storage heaters vs panel heaters

modsandmockers

I fall into the group which has never used storage heaters (except for a brief period of time around 40 years ago in a property which was little better than a 200-year-old barn with storage heaters which were not much younger!) so I don't really know what I am talking about. But over the years I have met a lot of people who do know what they're talking about and there there is definitely a wide variety of experiences (especially with older units). I would say to the OP - 'give it a try this winter, and see how you get on'. My middle names are Heath and Robinson so if I were to find that the heaters were routinely getting cold before bedtime, I would make thickly-insulated wooden box-covers for every heater and leave them in place during the daytime.

Richie-from-the-Boro

IMO

lstar337 - Most of what your hear about NSH is written by people who didn't know how to use them

lstar337, got that right, much of the 'expert' opinion posted here is the well intended or ignorant blind leading the blind.

NSH was around in the early 40's, generating lots of industry needed power for day use and no night use meant it was cheap[er]. The born again version some 50 years later in the early 80's was as a result of the invention of the E7 tariff and the escalating use of ceiling / underfloor / NSCHWW, then privatisation came along in the early 90's and the price of energy and the reduction in cheap hours to 7 led to the halving from 1m to 500,000 installs pa. The more enlightened and up to date benefits of energy security and TOU [with different 30 minute block prices at different times] tariffs became dead in the water with the non-introduction of smart metering.

Older heaters had a simple manual in [thermostat switches the charge off] and out determined by how cold the next day is predicted to be, and the householder manually opens and closes the damper. The 80's arrived and a mechanically controlled automatic output switch opened and closed the damper, the addition of a thermostatically external wall mounted 'weather watcher' mouse would respond to middle of the night actual temperature and set the input accordingly. More modern types automatically regulate the bias of input and output damper control with an 'off can' temp sensor and have improved insulating material to reduce thermal leeching.

NOTE: Most of the complaints about leaking heat come from 2 sources, the (1) older types with lousy old fashioned insulators leaking radiated heat and (2) the aged bent thin metal damper no longer doing the job it should be doing and / or the now useless thermocouple and bi-metal strip leaking convected heat through the damper.

footyguy

sambo84 wrote: »

Hi all,

I have just bought a new property that doesn't have the ability to get gas and also doesn't have oil at the moment.

It currently has storage heaters but I was wondering if it was better to take these out and put in normal panel heaters as from what I have read storage heaters (on economy 7) are more suited to people at home in the day as the heat is added to the radiators in the day and may be gone by the time i get home from work. Plus all my normal usage (lighting, washing machine, dishwasher, tv etc) will be on the peak part of the tariff.

Do you think i should replace the heaters with normal electric panel heaters and go to a normal energy tariff where it is cheaper to use energy at peak times?

Where are you reading your information from?

I was going to suggest the internet, but this question has been asked many times before on this board alone, and no thread would have come to the conclusion you appear to have read.

NSH use cheap rate electricity, electricity that typically costs half or even less than daytime/single rate electricity.

As this is a moneysaving website, that should answer your question, even before we go into the expense of buying new heaters, and the adverse affect it will have on the resale value of the property if you change it to heat only using expensive electricity.

ForestBluebells

Thanks guys, I'll leave them in for now and make sure I'm on the cheapest e7 tariff and review after a few weeks/months

lstar337

sambo84 wrote: »

Thanks guys, I'll leave them in for now and make sure I'm on the cheapest e7 tariff and review after a few weeks/months

If you do find your heaters are running out of heat when you have been using them correctly (input set correctly & damper closed each night and not opened unless needed), then they are likely under specified for the property.

If that is the case, before looking at alternative heat sources or new replacement NSH, look at your insulation. You need to keep that bought heat in!

Look at walls, windows, and roof spaces. Look anywhere that air can come in. Losts of insulation tricks and tips to go through and nearly all of them will be cheaper the replacing heaters.

Good luck and come back if you need any further help.

cifpower

luvchocolate wrote: »

Hi again...mine are over 25 years old, I have lived in the property 7 years, never had a problem. never run out of heat. I am also out all day.

When I moved into my flat in July I thought "storage heaters? Urgh". But actually, I have both my input and output set to 1. I only have the 1 heater in my living room and if I have all the doors open that single heater can really heat my flat for 2 or 3 days on one charge.

I am amazed.