Storage Heater - No Timer

cb85

But it was giving out heat in the middle of the night. 

I want it to store the heat overnight, the let it out during the day at intervals of my choosing.

I don't understand how I can do this without a manual timer.

molerat

cb85 said:

But it was giving out heat in the middle of the night. 

I want it to store the heat overnight, the let it out during the day at intervals of my choosing.

I don't understand how I can do this without a manual timer.

The system does not store heat, it is a purely on demand system.  As seems hard wired to the off peak the only time it heats up is while you are in bed.  It is incorrectly wired and should be on the "normal" side of the meter with a timer for you to select to your convenience. E7 is generally not suitable for this type of heating as the daytime units when you will be using it most are more expensive.

cb85

The below is guidance provided by the landlady. She refers to it as economy 7. Is this incorrect then?

QrizB

Economy 7 or E7 is an electricity supply tariff that gives you seven hours of cheaper night-time electricity every night (hence "Economy 7") and seventeen hours of more expensive electricity. E7 is typically used with stoorage heaters for heat and electric immersion heaters for hot water, but can be used with almost any electrical appliance (when I had an E7 house I'd put my washing machine on late at night, for example).

Your seven hours are from 0030-0730, as stated on the sticker on your electricity meter.

Storage heaters use E7 electricity to heat up a pile of bricks in an insulated box, then use vents and (sometimes) fans to allow that heat out during the day. Underfloor heating is generaly meant to run when you need the heat, not to sotre it for future use.

I suspect your landlady has never lived in the flat herself and so is telling you what she was told by the salesman. Unfortunately, from what you've said so far it doesn't seem to be accurate.

If you owned the flat you could buy and fit a storage heater to make best use of E7. If you're an enthusiastic DIYer (or know one you can bribe with beer & pizza) you could probably do the same with a second-hand storage heater even though you rent.

coffeehound

Seems Caldec are a German company with little info in English. Is your room on the ground floor?  If so, it’s possible it has a slab to store some heat. The fact that it took a few hours to heat the room would be consistent with that