Storage heater recommendations

Gerry1

@JadeGurl

The Horstman controller is likely to be on a 24h circuit and will supply an immersion heater halfway up the tank.  It will give you half a tank of hot water at any time if you press BOOST, but in the day it will use expensive day rates.

The HOT WATER SWITCH with the handwritten label will be on the switched overnight E7 supply.  Leave it permanently on when in residence so that you have a full tank at cheap(er) rate that lasts the day.  If you switch to single rate it will be slightly cheaper to leave it switched off except for an hour or so each day (or use the BOOST button if half a tank suffices).

Take meter readings daily for a few weeks and do the sums to see whether Single Rate would be cheaper.  Bear in mind that single rate tariffs cost almost exactly the same from almost every supplier (although Octopus is slightly cheaper with the standing charge) but E7 rates now vary a lot.  Some suppliers (e.g. EDF) have quite low night rates in some areas, but of course the day rate will be correspondingly higher.

Old style NSHs may be a disappointment because they're likely to be too cool in the evenings.  Although they're not cheap, I'd seriously consider getting a couple of new HHR NSHs, a big one for the Reception / Kitchen and a smaller one for the Entrance / Hallway.  Think of it as an investment to make your property more attractive when you sell it.  Leave the bedroom doors open and you probably won't need to use the bedroom panel heaters except possibly for a few minutes when getting up and going to bed, although a fan heater might be better for a quick blast of hot air.

You can get a good idea of the HHR NSH size you need by looking at the panel heater labels.  If your 1000W Dimplex can always keep you warm enough during very cold weather then you need an HHR NSH with an output rating of at least 1kW.  Note that the input rating will be much higher because it takes a big gulp for up to 7 hours but releases it slowly up to for 24 hours.

To get an idea of the size of the smaller HHR NSH you need, you could buy a couple of cheap 2kW fan heaters, put them in the hall and entrance and and see what output is needed (1, 2, 3 or 4kW) to keep things warm enough in a cold snap.  They wouldn't be wasted because you'd end up with one for each bedroom !

RedFraggle

this is my flat. I have a quantum 125 in the kitchen and lounge and a tsr85 old style storage heater in the hall that I run all the time. In the bedrooms I have a fan heater in bed 1 and a panel heater in bed 2. Neither are used much. It's warm and my night use is £100 a month and my hot water is an E7 thermal store. I'm home all day and it's always 19 to 21C. 
I'm first floor but have garages under the back half of the flat (RHS on this plan). 
I love the Quantums as I have heat for 15 hours a day and they monitor the room temperatures and only take on the charge they need. 
Hope that helps

EssexHebridean

The mystery switch in the bedroom…I’m suspecting a switch left over from an old storage heater?! 

Mister_G

EssexHebridean said:

The mystery switch in the bedroom…I’m suspecting a switch left over from an old storage heater?! 

But it's a push switch - unlikely to be used to turn a storage heater on/off

EssexHebridean

Mister_G said:

EssexHebridean said:

The mystery switch in the bedroom…I’m suspecting a switch left over from an old storage heater?! 

But it's a push switch - unlikely to be used to turn a storage heater on/off

Ahh fair point, I saw it as a fused spur switch originally.

In that case, a randomly positioned lightswitch?!  

Scot_39

EssexHebridean said:

Mister_G said:

EssexHebridean said:

The mystery switch in the bedroom…I’m suspecting a switch left over from an old storage heater?! 

But it's a push switch - unlikely to be used to turn a storage heater on/off

Ahh fair point, I saw it as a fused spur switch originally.

In that case, a randomly positioned lightswitch?!  

Having looked at the position on plan - of small bedroom and T on map assuming that is the hot water tank - my money is still on a maybe historic peak rate electric boost unit for hot water cyclinder. 

Which is what the Hortsmann E15 witht the black "Boost" button in other picture is for.

JadeGurl

RedFraggle said:

this is my flat. I have a quantum 125 in the kitchen and lounge and a tsr85 old style storage heater in the hall that I run all the time. In the bedrooms I have a fan heater in bed 1 and a panel heater in bed 2. Neither are used much. It's warm and my night use is £100 a month and my hot water is an E7 thermal store. I'm home all day and it's always 19 to 21C. 
I'm first floor but have garages under the back half of the flat (RHS on this plan). 
I love the Quantums as I have heat for 15 hours a day and they monitor the room temperatures and only take on the charge they need. 
Hope that helps

Thanks so much, this is really helpful!
 I am wondering what you mean by a quantum, is that a dimplex quantum, and is there a certain model number? Sorry if this is a dumb question but I am wondering where you bought your two storage heaters , and how you find someone to install them?  

Also.. in my flat which walls would you suggest installing them on… again sorry if the answers are obvious, this is all really new to me! 
also wondering what an E7 thermal store is.. I think I’ve broken my immersion heater, I accidentally left it switched on for 20 hours (never did this in the 18 months I’ve lived here!) and now it won’t switch on so maybe I need a replacement 😓😓 . An E7 store sounds interesting 

lilac_dawn

RedFraggle said:

this is my flat. I have a quantum 125 in the kitchen and lounge and a tsr85 old style storage heater in the hall that I run all the time. In the bedrooms I have a fan heater in bed 1 and a panel heater in bed 2. Neither are used much. It's warm and my night use is £100 a month and my hot water is an E7 thermal store. I'm home all day and it's always 19 to 21C. 
I'm first floor but have garages under the back half of the flat (RHS on this plan). 
I love the Quantums as I have heat for 15 hours a day and they monitor the room temperatures and only take on the charge they need. 
Hope that helps

That's helpful to me, thanks. I am also interested in quantums!

JadeGurl

Gerry1 said:

@JadeGurl

The Horstman controller is likely to be on a 24h circuit and will supply an immersion heater halfway up the tank.  It will give you half a tank of hot water at any time if you press BOOST, but in the day it will use expensive day rates.

The HOT WATER SWITCH with the handwritten label will be on the switched overnight E7 supply.  Leave it permanently on when in residence so that you have a full tank at cheap(er) rate that lasts the day.  If you switch to single rate it will be slightly cheaper to leave it switched off except for an hour or so each day (or use the BOOST button if half a tank suffices).

Take meter readings daily for a few weeks and do the sums to see whether Single Rate would be cheaper.  Bear in mind that single rate tariffs cost almost exactly the same from almost every supplier (although Octopus is slightly cheaper with the standing charge) but E7 rates now vary a lot.  Some suppliers (e.g. EDF) have quite low night rates in some areas, but of course the day rate will be correspondingly higher.

Old style NSHs may be a disappointment because they're likely to be too cool in the evenings.  Although they're not cheap, I'd seriously consider getting a couple of new HHR NSHs, a big one for the Reception / Kitchen and a smaller one for the Entrance / Hallway.  Think of it as an investment to make your property more attractive when you sell it.  Leave the bedroom doors open and you probably won't need to use the bedroom panel heaters except possibly for a few minutes when getting up and going to bed, although a fan heater might be better for a quick blast of hot air.

You can get a good idea of the HHR NSH size you need by looking at the panel heater labels.  If your 1000W Dimplex can always keep you warm enough during very cold weather then you need an HHR NSH with an output rating of at least 1kW.  Note that the input rating will be much higher because it takes a big gulp for up to 7 hours but releases it slowly up to for 24 hours.

To get an idea of the size of the smaller HHR NSH you need, you could buy a couple of cheap 2kW fan heaters, put them in the hall and entrance and and see what output is needed (1, 2, 3 or 4kW) to keep things warm enough in a cold snap.  They wouldn't be wasted because you'd end up with one for each bedroom !

Thanks so much for your detailed responses, they’re so helpful! Especially the advice about how many NSHs to get and where to place them. I do have lots of questions I’ll try googling some of them, but I guess my most immediate questions are would a NSH be better than a heat pump which was mentioned earlier, and also wondering what an HHR NSH is and where you would get these, and which model.. the other times I’ve needed electric stuff, a small oven, heater etc I’ve gone to ao.com as i really trust them but unfortunately get random Google ads when I look for NSHs (ao.com doesn’t have them).. also, if you were getting them second hand where would you get them and find a person to install them.. and what kinds of installation cost would it be.. sorry if these are a lot of questions, and / or really basic, it’s my first time doing the living on my own thing and no family in this country! 

Gerry1

@JadeGurl

HHR NSH = High Heat Retention Night Storage Heater, such as Dimplex Quantum.  They only release heat when it's needed, unlike the old Box of Bricks simple design which is no longer made.  Getting Quantums secondhand may be a problem because they're relatively new.

https://www.dimplex.co.uk/how-to-buy

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=elnur+distributors