Best electric wall heater for a flat

funnymonkey

Hello.
Can anyone please help me.
I'm on economy 7 and have a relatively modern elnur storage heaters but never seem to be warm, especially after a day's work when most of the stored heat has been released when I'm away from the flat.
I'm wondering my best option for comfort and also cost effective on running costs.
I'm considering perhaps getting another storage heater, perhaps a dimplex or an oil filled radiator or just a basic convection heater.
Can anyone please offer some guidance please

EssexHebridean

First suggestion is to give the model number of your Elnur as then we can see whether it is meant to be a High Heat Retention model and if so maybe help you tweak settings.

Dimplex Quantum are generally very good - we’ve a number of users here who are or have lived with those and found them very effective at letting out heat when actually needed - they are not cheap, but they probably are the “best” option for a property where installing some form of heat pump or similar isn’t going to be an option. 

mmmmikey

funnymonkey said:

Hello.
Can anyone please help me.
I'm on economy 7 and have a relatively modern elnur storage heaters but never seem to be warm, especially after a day's work when most of the stored heat has been released when I'm away from the flat.
I'm wondering my best option for comfort and also cost effective on running costs.
I'm considering perhaps getting another storage heater, perhaps a dimplex or an oil filled radiator or just a basic convection heater.
Can anyone please offer some guidance please

Hi, first thing is to check that the existing storage heaters are set up properly. If they are modern HHR ones like I have they are good, but it's easy to get the settings wrong, or mess them up accidentally. As well as checking the model number, do these have 2 cables going to them. If you can post that info I can let you know how to check the settings. If the heaters aren't big enough to store enough energy, if they're modern ones they may well have a balancing element which makes them work like a fan heater, but this is really only a good option for the occasional cold day as they become very expensive to run like this.

funnymonkey

Thank you for your messages.
I have an elnur HHR 40 but I believe that it is wired in wrong as on the heater shop website it states that it requires off peak economy electric supply and 24 hour electric supply.
My storage heater is only wired in with 1 cable and last year cost the earth to run as on 24 hours so this year I had a timer fitted to save money but doesn't give out much heat. It's warm if you put your hands on the heater but not much else.
I have a relatively large room to heat of 23ft by 11ft.
Hope this information helps

QrizB

funnymonkey said:

Thank you for your messages.
I have an elnur HHR 40 but I believe that it is wired in wrong as on the heater shop website it states that it requires off peak economy electric supply and 24 hour electric supply.
My storage heater is only wired in with 1 cable

The HHR 40 user manual is here:

https://elnur.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Elnur-HHR-User-Guide.pdf

It can be connected to a single supply (see page 3 of the manual) but that will require the heater's internal timer to be used to set the charging (heat storage) times.

Your external time switch is unnecessary and means the heater won't work as intended.

Edit to add:

The installation manual is here. Intended for use by your electrician but it also has info on setting the charging timer (page 10).

https://elnur.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/HHR-Smart-Storage-Heaters-1.pdf

mmmmikey

funnymonkey said:

Thank you for your messages.
I have an elnur HHR 40 but I believe that it is wired in wrong as on the heater shop website it states that it requires off peak economy electric supply and 24 hour electric supply.
My storage heater is only wired in with 1 cable and last year cost the earth to run as on 24 hours so this year I had a timer fitted to save money but doesn't give out much heat. It's warm if you put your hands on the heater but not much else.
I have a relatively large room to heat of 23ft by 11ft.
Hope this information helps

Hi - the HHR heaters can be set up to work with a single cable, which is exactly what I have, but a couple of things to check before that. Do you have Economy 7 or other time of use tariff? Do you have a smart meter? If you're not sure about your tariff it will say on your latest bill.

Scot_39

Firstly check your charge times match your meter off peak times and think about not using the external timer or at least have it on 24/7  - single mode should by design - mean its left live 24/7.

You might be preventing it from taking full charge, taking charge at peak rates on main elements, using tge balance element at peak rates mord than necessary or at best disabling its fan driven heat output - fighting your  target room temp / time profile.

Nsh are relative slow low power output heaters - charge at say 3.3kW for 7 hrs to low 20s kWh energy storwge on e7 - to output nearer 1kW on average.  The hhr models designed to deliver that when demanded rathef than continuous - iirc the 150rf quantum has a peak output of 1.5kW - the elnur ?  And both it and elnurs have daytime boost / balance heaters as well.

A small fan heater could be 2-3kW, a large oil filled rad - 2.5 kW - a large gch radiator (600x1800 double ) over 3kW.  That's the radiator size in my parents 18m2 dining room with 3 largish by modern home standards in a bay style DG windows and only 1 that 1 external wall - cavity with insulation.

The hhr 40 device has its own timers - for main charge, max balance charge and heat setpoints - I don't ever remember reading here of anyone saying fitted a secondary timer to a single wired dimplex or elnur hhr.

The internal charge timer and capping balance heater use to min of 1 (not 0  as a user corrected me years ago as that apparently also blocks the dynamic charge vs demand learning), rather than default iirc 5 are ways of controlling input costs directly over and above your output demand - the temperature profile - both the temp and timings.


Try putting your dimensions and window sizes  etc into either dimplex or a n other rating calc.  Iirc the dimplex switches from output power to charge rating if select the storage heater - others calculators ?

Vendor sites often quote based on standard assumptions.

But 23×11 - 7x3.3 - c 24 square meters is probably too much even for the one largest  hhr 40  on Economy 7 on the coldest days - as without using the balance heater its average output would be equivalent of just c1kW.

This sales site says the hhr 40 - only good for upto 10m2, whereas it says biggest quantum 150 rf model good for 15m2. 

Strange given I thought more similar energy storage ratings.

https://www.heatershop.co.uk/storage-heaters/elnur-gabarron-ecombi-hhr

So you would need say 2 on coldest days to reach for me a toasty 21C  if use same defaults as Dimplex tool for a living room  -  21, bedroom 18 iirc, -3 external in Eng.

I know the dimplex range have a program mode - it used to be called slave mode - now secondary heater mode - for 2 storage heaters in one room.   Elnur may have similar.

Hhr sh are expensive - even in sr mode they will need electrical work - but do give you access to now potentially near or even sub 10p/kWh - like snugs 9p - off peak rates.

Normal panel  heaters on e7 could see you pay nearer or even over 30p/kWh at daytime peak rates.

But a cheap panel heater could cost several £100 less and be cheaper to fit.  

But for long term and maybe even epc and value - hhr nsh maybe best conventional.

Or as some here advocate but ive never used - possibly you might want to think about a standalone single unit reverse cycle Air con heater for the secondary heater - to get a cop style cost efficiency on daytime rates  - the single units range in price below and above hhr nsh - but do require wall drilling.