Empty bungalow - setting up night storage heaters to maintain low warmth

Jonx999

My mother recently moved into a care home, leaving her bungalow unoccupied.  We have a buyer but the sale probably won't complete until February, so we want to maintain just a small amount of heating over the winter to ensure nothing freezes. 

Unfortunately the bungalow has old Economy 7 night storage heaters, which I've never used before.  My thinking is to have just one or two heaters switched on with their input and output dials both set near minimum, and leave all internal doors open to allow air to circulate.  Does this sound reasonable?

fatbelly

Yes, but check they are coming on at that setting.

We used to have a small cottage that was unoccupied for long periods and started to notice mould. We had one storage heater fitted, plus we had a dehumidifier on timeswitch, draining itself into the kitchen sink. The combination of a bit of heat, a bit of air movement and taking some moisture out meant that we never saw mould again.

222Johnny222

I would strongly recommend you notify you mothers household insurers as well.
The property will be considered unoccupied (unless someone is staying there occasionally and you can prove it) and this will restrict any current cover.

Gerry1

Buy a cheap max/min electric thermometer and make sure the minimum is always achieved, typically 10° - 12° or whatever your insurance company specifies.

Jonx999

222Johnny222 said:

I would strongly recommend you notify you mothers household insurers as well.

Already done that.

Jonx999

fatbelly said:

Yes, but check they are coming on at that setting.

I have been, and did find that some of the heaters need the input dial set slightly above minimum to work. 

It's a shame there's no way to force the storage heaters on in daytime for test purposes as I only visit the property weekly.

Gerry1

Jonx999 said:

fatbelly said:

Yes, but check they are coming on at that setting.

It's a shame there's no way to force the heaters on in daytime for test purposes as I only visit the property weekly.

Some meters (e.g. Aclara and Landis & Gyr) have a Boost button to do exactly that.

fatbelly

I thought the boost just released stored heat, not an input setting.

But i could well be wrong. I haven't had storage heaters for 20 years

Gerry1

fatbelly said:

I thought the boost just released stored heat, not an input setting.

But i could well be wrong. I haven't had storage heaters for 20 years

I'm referring to the boost facility on some electricity meters.  It can be used to liven up the E7 circuits during the day for about an hour (at expensive daytime rates), e.g. if you've just returned from holiday or have run out of hot water.  Also useful for testing during working hours.

Jonboy_1984

For our old ones the input and output would need to be around 25% for anything to be felt outside the case.

How big is the property as our old flat was around 45sq meters, and one of the two heaters set at around 75% input/40% output was normally a comfortable living standard and more effective than both at a low level (unless it was dropping below -5 when both went on). 

Swipe

Jonboy_1984 said:

For our old ones the input and output would need to be around 25% for anything to be felt outside the case.

How big is the property as our old flat was around 45sq meters, and one of the two heaters set at around 75% input/40% output was normally a comfortable living standard and more effective than both at a low level (unless it was dropping below -5 when both went on). 

Why would you leave the output open at 40%? It should only be opened if extra heat is required as the heater cools down.