Storage Heaters or Electric Radiators

Scot_39

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81891136#Comment_81891136

Single rate billing on mulitirate - can you still. And could you at all suppliers on all mulirate meters anyway.

The special condition forcing it for ome was only for so called "relevant" metering - Ofgem (RRMI) condition expired afaik last year - it was iirc when last looked at it - extended to end of June 25 - may have been again given missed rts deadline - and it for instance specifically excluded E7 and the SP whitemeter variant meters anyway.

is there now a blanket Ofgem stipulation ?

WiserMiser

@Scot_39 I've had a two-rate meter for decades and switched umpteen times between E7 and single rate depending on which happened to be cheaper. Before the energy crisis the break even point could be as low as about 15% night use.

Most offered it then and AFAIK most still do, although many comparison sites default to quoting only for E7 because they look up your meter type.

EssexHebridean

I suspect that you have a LOT more knowledge on the subject than the average consumer though, and are also very probably better than advocating for yourself than most, too! That does make a big difference when wanting something less standard than most customers want.

newflat26

Thanks everyone for the fantastic advice. I think it's confirmed I should upgrade to HHR storage heaters. The flat is on the ground floor and I can run washing machine, slimline dw, if I get one, at night. I'll experiment with the immersion heater. In my rental, it's on for the whole off-peak period (longer actually, but I have an ongoing complaint with that). Would it not be better to work out how long it takes to heat the tank and have it set to come on at a bit before end of off-peak minus the heating time? Otherwise is it not continually topping up the heat, especially if it's not well-lagged (current situation)? New one is well-lagged, I think it's a Gledhill EnviroFoam insulated one

squirrelpie

Yes, as you say the water tank loses heat to the rest of the flat continuously, so if you want the water as hot as possible, you need to top it up just before the end of the cheap period. If you have some means of recording and displaying your electricity consumption, then I'd recommend setting it to come on for the whole cheap period initially so you can see how long it takes to heat the water, then you can move the start of the heating period to a later time once you know how long it needs.

michaels

How does the difference in cost between getting new storage heaters and keeping current ones compare to the cost of getting a battery that would cover your day time usage, charging at night on cheap rate and just running the current kit as if it were panel rads? Thus would also cover the existing electric shower.

QrizB

... compare to the cost of getting a battery ...

Storage heaters are still cheaper than batteries, on a per-kWh basis. A 24kWh storage heater like the Dimplex XLE150:

https://www.heatershop.co.uk/dimplex-xle150-1500w-slimline-storage-heater?cat=2201

... is about £800, so £33 per kWh. Batteries are around £100 per kWh.

If battery prices keep falling, they will eventually get to be cheaper than storage heaters.

michaels

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81895004#Comment_81895004

Although you only need 1 battery and can then probably reuse the current storage heaters as standard heaters whereas you will need multiple new storage heaters? Plus the battery will also do other energy tasks in the day (power shower, cooking etc) bringing other savings.

QrizB

Although you only need 1 battery and can then probably reuse the current storage heaters as standard heaters whereas you will need multiple new storage heaters?

That doesn't change the maths. If OP needs 50kWh of heat (that's a guess) then they'll need either 50kWh of new storage heater, for maybe £2k, or 50kWh of storage battery for maybe £7k.

Plus the battery will also do other energy tasks in the day (power shower, cooking etc) bringing other savings.

Any savings there are unlikely to make up for the excess cost of batteries vs. storage heaters and a HW tank.

I'm as much of an advocate for this tech as anyone on this board, but (until battery prices fall some more) storage heaters and HW tanks are still the cheapest electric-only option (barring heat pumps, which OP has already ruled out).

Ildhund

@michaels wrote:

[… you can] probably reuse the current storage heaters as standard heaters …

That rather depends on what you mean by 'standard heaters'. Even though the battery's full, it's not possible to 'switch on' a storage heater at 6 in the evening in the hope that it will keep you warm for the rest of the evening like you could with a panel heater. What did you mean?