storage heaters/electric central heating or gas?

osirisrt

Not sure if anyone has answered a similar question or not, ive had a skim through a few pages but didnt notice anything.

I have storage heaters in my home. I dont use any of them apart from the livingroom. Im trying to use wisely, as its proving so costly over the last 2.5 years ive lived in this house.

my question is, i know older storage heaters can in some cases underperform, but if i had new one/s, better insulated etc, would i, say, get 'more for my money'.. ? ie, hold heat better, heat up better at a lower input (because of better insulation etc)? could an older storage heater use more power heating itself up because its older ?

when i first used this single storage heater, full input all night on e7 got thru about 3 quid a night. with electric costs going up, ive been using it on less than half input, which brings cost down, but still uses a lot for the house, seeing as its the only storage heater i put on.

Mike1961

While all kwhrs contain the same amount of energy - I would encourage you to look into the concept of thermal comfort (google for references). The human body reacts to the heated environment in different ways - (you like your lower body to be warmer than your upper body; you like air temperature and radiant heat together) - so no all heat emitters are the same. As a consequence some heaters - typically low level and radiant - (underfloor and skirting) create more comfortable environments than others meaning that air temperature thermostats are set lower and you save on your heat losses. These can be gas/hot water or electric. So once you have done the math on system costs on how to heat the water or use electricity directly - make sure you put the heat into the room in the most comfortable way. Estimates suggest that this thermal comfort factor can give you savings of up to 20% if you do it correcty

Fire_Fox

osirisrt wrote: »

Not sure if anyone has answered a similar question or not, ive had a skim through a few pages but didnt notice anything.

I have storage heaters in my home. I dont use any of them apart from the livingroom. Im trying to use wisely, as its proving so costly over the last 2.5 years ive lived in this house.

my question is, i know older storage heaters can in some cases underperform, but if i had new one/s, better insulated etc, would i, say, get 'more for my money'.. ? ie, hold heat better, heat up better at a lower input (because of better insulation etc)? could an older storage heater use more power heating itself up because its older ?

when i first used this single storage heater, full input all night on e7 got thru about 3 quid a night. with electric costs going up, ive been using it on less than half input, which brings cost down, but still uses a lot for the house, seeing as its the only storage heater i put on.

It's easier to comment if you supply your usage figures, day and night, winter and summer.

hotpickle

Evening All! Well it has taken a few hours but I have read this entire thread and have learn't so much on the whole electric v gas, storage heaters, eco 7 etc.
So Thank you very much to all who have contributed very useful information, inc. the spammers - without whose imput I might have been naive enough to part with LOTS of money for something NO more efficient than any other £30 electric heater on the market. (inc. the portable kind I already own! - more modern version but just as good as Granny's 1,2,3 bar heater eh!)
Enough rope...hang yourself...??? something like that?

Anyway, I still have a few unanswered questions and if anybody out there can help I would be very grateful.
We have just bought a 1950's 3 bed semi in a village without gas supply and will move in next week. We have storage heaters throughout, and judging by what I have read will keep them, maybe replace at some point for newer models depending on condition.
The problem I have is in choosing an electric supplier and ensuring I am on economy 7 to make the most my predicament.
I can't get in touch with previous owners so have no way of telling which supplier they were with?
They (owners) were on a pre pay key meter which we need to have changed to a normal one.
I'm not sure if eco 7 is currently being used in house? Is it 'fitted' as standard with storage heaters and would it be available if on pre pay meter?
I can't seem to find any eco 7 tariffs for comparison other than ones that want me to put in my current provider and consumption - which don't yet have!
I basically want to make sure I go to the cheapest provider who will allow me to go on economy 7, and change the meter without ripping me off in the process.
My recent experience of contacting utility suppliers is that instead of getting straight answers to simple queries - all you get is the hard sell and the third degree for mothers maiden name, inside leg, d.o.b etc.
I get so frustrated and after a while lose all track of what I'm trying to find out!!
Any info would be gratefully recieved - Many Thanks

Cardew

hotpickle wrote: »

Any info would be gratefully recieved - Many Thanks

Welcome to the forum.

I suspect that the existing supplier to the new house will be your best bet to change from pre-pay to credit Economy 7 meters. If they are not your existing supplier they might want a returnable deposit. Many suppliers will replace them for no charge.

Without knowing your future consumption it simply will not be possible to work out with any certainty the best supplier.

I suggest that you go to a comparison website and enter, say, 20,000kWh total with a 50%/50% split between night and day rates.

You can then try variations on those figures - both the total and the split - and a pattern of the best suppliers should emerge. By selecting a supplier you can see the actual tariff for your area.

With regard to replacing your storage heaters, in the longer term you could consider getting an Air Source Heat Pump system.

osirisrt

Fire_Fox wrote: »

It's easier to comment if you supply your usage figures, day and night, winter and summer.

hi

the only storage heater i use in my house is the living room storage heater. its a dimplex xl24n (3.4kw if i google search), not new but not ancient either. through summer i dont have the heater on at all. from around june ish until september, its never used. through winter, i use it every day. im told i get cheap rate from half 11 till half 7 in morning, although this is the overall cheap period for the house, i dont know wether my heater charges continually through this time, i was always led to believe it charged at certain set time periods, and not continually, so i dont know wether the recent change to a key metre (from a token metre) would change this.

anyhow, in the past i used to leave the heater switched off until after midnight, and then turn it on to a medium input (4-5), so it would miss the first couple of hours of cheap/charge time so i could save alittle money.

last night i turned it on just after midnight (input 5), and by 2am before i went to bed, my credit went down best part of a quid. from 2am, i turned the input to 3, and by morning (after 9am) when i last checked, it had only gone down about 17p.

im with scottish hydro. my current day rate is 17p - night rate 8p. nothing else on in house overnight at all, apart from a small fridge. no standing charge now,so in theory what i use is what i get charged, nothing extra on top. oh and i never turn the output up from its lowest setting.

hope thats not too much extra info. thanks for any info.

Fire_Fox

osirisrt wrote: »

hi

the only storage heater i use in my house is the living room storage heater. its a dimplex xl24n (3.4kw if i google search), not new but not ancient either. through summer i dont have the heater on at all. from around june ish until september, its never used. through winter, i use it every day. im told i get cheap rate from half 11 till half 7 in morning, although this is the overall cheap period for the house, i dont know wether my heater charges continually through this time, i was always led to believe it charged at certain set time periods, and not continually, so i dont know wether the recent change to a key metre (from a token metre) would change this.

anyhow, in the past i used to leave the heater switched off until after midnight, and then turn it on to a medium input (4-5), so it would miss the first couple of hours of cheap/charge time so i could save alittle money.

last night i turned it on just after midnight (input 5), and by 2am before i went to bed, my credit went down best part of a quid. from 2am, i turned the input to 3, and by morning (after 9am) when i last checked, it had only gone down about 17p.

im with scottish hydro. my current day rate is 17p - night rate 8p. nothing else on in house overnight at all, apart from a small fridge. no standing charge now,so in theory what i use is what i get charged, nothing extra on top. oh and i never turn the output up from its lowest setting.

hope thats not too much extra info. thanks for any info.

If you are on Economy 7 you would have seven hours on the cheap rate: your figures span eight hours. This needs checking with your electricity provider. Some storage heaters are on a separate electrical system so they can only charge at night. Some need programming to come on at night or will charge in the day. You should download a user manual from the net or contact Dimplex.

There are lots of other threads about people being charged a lot more per KWH for a key meter over a token meter and, in either case, you will be charged more than someone paying by direct debit. If you have no standing charge the company will claw the cost back by charging you a high rate per KWH - I pay approximately 10p day and 5p night with Scottish Power for example.

You say you are trying to use your heating wisely, but to use from October to May makes you a pretty heavy user of your one storage heater IMO. That would suggest you are either not dressing appropriately or have a poorly insulated house.

It would be much easier to comment if you provided usage figures in KWH from your meter rather than costs. A 3KWH heater will use 3KW per hour if it's on all the time - we have no way of knowing unless you can give us your usage figures.

galswoj

Hi

I'm having issues with a property I've just moved into and I wonder if anyone can help. I know this winter has been freezing, but it has been really hard to control the heat of the rooms, and I need to do something!

I live in a two-bedroom split-level maisonette. One side is south facing (with a window and patio doors), one side is exposed (where the front door is), and the other two sides are attached to other properties, with another property also above me.

None of the windows, nor front door, are UPVC or doubled glazed in any way except the patio door in the living room. I suffer from condensation on the inside of the windows that aren't. The front door leads straight into the lounge. They are all quite drafty.

I have Zonotec panel heaters in each room which are very slim, so are cosmetically attractive, but whilst they are very hot to the touch, the rooms are still cold. Below is what I have in each room:

Open plan lounge, diner and kitchen:

5.69m x 4.06m Window & Patio Doors 2 x 1500W heaters

Main Bedroom:

3.48m x 2.74m Large Bay Window 1 x 1000W heater

Second Bedroom:

2.79m x 2.08m Window 1 x 750W heater


Recently the heater in the main bedroom stopped working, and it appears there is a break in the circuit board, so we have had to move the spare room heater in to the main bedroom. The company that manufacture them are out of business so I can't get it fixed at the moment.


The questions I have are:

• Is the wattage of the heaters theoretically sufficient for the size of rooms?
• Therefore, would it be better to get double glazing, rather than replace the heating? Or would it be better to just change the heating, or should I get both?!
• If I keep the heating, is there anyone that can repair the broken heater, other than the manufacturer who are now out of business? It is the circuit board which has a break in it.
• If I change the heating what would you recommend?

Also, I have seen this company http://www.easy-heat.co.uk/ who manufacture water-filled electric radiators. Does anyone have any opinions on these?

Sorry for all the detail, but I want to get as an accurate an opinion as possible!

Many thanks

Jo

Cardew

galswoj wrote: »

Hi

I'm having issues with a property I've just moved into and I wonder if anyone can help. I know this winter has been freezing, but it has been really hard to control the heat of the rooms, and I need to do something!

Jo

Welcome to the forum.


Firstly let us dismiss double glazing as any form of money saving venture. It is simply not cost effective - period.

The amount of heat required depends on the type of insulation you have.

There are some qualified heating engineers on here who might be able to comment; but I am pretty certain that only 3kWh to heat a 24 square meter room is totally inadequate.

These water filled radiators are IMO a joke - to pay £400 to £500 for a single plug in radiator is not for real.

You will get exactly the same amount of heat for your money from a simple £10 fan heater or £20-30 oil filled radiator.

Provided you have somewhere ouside for the units, an Air Source Heat Pump(ASHP) would seem to be the ideal solution for your heating problems - you could probably get a system fitted for less than the cost of double glazing.

There is plenty of info on ASHPs on this forum. However essentially you will get 3+ units of heat for each unit input.

I wouldn't bother getting your panel heater repaired - a £10 heater will suffice.

amtrakuk

Im guessing what form of heating you want to go for Cardew, the fan heater is quick but there generally noisy, oil filled radiators are near enough silent but take time to heat up.

On that note, I tried a delonghi hhp1500. Very very fast to heat up and gives the benefits of a radiator but at £70+ it is a bit pricy.