New storage heaters, Dimplex Quantum??

RedFraggle

Hey 
I have 2 new (installed January) Quantum 125s and I love them. 
They are very capable of holding enough heat to run all day. I work from home and keep the flat at 20C from 7am to 10pm. 
They'll do whatever you need them to do.
Like all NSH they will still fall foul of "sudden cold snaps" as they won't be ready.
I have an old creda in the hall that works well enough to heat my second bedroom where I work from and keep the chill of my bedroom. 
Honestly, I think Quantums are fabulous. I'd only ever had GCH prior to this flat and in terms of ability to maintain temperature there's no difference. 

EssexHebridean

I’d agree that there is definitely still a need to keep and eye on the weather a few days ahead - and adjust if needed for a sudden drop in temperature forecast. 

RedFraggle

Also to add, the retention and monitoring of need are so good mine are only charging every 2nd or 3rd night at the moment. When it's proper cold (I'm in Yorkshire for regional context) they'll charge nightly at somewhere between 8 and 13 kWh based on the end of last winter. 
My night rate is 15p pkwh
My EPC is top end of C. Purpose built (in 2000) 2 bed first floor flat. 700 square feet

GibbsRule_No3.

My HA installed QDs  three week ago. They took a week to fix the install and then I was away for a week on holiday.  So for most of the first week I had only use of the Boost part, before I went on holiday all was programmed and worked great, I was using the “out all day” option, they came on for an hour or so before I went out and then for roughly 4 hours in the evening. Trial and error on my part, still is, as i think it is probably too warm, so I need to work out a temperature setting I am happy with, but the heaters are still hot when I go to bed, an hour after the programme is set to off.  While away I had set it to “Away” this kept the property from getting damp and cost 99p with daily charge included, from looking at my EDF Hub. When I returned the property felt fine, it was my fault I did not programme them to be actually back to the normal setting the day I arrived home so I had heat that first evening, it was my date calculation, I should have set it for 24 hours before, not to actually come on the day (evening E7) I was actually back at home.

I am nearly 70 but do like tech, so playing with settings is fine, I have weekends set to come on later than weekdays but evening are left the same times, not sure what my 92 year old neighbour, who is at home all day will be setting hers for but I think if she has the settings set for her, she probably won’t need to touch them as they learn what is needed. Home All Day setting can come on 4 times a day for her, to keep her warm.  The outer casing is still warm, like my old NSHs and then when the timer comes on the fan (quieter than expected) kicks in to the set temperature, before turning off.

I had some good advice in two threads, so worth reading. Yes I would recommend them but mine were free from the HA.

eric4395

A bit of a long shot here after noticing this post from almost 18 months ago. Did the original poster purchase dimplex heaters.?
I've stayed in the same house for 30 years with creda electric storage heaters,No gas supply in our area. And Scottish power is our supplier
Never liked them, meant to come on between certain hours during the night but mines would come on at 8pm some nights .
The house would be hot in the morning and Luke warm by 7pm,  Hopeless.
The difference between the peak and off peak rate  nowadays is only 1p anyway.
I noticed a neighbour changing theres too dimplex heaters today but the vast majority still have  old fashioned creda storage heaters I believe with the same supplier Scottish Power..
I have 1 in my living room and 1 in my hall.
Very rarely use the 1 at top of stairs and never use the panel heaters in the bedrooms either. My bills are near enough £2000 a year anyway.
Our next problem is the RST switch off at end off June still no word regarding what they are going to do. I believe smart meters dont  solve the problem for us and they are looking at alternative ways to provide electricity & heating ?
Any further views on whether I should look into Dimplex Quantum Heaters especially for more control . Not sure if they would necessarily reduce our bills right enough.

Scot_39

Scottish Power have many legacy tariffs - including some variable time RTS and some with more than 2 rates / 2 circuits.

https://www.scottishpower.co.uk/energy-efficiency/energy-efficiency-toolkit/electric-heating

In the North Ovo are according to user forums now acrively replacing one such dynamic RTS - the old SSE THTC with E10 smart meters iirc.


Not all are simply replaceable with one standard e7 style smart meter - but there were meters that could cope with some of those in the past.

Do you know which specific deal you are on ?

It's unlikely you could switch supplierscwith rts right now.

But once smart - you may be on or able to find better rates.

I'm on e10, because fear my old heaters would be cold by late afternoon, but have been tempted by idea of Snug Octopus in past  - but need a new meter and so now enquired but as they said are struggling with appointments - maybe the reportedly c100k rts meters to upgrade according to Eloxon site - thats close to SP style RTS numbers.

Ildhund

Swipe said:

If you tend to wake in the night like I do to spend a penny, maybe it's worth leaving them off and then switching them on when you wake in the wee hours.

[OT] I always wondered why they were called the 'wee hours'. 

Gerry1

Dimplex Quantum and Elnur night storage heaters are well regarded on the forum.  High Heat Retention means that heat is only blown out when it's needed, as long as you've programmed them to meet your requirements.  Think of an old NSH as a hot water bottle (soon goes cold) and HHRs as a vacuum flask (contents stay hot much longer).

It sounds like you're on Economy 10 or some legacy tariff such as THTC or Weathercall?  The simple Box of Bricks NSHs and legacy tariffs date from the 70s and 80s.   There were often boosts in the afternoon and late evening because by modern standards the heaters were small and poorly insulated.  But it didn't matter then, energy was cheap as chips and people didn't worry if everywhere was toasty at 4am, they appreciated it if they had to get up in the middle of the night.

If you are in central Scotland (within the Scottish Power Energy Networks DNO area) your E10 times might be:-

• 3 hours in the afternoon (1:30 pm - 4:30 pm)
• 4 hours in the evening (8:30 pm - 12:30 am)
• 3 hours in early morning (4:30 am - 7:30 am)
  

Another set of times (West Midlands) are:

• 3 hours in the afternoon (1 pm - 4 pm)
• 2 hours in the evening (8 pm - 10 pm)
• 5 hours overnight (Midnight - 5 am)

Right now you need to check that your NSHs are on a switched circuit, not a 24h one.  You also need to make sure you're operating them correctly, watch this video.

Are you on the best tariff? To make it worthwhile there should be more than just 1p difference between the peak and off peak rates, but it's difficult to compare and switch E10 tariffs because many suppliers are phasing it out.

You're likely to be offered only an E7 tariff when your meter is replaced, and that may lead to chilly late afternoons and evenings.  If it's your 'forever' home it's could be worth changing to HHR NSHs such as Quantum or Elnur.  They'll be cheaper to run, almost everyone offers E7 and they'll stay warm until you go to bed as long as you get the right size.  If in doubt get a bigger one.

If you don't change the NSHs it's theoretically possible to keep E10 using a supplier such as EDF, but read @Rosie1001's recent threads first !

bob2302

EssexHebridean said:

I’d agree that there is definitely still a need to keep and eye on the weather a few days ahead - and adjust if needed for a sudden drop in temperature forecast. 

I'm surprized they don't do that automatically.

lilac_dawn

I am in the process of changing all of my old dimplex storage heaters to quantums. Following advice on here, I bought 2 second hand from Ebay - one is yet to be installed; the other works well - which obviously worked out much cheaper. I then bought a QM150 to replace one of the heaters in the living room and, after quite a few teething difficulties, it's now great. I went ahead and bought the hub as well and I find that it's much easier to programme it on that. Having said that, if my week is pretty standard, I don't really have to touch the 150 at all. It is warm enough still in the evenings - unlike it's predecessor. I also have another older dimplex in the same room as the 150 and am now thinking of changing that one as well, even though it's fan assisted and is, apparently, the 'rolls royce' of older storage heaters. It's not as controllable as the quantum though and I think not as economical. I'm on standard Economy 7.