main flat electricity are on the same tariff and the hours when the different rates apply.

I used to have storage heating, and it is good for keeping a steady warm background heat, but you do need to be aware of when it is on and off and careful about opening windows.

macman

If you switch to panel heaters on standard rate, the your unit kWh heating costs will roughly treble compared to E7. Apart from the fact that the LL will never consent, it's a completely mad idea, since you'd have not only the cost of replacement heaters, but also the cost of switching the circuit over, and probably a meter change.

[Deleted User]

Hi,

you seem to be dead set against E7 heating.

I've had E7 heating in every house/flat I've ever lived in, even got it put in to a house that I bought that had coal fires in, so ripped them out.

The E7 system heating/hot water is fine, as long as you use it properly.

Thing is, if you move in now, you should only have a couple of months of cold weather, jings, it's starting to get milder already.

Make yourself a cup of coffee, and sit down and read this, give you an idea of E7.

Swipe

It's a flat so should be better insulated than a house if in an apartment block. Stick with E7. Not quite sure what all the panic is about for a few hundred quid extra a year compared to gas. You'd probably waste more on takeaways or eating out.

luvchocolate

I have storage heating and its always warm I also work full time and come home to a lovely warm flat and plenty hot water, the heaters never seem to get cold and give heat out all the time, I pay £45 month I also have no gas, I would try them first, landlords are not happy to change as there are no maintenance costs for them.
Don't dismiss the property and read many previous posts on here about the correct use of them. Mine are brilliant.....thats all can say lived with them for 4 yrs no probs. hope that helps

Ben84

My experience of storage heater is that they work fine when correctly sized and installed in a well insulated house. Learning how to best use the controls matters too. They are however hopeless in poorly insulated houses and/or when people have installed ones that are undersized (which may be encouraged by them being bulky things).

As for cost, in smaller properties like flats, the standing charge for a gas connection and appliance servicing charges (although in a rental that should be covered) can easily make having gas less cost effective than using electricity for everything. I pay about £100 a year to be connected to the mains gas, so that has to be recovered in savings compared to the cost of electricity before we spend any less money on heating. Someone in a studio apartment for example probably wouldn't break even, while someone in a small flat might just save a little with gas.

So, in the right kind of building they provide decent heating and for smaller properties the total cost difference isn't that big, or even positive in every possible example! You may well find you're happy with them. Just consider the building's insulation carefully and check if they're a decent size.

johnny_storm

I have E7 and it works really well. They charge up at night using very cheap electricity which means that your flat is warm almost all the time, water is heated over night too.

You can also program your dishwasher / washing machine to come on at night. And as the cheap rate lasts till 7:30am its usual to have you morning shower, hair dryer etc all on cheap rate.

All in all, its not so bad.