Night Storage Heater or Electric Radiator?

trigarlaly

Jerm
Maybe an option to get two meters installed---will depend on your area though.
I have storage heaters too but have 2 separate meters one for domestic and one which is for heating and hot water.
the heating /hot water meter is charged at a reduced rate 24/7 and the livingroom storage heaters/hot water are charged through night on a timeswitch......via this meter, bedroom panel heaters and boost immersor have a 24/7 supply through this meter.
Scottish power comfortplus in the central Scotland area.
Don't know if you are in a region that a supplier can offer this type of supply, would probably involve rewiring at meters.

Richie-from-the-Boro

trigarlaly wrote: »

Jerm
Maybe an option to get two meters installed---will depend on your area though.
I have storage heaters too but have 2 separate meters one for domestic and one which is for heating and hot water.
the heating /hot water meter is charged at a reduced rate 24/7 and the livingroom storage heaters/hot water are charged through night on a timeswitch......via this meter, bedroom panel heaters and boost immersor have a 24/7 supply through this meter.
Scottish power comfortplus in the central Scotland area.
Don't know if you are in a region that a supplier can offer this type of supply, would probably involve rewiring at meters.

Welcome to MSE trigarlaly,

There is almost no comfortplus left south of your border. Its a legacy tariff with virtually no suppliers and as a consequence no competition and very high prices. Its almost .. .. but not quite a monopoly, certainly it is anti-competitive, particularly now as the two meter arrangement means the poor consumers still on this tariff are paying for two MPAN's each at SP's 35.090p per day - that's £256 per year for the standing charge only.

Are you sure you would want to recommend a change to this set up on a Money Saving site ?

trigarlaly

Richie-from-the-Boro wrote: »

Welcome to MSE trigarlaly,

There is almost no comfortplus left south of your border. Its a legacy tariff with virtually no suppliers and as a consequence no competition and very high prices. Its almost .. .. but not quite a monopoly, certainly it is anti-competitive, particularly now as the two meter arrangement means the poor consumers still on this tariff are paying for two MPAN's each at SP's 35.090p per day - that's £256 per year for the standing charge only.

Are you sure you would want to recommend a change to this set up on a Money Saving site ?

Richie
I can assure you SP do not charge a standing charge on both meters both meters are on 1 mpan as the property they are servicing ONLY have electric. I have lived in my home for 17 years and KNOW that what you have stated above is not the case. Of course I would not suggest this if I thought it was going to be detrimental to someones finances


ComfortPlus Control 26.09p 13.015p --- 7.449p


Copied from Standard Prices on SP website
Have a look for yourself

Richie-from-the-Boro

trigarlaly wrote: »

Richie
I can assure you SP do not charge a standing charge on both meters both meters are on 1 mpan as the property they are servicing ONLY have electric. I have lived in my home for 17 years and KNOW that what you have stated above is not the case. Of course I would not suggest this if I thought it was going to be detrimental to someones finances

ComfortPlus Control 26.09p 13.015p --- 7.449p

Copied from Standard Prices on SP website
Have a look for yourself

Thanks for that trigarlaly,

- are you in Scotland by any chance ?

That's a DTS legacy tariff, 8.5 day hours. The same as SSE’s Total Heating tariff. You or anyone else can't change tariff or supplier without also changing your meter and the all the wiring which connects your storage heaters

trigarlaly

Yes Richie, I do live up in Scotland.


Tried to explain in my original post that if changing meters, that there would be rewiring at the meter side/fuse box.


With SP Comfortplus, the 4 storage heaters and waterheater are on a "restricted"(RTS) supply through 2nd meter, however the remaining heaters( including the convector part of my livingroom storage heater) my bedrooms, kitchen and bathrooms are "unrestricted" but all are wired through the 2nd meter at the lower rate of 7.449p.
My cooker...for some reason however is on the other meter at the higher rate. ( Was a new build in 1996).


Have been on to SSE(Hydro) re their THTC tariff but their prices couldn't beat SP so YES we are tied to them.


But to be honest the type of set up I have suits me until I can afford/find a GREAT deal regarding installing a gas supply.


Don't know why the Electricity Companies/ Builders or whoever is in control cannot wire electric houses so that the consumer gets an unrestricted supply for their heating hot water and cooking as does a gas fed supply ?????

Andy_WSM

trigarlaly wrote: »

But to be honest the type of set up I have suits me until I can afford/find a GREAT deal regarding installing a gas supply.

At just 7p per unit for electric heat it would have to be a mind blowingly cheap deal to convert to gas! I don't think you could ever make the gas installation, cost of a boiler & radiators installed pay for itself to be honest. Although the fuel cost of gas is about half (just over) your electric fuel cost, the equipment and ongoing depreciation and servicing of a gas ch system are way more!

tberry6686

Andy_WSM wrote: »

At just 7p per unit for electric heat it would have to be a mind blowingly cheap deal to convert to gas! I don't think you could ever make the gas installation, cost of a boiler & radiators installed pay for itself to be honest. Although the fuel cost of gas is about half (just over) your electric fuel cost, the equipment and ongoing depreciation and servicing of a gas ch system are way more!

I looked into this within the past year. Payback time was between 30 and 40 years for me so pointless.

The only way I can see switching from E7 storage heating to gas central heating working is if you are a gas safe registered installer and do the work yourself.

Cardew

lstar337 wrote: »

A poster on the 'in my home' board is asking the same question about storage vs german heaters.

I want to help stop as many of these people from falling into the traps of these super expensive, utterly pointless radiators as I can, but typing out the issues over and over is wearing out my keyboard!

I have seen you offer up amazing info over and over, how do you do it?

We need a sticky or something that we can direct people to.

But given MSE seems to buckle to the will of these shark companies, I can't see that being allowed.

I can't stand thinking about these companies making a packet out of vulnerable people who want to save on their bills!

I have been trying to get a sticky on this subject for the last 7 years.

The claims by distributers of these heaters are sometimes ruled inadmissible by the Advertising Standards Authority. However the revised wording implies exactly the same misleading information - that their heaters produce more heat for a lower cost.

First time posters appear regularly on MSE to sing the praises of these products, spreading even more misinformation.

I find it amazing that companies are allowed to get away with charging £1,500 or more for a single radiator. I suspect the victims are invariably pensioners.

The whole issue of selling these radiators is scandal.

lstar337

Cardew wrote: »

I have been trying to get a sticky on this subject for the last 7 years.

Have MSE ever given you a reason why this cannot be done?

Cardew wrote: »

The claims by distributers of these heaters are sometimes ruled inadmissible by the Advertising Standards Authority. However the revised wording implies exactly the same misleading information - that their heaters produce more heat for a lower cost.

I know, and economy-radiators.com even go as far as claiming that storage heaters and E7 are some kind of swindle!

Cardew wrote: »

First time posters appear regularly on MSE to sing the praises of these products, spreading even more misinformation.

And we have to put them straight, which is made even harder by MSE, who keep editing our posts!

Cardew wrote: »

I find it amazing that companies are allowed to get away with charging £1,500 or more for a single radiator.

Crazy isn't it? Some sheet metal stamped out in a mould, a heating element, some oil/clay filling, a thermostat, and half a meter of cabling. £1500 for that?

Cardew wrote: »

I suspect the victims are invariably pensioners.

The whole issue of selling these radiators is scandal.

I agree.

trigarlaly

Andy_WSM wrote: »

At just 7p per unit for electric heat it would have to be a mind blowingly cheap deal to convert to gas! I don't think you could ever make the gas installation, cost of a boiler & radiators installed pay for itself to be honest. Although the fuel cost of gas is about half (just over) your electric fuel cost, the equipment and ongoing depreciation and servicing of a gas ch system are way more!

Exactly why we are still "all electric" Andy. Note the capital GREAT in my post.:)


Even all these Green Deals And Cashback Grants don't make it feasible.