Storage heater recommendations

littleteapot

lilac_dawn said:

Is anyone still reading this thread?? Can anyone tell me if they have a storage heater in their bedroom? 

Yes we have an elnur ECOHHR in our bedroom. It keeps the temperature comfortable all day and night (~17c), with a little boost to 20C starting an hour or so before bedtime, and again an hour or so before waking up. The fan noise is noticable at the beginning of these 'boost' periods but not enough to disturb us. Others may be more sensitive to the noise. Dimplex Quantum are allegedly quieter. 

lilac_dawn

Where's the best place to look for advice for upgrading these, please? So far, the EDF Evergreen (?) wanted me to give them all the measurements of the current heaters and then just quoted like for like, despite me saying the room calculator on the Dimplex site said I didn't currently have enough power in place to heat the rooms sufficiently. I then contacted (twice!) the local fitter listed on the Dimplex site. They want photos of all existing SH and fuse spurs, photos of the fuse board, photos of where I would like the new SHs located and want to know how many and which range. I was hoping someone could actually advise, which might involve a visit...? Or am I looking for an electrician unicorn? 

Gerry1

lilac_dawn said:

I was hoping someone could actually advise, which might involve a visit...? Or am I looking for an electrician unicorn? 

You could buy two fan heaters for less than £30 each (suggest 2kW and 3kW). When there's a really cold snap, turn off the existing NSHs and see what steady state power output is needed to stay comfortable in each area; you'd have 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5, 4 and 5kW options available.

You can then buy the appropriate sized Quantums or whatever and be reasonably confident they'll be beefy enough.  Note that the NSH output power is much less than the input power because it's released over a longer period.

It's a bit rough and ready, but assumptions about heat losses and effectiveness of existing insulation may not necessarily always be accurate.  If in doubt go for the larger size.

lilac_dawn

Gerry1 said:

lilac_dawn said:

I was hoping someone could actually advise, which might involve a visit...? Or am I looking for an electrician unicorn? 

You could buy two fan heaters for less than £30 each (suggest 2kW and 3kW). When there's a really cold snap, turn off the existing NSHs and see what steady state power output is needed to stay comfortable in each area; you'd have 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5, 4 and 5kW options available.

You can then buy the appropriate sized Quantums or whatever and be reasonably confident they'll be beefy enough.  Note that the NSH output power is much less than the input power because it's released over a longer period.

It's a bit rough and ready, but assumptions about heat losses and effectiveness of existing insulation may not necessarily always be accurate.  If in doubt go for the larger size.

Thanks!  I have a big room to heat (30 square meters) so it could take a while!
I also wanted to know about the wiring too: currently, 2 of the storage heaters have external timers as they were wired onto a circuit that was constantly 'on' so I don't know if they would have to stay (I assume so?) plus wiring added for another plug for Quantums. Would that be overload? This is why I preferred a visit from someone. 
I have been doing a bit of research about Quantums today and just seemed to come across bad reviews - especially Amazon - where so many people have regretted replacing their old SH. 

QrizB

lilac_dawn said:

I also wanted to know about the wiring too: currently, 2 of the storage heaters have external timers as they were wired onto a circuit that was constantly 'on' so I don't know if they would have to stay (I assume so?) plus wiring added for another plug for Quantums.

If you are thinking of replacing the old SHs, a Quantum will work happily on a single permanently-live supply. They have internal timers so the external ones can be removed.

lilac_dawn said:

I have been doing a bit of research about Quantums today and just seemed to come across bad reviews - especially Amazon - where so many people have regretted replacing their old SH. 

I don't recall anyone on this forum regretting their swap to Quantum NSHs, or any of the other modern models (Dimplex/Elnur for example).

What sort of things were the Amazon reviewers complaining about? Was there a common trend?

lilac_dawn

Lots saying they were noisy. Some saying they cost too much as the fan is on peak at peak time; I think too one said it was drawing power at peak time https://www.amazon.co.uk/DIMPLEX-Energy-Intelligent-Storage-Programmer/product-reviews/B00IUNFP6I/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_paging_btm_next_2?pageNumber=2

Gerry1

lilac_dawn said:

Lots saying they were noisy. Some saying they cost too much as the fan is on peak at peak time; I think too one said it was drawing power at peak time https://www.amazon.co.uk/DIMPLEX-Energy-Intelligent-Storage-Programmer/product-reviews/B00IUNFP6I/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_paging_btm_next_2?pageNumber=2

It's highly likely that those who gave poor reviews bought NSHs that were too small, don't understand how they work or haven't programmed them correctly.  One clearly plans to replace them with convectors so obviously doesn't have a clue about how much more expensive peak rate is, similarly another complains about the fan running, not realising that it uses very little power.
Several have been council installed systems so there's a high risk that penny pinching means that they're too small and that cheapo installers didn't bother to optimise the settings and explain them to the users.

lilac_dawn

QrizB said:

lilac_dawn said:

I also wanted to know about the wiring too: currently, 2 of the storage heaters have external timers as they were wired onto a circuit that was constantly 'on' so I don't know if they would have to stay (I assume so?) plus wiring added for another plug for Quantums.

If you are thinking of replacing the old SHs, a Quantum will work happily on a single permanently-live supply. They have internal timers so the external ones can be removed.

lilac_dawn said:

I have been doing a bit of research about Quantums today and just seemed to come across bad reviews - especially Amazon - where so many people have regretted replacing their old SH. 

I don't recall anyone on this forum regretting their swap to Quantum NSHs, or any of the other modern models (Dimplex/Elnur for example).

What sort of things were the Amazon reviewers complaining about? Was there a common trend?

So forgive the stupid question, how come the current old SH can't work on a permanently-live supply? Don't they have internal timers too? Due to the electrician unicorn, I'm thinking of replacing them one by one, particularly to see how much the bill will go up. I don't have a smart meter but know I'll have to get one installed soon, due to the teleswitch for Eco 7.

Gerry1

The old Box of Bricks NSHs don't have timers.  They have a simple thermostat to control the input charge and a flap that can be closed to reduce the heat output, but they will still emit a lot of heat during the night and at other times when it's not needed.

That's why the case will usually be warm whereas the Quantum's won't be because it's well insulated, hence the need to blow the heat out with a fan.  Another point the Amazon reviewers just didn't understand.

lilac_dawn

Gerry1 said:

The old Box of Bricks NSHs don't have timers.  They have a simple thermostat to control the input charge and a flap that can be closed to reduce the heat output, but they will still emit a lot of heat during the night and at other times when it's not needed.

That's why the case will usually be warm whereas the Quantum's won't be because it's well insulated, hence the need to blow the heat out with a fan.  Another point the Amazon reviewers just didn't understand.

So how do they know when to charge up on off-peak elec? 2 of my SH are fine and come on to charge when the Eco 7 kicks in. The other 2 don't as they were permanently on and charging until the electrician put external timer switches on them. Now I set the times for them to charge according to the Eco 7 times. One of my heaters also doesn't have an input dial as it's fan-assisted anyway so I suppose that would be the last to replace as it's the most efficient at the moment.