Anyone content with storage heaters?

halogen

I have 2 semi-working storage heaters in a 3 bedroom house. (Well 3 but I never use the 3rd as I can't reach the dials and they need pliers to turn anyway) I assume they date from the 80s when it was built. I did get the local green deal people to assess the house when I bought it and I was advised that it wouldn't be worth getting more insulation. I also have no hot water as even the plumber couldn't work out how to make the boiler come on. I have an electric shower and there is no gas main.
Most of the year I have the heating off completely. It generally goes on from Nov to April and generally it's ok but there's maybe 10 days during the winter when it's slightly chilly. My electricity bill is currently £105/month. No idea how many KW/hr that is as I'm with a rubbish supplier and can't work out how to make their website tell me.
I'm was thinking of getting proper central heating installed but I don't think I could take the chaos of having people in putting pipes under the floor etc, so now I'm leaning towards replacing one of the storage heaters as they both seem to have only on/off modes now and I am too short sighted to read the dials anyway so can only get adjusted once a week when someone with better eyesight is round to visit.
Ideally I'd wanr something with some kind of phone control, even better if I could turn it up by phone 1/2 hour before I get home :-)

Does anyone have any advice or recommedations.
Oh and getting tradesmen where I live is a nightmare. I had to contact 5 local plumbers last time I needed work done and none of them got back to me. In them end I had to ask someone from 3 hours away who took pity on my plight. I say this as any solution that involved 'ask your local heating engineer' is going to fall at the 1st hurdle.
thanks in advance

CashStrapped

@halogen
I realise you posted this in another thread and no one directly responded.

But, the advice contained in that thread is the same.

1) If electric is the only option available, then storage heaters are the only option you should consider. They are the cheapest way to heat an all electric flat.

The only time where they may not be suitable is if you do not spend the vast majority of the day and evening at home.

In your case - replacing the broken one with a modern storage heater should be considered.

Learning how to use them efficiently is also key to getting the best out of them.

There are more fancy modern (expensive) storage heaters but I do not feel they offer that much of an advantage of the simple manual ones if you use them correctly.

2)You say you have a boiler that does not work? You need to identify a make, or what it is exactly. Do you mean a hot water tank with an immersion? If so it should be a very easy fix as they are very simple devices. However, if you are not likely to be using all the water in the tank,it may be cheaper for you to avoid using it anyway and stick to the kettle and electric shower.

3) Considering central heating is only a viable option if you have a connection to the gas mains. Do you?

If not, you need to explore the cost of connecting to the mains, which can cost between £500-£1000+. You need to contact the local Gas network to explore this.

You also need to consider the cost of installing a Gas central heating including boiler piping and radiators. This could cost anywhere between £2000-£4000.

Running such a system would be more convenient (in terms of operation) and more cost efficient to run. But you always have to factor in the initial installation costs.

One benefit is that having Gas central heating may subsidise itself by increasing the value of the property and it's desirability. But that doe snot help with the installation costs and is a long term factor to consider.

4) Ignore anyone selling fancy radiators with "special cores made of clay" or any company that requires a salesman to visit. These radiators will be the same as any other instant heat electric radiator and will use day rate electricity only (not like a storage heater) and will be the most expensive way to heat a flat.

A 3kw radiator with special cores costing £1000 will use the same amount of electricity as a 3kw electric radiator for B&Q costing £45.

Also avoid wet electric heating. Again, this will normally use day rate electricity, so more costly to run. It is a more complicated installation process with little benefit over direct electric heating (separate electric radiators).

---

You may have issues with plumbers at the moment as they will be running round fixing leaks and repairing/replacing combi boilers that have kicked the bucket.

You do need to start looking at your use in kwh. Ring your supplier, work out how their website works. Not knowing what you are using will lead to eventual problems.
Only when you know your annual use in kwh can you accurately compare suppliers.

If you are on an e7 tariff, knowing your use is even more important because you need to know your % night use. This is very important for comparison.

jk0

Halogen, why don't you get one of these weather sensing storage heater controllers? Then you won't need to touch them.

http://www.pactrolsolutions.com/403901-weather-watcher-including-external-sensor-54-p.asp

halogen

CashStrapped wrote: »

@halogen

You may have issues with plumbers at the moment as they will be running round fixing leaks and repairing/replacing combi boilers that have kicked the bucket.

Actually that was last summer.

How do I know if I'm on an E7 tariff? My last electric invoice was a ridiculous £300- that's for Jan, before the cold snap.
Used to only be £150 with british gas and I thought that was silly

halogen

jk0 wrote: »

Halogen, why don't you get one of these weather sensing storage heater controllers? Then you won't need to touch them.

http://www.pactrolsolutions.com/403901-weather-watcher-including-external-sensor-54-p.asp

Lovely idea but it looks like it only works with gas...

CashStrapped

First, you really need to work out how to interpret your bills and bill history..

This really is key to understanding your use. Ring or email your supplier or try to explore their website again, with them on the phone if you have to if you are having trouble accessing your bill history. Download or check as many of your past bills that you have.Easy if you have kept paper copies.

If you want to avoid telephone bills, email them requesting a call back. Or, ensure that you dial a regional number which will use any free allowance you may have.

If you have an E7 tariff it will say so on your bill. You will normally have two rates on your bills too. You meter will also have two sets of numbers, but this does not always mean you are on an E7 tariff, hence why checking your bill is important.

---

You bill, at the least should give you an indication of your annual use in kwh. While this is normally an estimate, it should be in the ball park and suffice for now.

The best thing to do is go through your bill history and write down all the confirmed readings (those with a C or A next to them) and the dates they were taken. From those you can work out your annual use by looking for two meter readings that are a year apart and calculating the difference between them.

If you have issues doing this, post all the figures here and we can help.

---

halogen

[FONT=&quot]I switched from BG in september and I'm having trouble logging into thier site to get data from before that but
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]OCTOBER[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Register Start date Start read Read type End date End read Read type Units[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]1 01/09/2017 14278.8 D 12/10/2017 15319.5 E 1040.7[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]2 01/09/2017 1886.1 D 12/10/2017 2009.8 E 123.7[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Read Types: C = Customer, E = Estimate, D = Deemed, O = Opening, F = Final[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Register Date kWh Rate Price[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]1 12/10/2017 1040.7 0.11152 116.06[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]2 12/10/2017 123.7 0.11152 13.80[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Total 129.86

November
[/FONT] [FONT=&quot]Register Start date Start read Read type End date End read Read type Units[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]1 13/10/2017 15319.5 E 05/11/2017 17038.0 C 1718.5[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]1 05/11/2017 17038.0 C 12/11/2017 17278.8 E 240.8[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]2 13/10/2017 2009.8 E 12/11/2017 2112.5 E 102.7[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Read Types: C = Customer, E = Estimate, D = Deemed, O = Opening, F = Final[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Register Date kWh Rate Price[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]1 05/11/2017 1718.5 0.11152 191.65[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]1 12/11/2017 240.8 0.11152 26.85[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]2 12/11/2017 102.7 0.11152 11.45[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Total[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]229.95[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]December[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [FONT=&quot]Register Start date Start read Read type End date End read Read type Units[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]1 13/11/2017 17278.8 E 12/12/2017 18223.7 E 944.9[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]2 13/11/2017 2112.5 E 12/12/2017 2224.8 E 112.3[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Read Types: C = Customer, E = Estimate, D = Deemed, O = Opening, F = Final[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Register Date kWh Rate Price[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]1 12/12/2017 944.9 0.11152 105.38[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]2 12/12/2017 112.3 0.11152 12.52[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Total[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]117.90[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]January[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot][/FONT]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [FONT=&quot]Register Start date Start read Read type End date End read Read type Units[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]1 13/12/2017 18223.7 E 28/12/2017 17020.0 C -1203.7[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]1 28/12/2017 17020.0 C 28/01/2018 20855.0 C 3835.0[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]1 28/01/2018 20855.0 C 31/01/2018 20986.5 E 131.5[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]2 13/12/2017 2224.8 E 31/01/2018 2421.8 E 197.0[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Read Types: C = Customer, E = Estimate, D = Deemed, O = Opening, F = Final[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Register Date kWh Rate Price[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]1 28/12/2017 -1203.7 0.11152 -134.24[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]1 28/01/2018 3835.0 0.11152 427.68[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]1 31/01/2018 131.5 0.11152 14.66[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]2 31/01/2018 197.0 0.11152 21.97[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Total[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]330.07[/FONT]
[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Hope that helps :-)[/FONT]


[FONT=&quot][/FONT][FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]

CashStrapped

Woop Numbers!

What was your closing reading with British gas.

Can you take a reading today, now?

How many displays does your meter have? What type of meter is it?

Edit: You should be still able to log into your British gas account to view past bills. You need to go back through those bills to get confirmed or actual readings from last year. This will help calculate you annual use.

halogen

I think the BG site is just having an off day. I don't have a closing reading as I was never told to take one. I can give you meter readings taken this weekend?
2352
20039
22391.

CashStrapped

So you have three readings on your meter? Do they have details next to them as to what each one refers to? Like Day, Night..or high Low..etc

Did you not give an opening reading to your new supplier? It looks like your opening reading is an estimate.