Fischer Smart Technology Electric Storage Heaters

Cold_in_the_UK

Hi,
I live in a small (70 sq meter) cottage built around 1780. The floors are stone-flags lying directly on the ground (very cold), the walls are cob and stone and approx two feet thick (i.e. very good insulation), the loft is small but insulated and the windows are double-glazed. We have no central heating but we do have a very efficient Rais 600 wood-burning stove in the living room.

I want to heat the rooms (living room & interconnecting kitchen, two bedrooms and one bathroom) in the most cost-efficient way possible with electricity. The installation costs are not an issue I simply want the best system for keeping my house warm all year round (16C during the day when I'm out and 21C in the evenings when I'm home - note the very efficient wood-burner will also then be lit).

Can anyone advise on the best form of electric heating and has anyone got personal experience of the Fischer Smart Technology storage and on-peak heaters/radiators (German)? We had a Fischer sales rep around and he was very convincing but a trawl of internet advice was less so.

Thank-you

tberry6686

do a search on here for Fischer storage heaters and that will give you all the information you need to know.

In short :

Very expensive electric radiators.
Uses peak electricity to generate heat.
Have the same efficiency as any other electric radiator.
Sold with a large dose of snake oil.

Owain_Moneysaver

Cold_in_the_UK wrote: »

The installation costs are not an issue I simply want the best system for keeping my house warm all year round

Install gas.

Ground source heat pump.

Off-peak electricity heating a thermal store.

Robwiz

Electric resistance heating is expensive regardless of where the heater is made or how it is sold. Economy 7 reduces the energy cost but each kWh of heat will still cost 6p compared to gas at 5p. Wood can be competitive, especially with a pellet boiler at around 5p/kWh, however, the best value is from an air to air heat pump (AAHP), basically a wall mounted air conditioner running in heating mode. The best small units have a coefficient of 4-5, meaning that each kWh used delivers 4 to 5 kWh of heat. On that basis, each kWh of heat costs only 1/4 to 1/5 of the electricity tariff and significantly less than gas.

A 2kW AAHP costs around £500 plus installation, so in the same ballpark as a night storage heater. I would suggest one AAHP would cover the base load heat loss set at 18ºC with the woodburner being lit for evenings.

Regardless of what a sales representative may say, a resistance heater is a resistance heater and they all deliver their rated output wherever they are manufactured and from whatever materials they are constructed. If you want a resistance heater, but a 2kW fan heater from Argos for £9.99 and use your money to pay the electricity bills!