Replacing old overnight storage heaters..

Moley27272

Hi,
I moved into my semi detached house two years ago and need to rethink my heating for this winter. Currently have 40 year old overnight storage heaters, they really need to go as they are inefficient. I have no gas in my area so electricity is the only energy option. I'm with Octopus energy go as I recently bought an electric car. I've recently put new loft insulation in and the house came with wall insulation. I don't think its has cavity walls, the previous owner had some sort of membrane painted on the outside walls. Sorry I'm not sure exactly what it is. I do feel I have good insulation overall.

So any advice on what my options are would be appreciated, once I dismantle and get rid of these old storage heaters. I've considered purchasing 3 x portable oil heaters to replace the 3 storage heaters. I've completed the octopus energy survey on installing heat pumps but it tells me I'm not eligible. In an ideal world I would like to have solar panels installed but I'm 70+ and feel the cost is too high at my age, it will take longer than my life time to pay it off. 

Any help/advice would be appreciated thank you
M

Mark_d

I really like the idea of these

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B081Z8XVNL

Robin9

Do your old storage rads have a fan boost with a local socket in addition to the fused spur ?

Are you on a E7 or E10 type of tariff ?

Moley27272

Mark_d said:

I really like the idea of these

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B081Z8XVNL

Thanks, I like the look of these. My rooms are around 14" x10.5" so 2000w would work. Are they efficient and economical ?

DullGreyGuy

Mark_d said:

I really like the idea of these

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B081Z8XVNL

Might like the idea, may not like the running cost of them. 

Moley27272

Robin9 said:

Do your old storage rads have a fan boost with a local socket in addition to the fused spur ?

Are you on a E7 or E10 type of tariff ?

yes they have fan assist, its so old and and inefficient, I don't think it works very well.  I came off economy 10 a few weeks ago. I'm now with Octopus Energy Go tarrif . I was going to changed the fused spur to a 3 pin plug socket

Mark_d

I don't have any personal experience (I have gas central heating) however the reviews and technology suggest that they are efficient and economical.

coffeehound

Moley27272 said:

Robin9 said:

Do your old storage rads have a fan boost with a local socket in addition to the fused spur ?

Are you on a E7 or E10 type of tariff ?

yes they have fan assist, its so old and and inefficient, I don't think it works very well.  I came off economy 10 a few weeks ago. I'm now with Octopus Energy Go tarrif . I was going to changed the fused spur to a 3 pin plug socket

What off-peak hours do you have Moley?  Does the new smart meter still switch the E10 circuits on/off automatically?

Moley27272

I have 12:30 - 5:30am as cheap rates. No E10 at all

coffeehound

I suppose that means the storage heaters are not being switched on overnight and afternoon so the electricaloutlets are just always on like ordinary sockets.  

So whatever you use from now on needs to have their own timers to make sure they only use the cheap hours.

TheElectricCow

If your main concern is running costs, then realistically your best options are either to install modern High Heat Retention storage heaters (configured to charge on your GO off-peak rate), or to get a heat pump installed from a dedicated installer rather than Octopus. 

Octopus won’t do any installation they deem too complex, as their focus is on the more straightforward jobs that they can complete easily and with low potential for any difficulties (and can therefore provide these simple installs at generally lower costs). This isn’t to say the property is in any way unsuitable for one, it’s just that it doesn’t fit into criteria that Octopus have set themselves up for.

A heat pump installation company on the other hand will be much more prepared to tackle larger or more complex jobs, such as those where the house may need a full set of new pipework due to no existing central heating system being present, or those that Octopus may have some other objection to.

The main advantage of new HHR heaters in your situation is that as you’re replacing existing storage heaters you’ll likely already have most of the wiring in place that can be reused. A heat pump on the other hand may need quite a bit of plumbing put in that you don’t already have, potentially pushing the install costs higher, although as HPs are far more efficient than any other heating system, in the long term that may be the lowest cost solution.