Updating storage heaters? Fischer Future Heat?

Katie-Kat-Kins

Can you post some pictures of the heaters, and the controls so that people can help?




Storage heaters will certainly be the cheapest way of heating this property as they use the cheap rate electricity and store it for use in the day, if they are going cold in the afternoon then either they aren't set up correctly or they are too small/not enough heaters for the space.


As a temporary measure buy a an electric fan heater or panel heater to top up, it will be expensive to run but cheap to buy unlike most of these fancy heaters which promise the world but are just expensive versions of the basic panel heater you can buy for under £20 in B&Q

john1

Scrub
Are these NS as originally fitted by the builder??

If they get cool after the afternoon boost ( which should last 3 hrs between 1300 and 1700hrs ) when not being charged they don't appear to be NS Heaters as these normally are warm to hot even after being switched off for 24 hrs

I am wondering if and how the original developer specified this type of heater to get building reg approval if they appear to be so bad at retaining heat

Owain_Moneysaver

CashStrapped wrote: »

Indeed, part of the issue may be that the current storage heaters are undersized .

Very likely. Most date from an era when 17 deg C (in the lounge) was thought toasty warm, and were usually installed together with a decorative electric fire in the lounge intended to provide the evening top-up heat required.

Guidance is now 21 deg C or even higher for older people with limited mobility.

john1

Scrub
Just notice this comment
She just wants to be able to turn on heat when she wants it and turn it off when she doesn't

Unfortunately NS and E!0 doesn't work like this The ideal set up is to for the heaters to give a steady background heat and then leave them alone.
Any extra heating if required is by using top up electric fan heater or such like

Richie-from-the-Boro

scrub wrote: »

My mother's definitely on E10 as I checked and it's one of the reasons why it's so hard to change. The heating goes off early afternoon and doesn't come on until gone five. She'd need a new metre for E7 I think. My mother's in her 80s so does feel the cold and I'm sure she doesn't use them as well as she could but that's one of the problems - having to juggle the controls to try and get the optimum performance is like some cryptic code. She just wants to be able to turn on heat when she wants it and turn it off when she doesn't.

So, are there decent replacements out there as clearly fisher are to be avoided.

Yes, on demand Lidl Aldi Amazon anywhere. Any advert with words like green, designer,eco etc just move on. Wall mount is safer. Thermostat controlled is essential. Timer is an advantage. Radiative is better than convective. All running costs will be about 30% more than the E10/7.

scrub

I will need to check the ambient temperature and find the details when I go back in a couple of weeks. It seems large enough for the room and it is the original heater fitted by the builders as we've had the flat from new.

She turns it down to 1 at night then turns it up in the day. She has it on boost a lot too.

CashStrapped

The boost will likely use the expensive day rate and should be avoided.

The input dial should be set to take into account for the weather conditions the next day.

The output dial should always be set as low as possible. It should never be turned up when charging at night as this will just release any heat rather than storing it. It should only be turned up the next day if extra heat is required but done in the knowledge that if left open too much there may not be enough stored heat left to last the evening.

----

This is why it is important to get a handle on your mothers actual annual use in KWH. What is her tariff, what is her % split on the cheaper hours.

Once you have this information you can make an informed decision as to the options available and the costs involved.

You can also look at the room sizes and ensure the storage heaters are correctly sized. There are websites that can help you do this.

cub

There's the problem - she is turning the radiator down to 1 at night - so it's taking in hardly any charge overnight on the off-peak rate - you need to explain how they work as she is using them incorrectly.

Robisere

lstar337 wrote: »

OP,

Anything else you fit and use will be more expensive at this point. I'm including gas central heating in that too because of the install cost and payback period..

Not True in our case. We live in Sheltered Housing, rented from a Social Housing association. Up to 2015 we had aged NS Heating which worked from Economy 7 and stopped giving heat by 3 pm, no matter how we set them. For years we tried to get this changed: eventually our MP contacted the Housing Minister and the local Environmental Housing Office within the local Council. In 2015 they forced our landlord to fit GCH in every bungalow within the complex. Our last bill under Electricity only was £175/month. There was a problem caused by changing meters (Powergrid were useless, EDF forced them to do it and got compensation for us) but first real GCH Dual Fuel bill, was £75/month. Now it's £85. And we are all Seniors here, some in their 90's and we have heating on all day. It is wonderful after all those years of insufficient, inefficient heating. Colds and coughs in the complex have fallen to a low rate.

OP, I would check to see what kind of landlord your mum has. Find the local Council's Environmental Housing Officer and explain the situation, that the heating is insufficient for older people. NSH is fine for working families away from home in the day. For older people, who need heating all day, it is useless.

Gerry1

Robisere wrote: »

they forced our landlord to fit GCH in every bungalow within the complex.

Yes, things are often far more cost effective when someone else is forced to foot the bill !

Robisere wrote: »

NSH is fine for working families away from home in the day. For older people, who need heating all day, it is useless.

Again, I'm afraid you've got your wires crossed. NSH is a very poor choice for people out all day: you're wasting money on heating the property when you're not there, not to mention overnight as well. Obviously the options are limited if mains gas is not available locally and an LPG tank plus wet CH may be impractical or unaffordable, so the least worst option for a short term working occupant might even be panel radiators on a full price tariff. NSH might be viable if they're very well insulated and operated by a fan on a full time circuit; they'd be even more suitable for retirees provided that they're correctly dimensioned and adjusted.

Your problem seems to have been an old and under dimensioned NSH system that was probably designed for E10, E12 or whatever. No doubt the developer or local authority only considered the capital outlay, not the running costs so they chose the cheapest (=smallest) system. Being forced to switch to E7 when E10 was withdrawn or became crippingly expensive would have exacerbated the 'cold evenings' problem because E7 has no afternoon boost.