Anyone content with storage heaters?

Will_of_the_forest

My wife and I are about to move in to our first home and it has no gas so its got the dreaded night storage heaters. Neither of us have lived in a property with out gas before so we're a little worried about how warm it'll be. Ive only really heard and read negative things about them so my question is, is there anyone out there who lives in a reasonably warm house with reasonable electric bills from a regular supply?

WobblyDog

I've had them in the past, I think they are an acceptable alternative to gas central heating for at least some people. They are probably best for people who don't mind the house being a bit cool at times.


The main disadvantage I found is that the only heat available in the evening is the heat that was stored up the previous night. On the other hand, overnight electricity prices are low. They also have much lower maintenance requirements than gas central heating.

AbbieCadabra

i'm just looking into them at the moment as we're looking for an alternative for our incredibly badly installed underfloor heating throughout our new build apartment. it's costing us an absolute fortune to run & is almost impossible to control any room to an ambient temp, the builder will be paying for whatever alternative we find. we're not connected for gas & oil or lpg won't be an option, i've ruled out ceramic filled heaters & think we've only got storage heaters on econ7/10 as an option left now.

some basic info here from sustainable energy

Torry_Quine

Satisfied user here. Keep the house warm enough without using the boost most of the time. When it's exceptionally cold the boost is needed.

lstar337

They're fine if they are the correct size for the room. If you find they are running out of heat early, then they are too small for the space.

When all things are considered they are close to Gas in terms of cost, but they don't have the flexibility. It takes a little extra work, but you are rewarded with a home that is warm almost all of the day.

The bonus with E7 is that you also get a glut of hot water at a cheap price point, and the ability to move some of your usage over night to make even more savings.

Richie-from-the-Boro

"dreaded night storage heaters" not dreaded for me 35 years + in two different dwellings - love it ! - Whole Year Cost Check on 16th August 2017 :

- Day 2,455 kWh ∴ 41.87% Day
- Night 5,864 kWh ∴ 58.13% Night
- Total-pa 8,319 kWh

An average of 20-21°C in the winter one big 3.4kW and one middle sized 2.5kW NSH thats a total of 23.8 + 17.8kWh or 41.6kWh of stored heat. That 41.6kWh of stored heat is available for release over the next 17 day hours or the equivalent of a 2.44kW fire at full output for those 17 hours.

Learn how to use them properly, make sure you have enough total storage capacity of the cheaper electricity or you will end up using 'on demand 13a heat at 30% more expensive, and keep your output control closed tight forever -:

Scilly

I'm really struggling with mine! I'm sat here right now very very cold! I have NSH from the mid-80s, they have an 'auto-set control' dial (on 2) & 'room temperature' dial (on 1).
I'm on Eco7 & so far today have used 43.60kWh/ £2.98, I tend to get up around the £3.60 area in the late evening. The money wouldn't be an issue if I wasn't sat here wearing gloves, jumper, cardigan & scarf... still cold! (sometimes I do star jumps just to get my appendages warm!)
Not been here very long so might be using them incorrectly. Any advice from a satisfied customer would be greatly appreciated! :j

Richie-from-the-Boro

Turn them up.

Scilly

Richie,

Given you said "Learn how to use them properly and keep your output control closed tight forever".....which one do I turn up? or both?

Thanks

Richie-from-the-Boro

Look its a tin of cheap heat, how hot it gets and how long it stays hot depends on how much you fill it up and how quickly you empty it. Turn the damper off completely and the input to full you will then fill heat you room for 30% less money than the panel heaters.

Output (convection) is bad, it warms ceilings and seagulls. Radiation is good it warms people and things.

Which of your controls is which I've no idea, send us a photo and we will tell you. Best of luck.

Richie-from-the-Boro

Scilly wrote: »

Richie,

Given you said "Learn how to use them properly and keep your output control closed tight forever".....which one do I turn up? or both?

Thanks

Turn the input to full and the output to zero and leave it that way for a couple of days / nights. Does that help ?