Wibo night storage heaters

Cardew

Flopsey216 wrote: »

If anyone is still reading this thread...if I have understood correctly, is it a waste of money to take out 2 ancient night-storage heaters (20+ yrs old) and replace them with a modern version? I assumed something modern would be cheaper to run before I started reading this...now I'm not sure. Could the materials in old NS heaters lose their properties, whatever they are? Ours heat ok, but seem expensive to run. We top up with a wood-burner in the evenings.

Your old storage heaters will give out exactly the same amount of heat - for the same running cost - as modern night storage heaters. i.e. they are both 100% efficient at producing heat from the electricity consumed.

HOWEVER!

As you are no doubt aware, the older storage heaters tend to 'leak' heat during the day, and hence can run out in the evening when you want the heat.

This is more of a problem if you are out at work all day, as the heaters are warming an empty house.

It has been claimed that the modern storage heaters retain their heat better and so leak less heat during the day.

I have no reason to disbelieve those claims, but have not seen trials to confirm.

The old storage heaters essentially contained a pile of bricks so there is no question of them 'losing their properties'

Richie-from-the-Boro

Flopsey216 wrote: »

If anyone is still reading this thread...if I have understood correctly, is it a waste of money to take out 2 ancient night-storage heaters (20+ yrs old) and replace them with a modern version? I assumed something modern would be cheaper to run before I started reading this...now I'm not sure. Could the materials in old NS heaters lose their properties, whatever they are? Ours heat ok, but seem expensive to run. We top up with a wood-burner in the evenings.

- modern ones have better insulation tech
- and can be 20a DUO night & 13a day panel
- other than that no difference
- 100 years later their properties will be the same - bricks
- you might wear out one of the 850W elements, about £11 to replace
- thats 100 years maintenance free ....................
- but that's about all

What is different but you forgot to mention is that the electricity costs 60% above the 2003 prices maybe that's why the seem more expensive to run than they did in 2003, and considerably more than 20 years ago the average in 1993 was £337.

Cardew

procdolydin1985 wrote: »

Hi there, Thank you very much for your prompt reply.. !

Thanks to whom? and what prompt reply?

The post above yours is 3 months old!

If you have a problem with damp, get a dehumidifier; a lot cheaper than heating an unused room.

Richie-from-the-Boro

procdolydin1985 wrote: »

Hi there, Thank you very much for your prompt reply.. I have printed the storage heater comparison page from the link you sent me. The study is done with economy 7 tariff (we will soon be on economy 10). Also it shows that the rooms remain a little warm with storage heaters. So the top up on peak electricity doesn't start from a very low room temperature.

We live in an old cottage with solid walls... No cavity... Rooms gets cold very quickly, and very cold! We would need at least 2kw electric radiators to feel comfortable in most rooms. So it would be more expensive than the study provided on this site. Or may be I don't understand it very well? I know what you mean about heating some rooms when you are not in them. It seems pointless. But I am in most days, all day, with a baby and a toddler. I can't have huge drops of temperature in a minimum of 6 rooms.

It is a funny shaped house. You have to cross some rooms to get to others... That said, is it ok anyway to not heat some parts of the house at all for hours and then heat them later in the evening? I thought 1- it would take a long time to heat a very cold room (resulting in lack of comfort) and 2- there could be condensation forming on the walls. Am I wrong? These radiators seem to provide duo heat (convected and radiant) like Wibo. They also seem to be highly controllable. So if they are more economical to install they could be our answer. I will try and find out. Many thanks... More suggestions welcome!

HiYa procdolydin1985,

Like Cardew, I too have no idea what you are asking. If you are referring to the Wibo study, that's 5 years out of date and done in Germany where electric prices were falling - they are going skyward over those same 5 years in this country. The Electrorad system also marketed as Wibo and Suka] The running cost in your home always comes down to two things in the end - how well your dwelling is insulated and the price of electricity.