Waste

Andy_L

It sounds like the time and temp settings on your heaters are wrong.

The thermostat should be set to the temp you want the room to be & the time to when you want the heating to be on.

Segillar

Economy 7 heaters heat up during the night and the bricks inside store the heat.

Agreed.

That heat is then available during the day.

Agreed.

What you refer to as a thermostat is, in my system, a series of slats at the bottom of the heater which can be manually opened during the day to allow more heat to circulate. Of course the heater cools down more quickly so a boost is needed from an independent source during the day. My slats are never opened.

If all such night storage heaters work this way, as I believe they do, then your understanding is faulty.

Ath_Wat

sheramber said:

Economy 7 heaters heat up during the night and the bricks inside store the heat. That heat is then available during the day. If you have the thermostat set high during the day then the heat will run out sooner. 

That is the way they work.

It is recommended that  you turn them off  when you go to bed  and when you go out so they are not giving out heat when not needed. That way the heater will retain more heat for when it is needed.

The timings are programmed into the meter by the electricity supplier.

it it seems your life style is not compatible with storage heating.

Yes, the electricity is cheaper as it is off peak usage. Any electricity used during peak hours- washing machine, hoover etc  - is charged at a dearer rate.

I presume you mean turn the output down - if you turn them off overnight, they won't charge up.

Ath_Wat

Segillar said:

Economy 7 heaters heat up during the night and the bricks inside store the heat.

Agreed.

That heat is then available during the day.

Agreed.

What you refer to as a thermostat is, in my system, a series of slats at the bottom of the heater which can be manually opened during the day to allow more heat to circulate. Of course the heater cools down more quickly so a boost is needed from an independent source during the day. My slats are never opened.

If all such night storage heaters work this way, as I believe they do, then your understanding is faulty.

They should charge up with heat overnight and discharge it slowly over the day.  If yours are pumping out heat at night and nothing during the day despite having whatever output controls you have set to low, they are just not doing the job.  Whether this is down to your settings or to them just being rubbish is hard to say.

Andy_L

Segillar said:

Economy 7 heaters heat up during the night and the bricks inside store the heat.

Agreed.

That heat is then available during the day.

Agreed.

What you refer to as a thermostat is, in my system, a series of slats at the bottom of the heater which can be manually opened during the day to allow more heat to circulate. Of course the heater cools down more quickly so a boost is needed from an independent source during the day. My slats are never opened.

If all such night storage heaters work this way, as I believe they do, then your understanding is faulty.

So it sounds like they don't have a thermostat. Do they have a timer or not?

Regardless of terminology, if they are pumping out heat at 3am (and running out of stored heat during the day ) then either the settings  are wrong and/or the controls are knackered

sheramber

The OP said the owner had taped over the thermostat to prevent them changing the temperature.

modern economy heaters have a thermostat and a timer on them. 

Perhaps the ones the OP has are old ones which do not have both.

mjm3346

Got old Dimplex ones with two dials - input and output - once it had turned cold enough to use them the input dial was turned up as far as it goes to charge overnight and the output was set as low as it goes so heat will be released throughout the day, if the output was turned up for long the heat would probably not last all day - you could hear the slats move when the output dial was turned.

MalMonroe

If you're renting your property then - 'The law makes it clear: as per the Landlord and Tenant Act (1985) , landlords are responsible for the maintenance and proper working order of all water, gas, electricity and sanitation installations as well as the space heating and water heating installations in a rental property'.

Contact your landlord and tell them you want proper heating that you can control yourself with no obstruction to any thermostat.

You do have rights as a tenant or lodger, and they are extensive. If you are not a tenant then I don't know what to suggest. Other than maybe get a new heating system - or move?

I once had Economy 7 but found it to be strangely uneconomical and useless and got rid of it. Now we are gas centrally heated and control our own temperatures. And we are in rented accommodation. Council though. But cosy. Running gas CH has proved to be inexpensive. For us, anyway.

Ath_Wat

sheramber said:

The OP said the owner had taped over the thermostat to prevent them changing the temperature.

Did they?  Where?

sheramber

must have confused him with someone else.