Which electric heating system when replacing old storage heaters?

wookie6

Hi,

I need to replace my old storage heaters, however I'm torn with which replacement heating system to replace them with. The property (a flat) cannot have a gas supply, is about 70sqm and is a late Victorian property.

My current storage heaters are wired into an off peak electricity supply only for which I have a Standard & Off-Peak electricity tariff. Previous tenants of the property have always complained about the costs of heating the property.

As I see it there are 3 options, all with pro's and con's as I see them:

1) High heat retention storage heaters

Pro's: Most efficient / Cheapest to run (around 40% cheaper to run on an off peak tariff than direct electric heaters on a standard tariff)
Con's: They cost about twice as much per unit than a direct heater (e.g. for a £300 direct heater, a high heat storage heater costs around £600) + you must use an off peak tariff so the rest of your electricity outside the off peak times in more expensive + storage heaters are now seen as old and non modern + need a professional to fit them. (Also in my particular case I would also need them wired into the day time electricity supply as they require this).

2) Standard storage heaters

Pro's: A little more efficient / cheap to run on an an off peak tariff than direct heaters (maybe 20% or so).
Con's: All same con's as above, other than price per unit is roughly the same as a direct heater and I believe I wouldn't need to wire them into the day time electric supply or need a professional to fit them.

3) Direct heaters

Pro's: Look modern + provide instant heat + Can be temperature controlled + used on standard tariff so all day electricity benefits from lower rates
Con's: Nearly 40% more expensive to run than High heat retention storage heaters

I keep chopping and changing between all 3 options and really can't decide which to go for, any advice would be greatly appreciated!

molerat

Storage heaters on an E7 tariff is the only cost effective electric heating system.

The next question is why do you need to replace the old ones - a pile of bricks and a heating element leaves little to go wrong so replacing them is hardly likely to be a cost effective solution.

What are these "direct heaters" costing £300 ? Don't believe all the marketing hype you read, most of these are no better than a £10 heater from the supermarket !

wookie6

molerat wrote: »

Storage heaters on an E7 tariff is the only cost effective electric heating system.

The next question is why do you need to replace the old ones - a pile of bricks and a heating element leaves little to go wrong so replacing them is hardly likely to be a cost effective solution.

What are these "direct heaters" costing £300 ? Don't believe all the marketing hype you read, most of these are no better than a £10 heater from the supermarket !

Thanks for the reply, I need to replace one of them because it simply doesn't work (I don't know why), but no heat comes out and I want to replace the other one as I don't fully trust it anymore as blue sparks have been seen when turning it on (I can't add more than that as I wasn't there at the time), but they are all looking tired and aged and I guess new ones would look cleaner and more modern.

As for the direct heaters (http://www.dimplex.co.uk/products/domestic_heating/installed_heating/q-rad/index.htm or https://www.electricradiatorsdirect.co.uk/haverland-rc-wave-electric-radiators) for example.

Taken from a sellers website:

"In our experience we have found that storage heaters are only the most economical way to heat your home if you need constant heat through the day and night – for instance if you are retired or you work from home. Alternatively, you may find that storage heaters meet your needs in one room but not another; many of our customers choose to install a storage heater in their living room, for a constant low level of heat, and an electric radiator in the bedroom so they can keep cool at night. However, most people who currently use storage heaters could save money by updating to energy efficient electric radiators"

With respect to the last statement in bold, presumably this can't possibly be true if you are are at home all day, but presumably could be true if you are out of the house all day and so only need heat in the mornings and evenings, or is the statement not even true in this case?

Effervescent

I too have one of my night storage heaters not working. I sent a photo of it to Dimplex and they said they probably no longer have the parts to repair it. In November I asked them to come and do a survey for the new Quantum heaters. I am still waiting for them to set up a date.......

wookie6

I have a survey booked in for next week, happy to report back.

Owain_Moneysaver

wookie6 wrote: »

Con's: Nearly 40% more expensive to run than High heat retention storage heaters

Peak rate electricity is more like 3 times the price of off-peak. You need to
(a) insulate the property to reduce heat loss
(b) get as much electricity use onto the off-peak period as possible, including water heating, washing machine and tumble dryer

prf5l

Hello

Wookie6 - did you have the survey/report back?

I would be very interested to know your thoughts / any other members' comments as I'm in a similar situation - I have a one bed flat, electric only, late 80s construction with what I'm guessing are the original storage heaters. Currently on economy 7: 2 x storage heaters in open plan lounge/kitchen (around 5m x 3m with 4 smallish windows and 1 external wall of 5m); 1 x storage heater in bedroom (going to replace with a panel heater for space reasons, it's a tiny room!) and 1 x storage heater in hall.

At least one of the storage heaters is broken in the lounge, so I'm thinking it's best to replace both (as bills have been high from what I'm guessing is poor performance). I have seen previous threads which suggest it's better to go for 2 x combination heaters (e.g. Duo), rather than 1 x Quantum. I am going to get 2 storage heaters but can't decide whether to go for Quantum (2 x in lounge - is it possible to have 1 x Quantum and 1 x another - or would this make one or both overwork?) or just 2 combination (or even automatic) storage heaters? Most reviews of Quantum seem positive, in terms of heat and cost, however, I have seen reviews which say the need for the constant fan means they aren't that much cheaper (and potentially more expensive?!) to run than non-Quantum?

Initial outlay, whilst a consideration, is less important than long term consumption - I don't want to go for a cheap option which is expensive to run. And by the same token, I don't want to shell out 25-50% more on Quantum if it's going to end up costing more to run than another option.

Any suggestions much appreciated!

wookie6

prf5l - From what I can see one size doesn't necessarily fit all. The answer really comes down to a lot of factors.

I had a Quantum approved installer come out to survey my property, however I discussed all the options not just Quantum. As I understand it Quantum heaters are good as you can more closely control when they give out their heat which I think is the main difference from a traditional storage heater that gives out heat all day but may then leave your home cooler in the late evenings as the output starts to diminish. This would help people mostly that work all day and are therefore not at the property during the day. How well this works, I can't say you really would need to have one installed to find out.

I think as many others have said, if you must use electric as you have no gas supply then using panel heaters throughout will be very expensive as you would need a lot of them and would need them on for some time to get the temperature up if they have been off all day, equally as soon as they are switched off the temperature will drop fairly quickly again. Storage heaters provide a more cost effective way of keeping the temperature more constant.

From the survey I very much came away thinking the answer is to have a combination of Storage heaters for the main living areas and panel heaters for areas that require more instant heat but are not you main living spaces (e.g. bedroom, bathroom).

I say your decision ultimately comes down to a number of factors because if you have traditional storage heaters that are only wired into an off peak circuit then replacing these with combination heaters / quantum will cost more than replacing like for like as you will also need to factor in the cost of new wiring for each of the heaters into the peak circuit for the required fan. Equally if you only have a set number of off peak points for Storage heaters then adding a further Storage heater could be expensive as the main fuse box may need to be expanded and additional points added.

Another factor could be whether the upgrade is for your own property or a property that is let. For example I would be more inclined to go down the Quantum route if it were my own property and I was looking to stay for many years.

As for replacing existing heaters due to poor performance, I was encouraged not to do this unless the heaters are actually broken as they can't really develop particularly poor performance. If your energy costs are higher than you would expect it would be better to work out whether its actually the storage heaters that are causing this. It may actually be from poor insulation (check your EPC rating for your home) or perhaps your hot water boiler / immersion heater may be on a peak circuit and on for longer than it needs to be. Obviously if you install a new Storage heater and find the heat coming from a new one of similar size compared to the old one is particularly noticeable there may be a case to replace it.

In terms of the survey itself, the main purpose it served was to make me very aware of all the additional wiring costs that may be involved based on the choices you make. As for the various heating options, I don't think it added too much.

Personally I'm going to start with traditional Storage heaters in all the main living areas (mainly due to keeping additional wiring and initial storage heater costs down) and a panel heater in the bedroom and then supplement any spaces needed with 1KW panel heaters I expect, this should provide the best of both worlds then.

Hope this helps.