Cheapest way to heat

mrsyardbroom

I hope this thread is useful to someone. We all want to know how we can heat our rooms more economically. I'm going back to work to pay the bills. Luckily it will be from home but I have a lot of research to do first.

EssexHebridean

You should be able to programme it easily for a week ahead I would have thought. It certainly shouldn’t need adjustment constantly if it’s working correctly and charging on the off peak, then delivering just stored heat during the day. With the settings roughly correct, it shouldn’t make too much odds (within reason) what time you are out if just for short periods. 

It occurs to me that if you are programming it to be producing heat all the time that you are in, and off when you are out, it may well be running out of stored heat early in the day. 

Could you give us an idea roughly what area of the country you are in? Just a county will be fine if you are ok with that. Also, if you have readings to hand, can you confirm how much electricity you have used (in kWh) both during the day and overnight in the last month. 

If we can work out how you need to programme the heater so it’s working better for you, then it may well be that setting it higher won’t cost you any additional money. 

Gerry1

EssexHebridean said:

They shouldn’t run as a fan heater on peak rate electricity unless you are using the “boost” function though - unless perhaps yours has a function where the heater automatically switches to boost if it runs out of stored heat - in which case you may need to run it for shorter periods of output time

That's exactly what it does, with the factory setting being up to three hours per day.  The OP needs to set this to zero to cut the bills, but this may reveal that the Elnur isn't quite as big as it needs to be.

EssexHebridean

Gerry1 said:

EssexHebridean said:

They shouldn’t run as a fan heater on peak rate electricity unless you are using the “boost” function though - unless perhaps yours has a function where the heater automatically switches to boost if it runs out of stored heat - in which case you may need to run it for shorter periods of output time

That's exactly what it does, with the factory setting being up to three hours per day.  The OP needs to set this to zero to cut the bills, but this may reveal that the Elnur isn't quite as big as it needs to be.

Thanks Gerry - as you know I’m familiar with Quantums but Elnur are a mystery as far as I’m concerned! How daft that the default setting is one that will cost people so much extra, though! 

Gerry1

I don't have either, but the Elnur seems very similar to the Quantum.  They seem brilliant IF correctly programmed, but a nightmare if done badly and left on the default German settings where it's likely to be working against you by doing all the wrong things.

The Elnur's default is an eight hour charging period starting at midnight, so I hope the installer changed that as well.

EssexHebridean

Yes - if the OP’s heater is on the standard circuit rather than a specific E7 circuit that’s a very good point.

With the Quantums, you have to physically select the boost option if you want it - they then use stored heat until it runs out, and will then switch to the Peak rate element for the rest of the chosen boost period. IIRC any later “comfort on” period will then fail to produce heat - but I’ve never actually tested that side of things as we so rarely use the boost. 

mrsyardbroom

I can't find anything that says the Elnur runs as a fan heater but I know it does. When it was installed it started heating the room immediately even though it had never been charged. I've been asked how many units I've used in the last month. I only switched the heater on last week so I can't say what the number of units will be in a month.

Gerry1 I'll see if I can find out how to change the settings for the boost. I don't think it's in the user manual.

Gerry1

mrsyardbroom said:

Gerry1 I'll see if I can find out how to change the settings for the boost. I don't think it's in the user manual.

Section 3.5.2.refers, but you have to have a Ph.D, and stand on your head while rubbing your eyes with your elbow.

mrsyardbroom

I didn't get as far as the PhD, just the BSc. I know someone with 2 PhD's but they're in music and history so that's not much help. I can't find any way of changing the settings if you're the user. I'm assuming the boost is the balancing element. The factory default setting is 5. I shall keep digging until I find it. Someone somewhere will have changed it themselves and probably made a YouTube video in the process.

mrsyardbroom

Guess what. There is already a thread on Elnur heaters and other people have been having massive problems with them. They've had grants to have them installed the same as me. It seems that only the installers can change the settings for the charging period and balancing element. I checked the length of time the balancing element has been on today and it's 25 minutes. I can't set this to zero.