Economy 7 heaters need replacing

[Fletcher123]

Hi all,

I live in an flat with economy 7 heating. The energy supply is electric only.

In the hallway I have a broken economy 7 heater, and in the lounge I have a very large economy 7 (convector) heater that works but is very inefficient.

I am tempted to replace the pair of them. I may just go with a basic wall heater in the hallway,, but I think the lounge will need almost a like-for-like replacement.

The current lounge heater is pretty big. I think it has the old 1980's bricks in it.

Can anybody recommend a decent replacement? Can you also advise on the likely cost of purchasing the replacement and how much a local sparky in the Bristol area is likely to cost to change them over?

It is not time urgent, but the bills are not particularly good. I am keen to get something more efficient.

Many thanks

 

[flameport]

It is not time urgent, but the bills are not particularly good. I am keen to get something more efficient.

No such thing. It's an electric heater - energy in equals energy out. The only way to reduce the operating cost is to heat the rooms less.
If you install a non-storage type, it will cost substantially more to run, as it will use full price electricity rather than the cheaper night rate.

Storage heaters can be repaired fairly cheaply, including ones from the 1980s and older.
Otherwise, £300-£600 each to have replacements installed depending on size.

 

[Taylortwocities]

If you decide for replacement, have a look at the NEW DIMPLEX QUANTUM range of storage radiators.
These are much more efficient and controllable than the 40-year old ones that you have now.

 

[deadshort]

If you decide for replacement, have a look at the NEW DIMPLEX QUANTUM range of storage radiators.
These are much more efficient and controllable than the 40-year old ones that you have now.

I have replace two older heaters with the Dimplex TTC recommends in my mothers flat , they look great and are very efficient and heat up very quickly.

Regards,

DS

 

[ericmark]

Shall we say four forms of heating. radiant, heat pump, convected, and fan blown the last two we can group together.

So the heat pump is best but expensive.

Radiant is instant and heats the person not the air but near impossible to automatic control.

So most heat is convected or fan assisted and the gain or lose in efficiency is down to heat up and cool down time. So an oil filled radiator takes power from switch on but only gets room to temperature say 1/2 latter but the fan heater does it in 15 minutes so since the clock starts when up to temperature not when switched on the data shows the fan heater as more efficient than oil filled radiator.

But we have to look at the problems when the radiant heater switches off we feel cold in seconds, with fan heater cold in minutes and oil filled radiator cold in half an hour but since it has switched back on in 1/4 hour you never feel cold.

It all depends on two things the number or air changes and the installation in the home. Live outside and radiant is only option i.e. patio heaters but so hard to control in doors it can only be used in combination with other methods and of course it does not matter if single, double, or triple glassed aim it at a window and the heat will escape in the same way as the suns energy still comes in a window.

So with a well insulated and sealed flat using only heat recovery units for ventilation the storage radiator works well. But as ventilation and other heat losses increase then it fails to provide enough heat at the end of the day.

In the main we use bricks made with 80% iron ore and these are the expensive bits attempts to reduce the cost by making in concrete failed as it was found on first use loads of water ran out of the bricks as they underwent a chemical change. So even it made with concrete instead of clay they still needed heating up to pre drive out the moisture. As a result if it does not contain asbestos and parts are available repair is the way to go.

With a home empty 9 - 5 then most of the advantage of storage radiators is lost and many do find using more instant methods can work out cheaper but because of the tariff it's an all or nothing not worth going down a half way route.

Of course when not using off peak then on peak load is far higher much depends on if you have the supply to be able to move from off peak.

Likely each room will want something different bathroom radiant heaters were common as fast warm up and cool down times. Living room likely oil filled radiators as thermostatic control is required and these do not stop giving heat when switched off so smooths out the temperature between on and off. Kitchen likely a fan heater. Hall possibly tube heaters to remove chill and dry coats.

But so much depends on home design and you time in the home. There is no one size fits all.

It would be great if there were something like the D, C, B and A ratings for storage heaters but we know cold heater takes 3kW until set temperature is reached so if that took 7 hours then 21kWh of energy stored in the heater. But what we want to know with all vents closed in a room at 20 degs C how much energy will remain after 17 hours just before it switches on again. This would allow us to work out efficiency which as far as a storage heater goes is the losses when all vents are closed. But this information is not given.

For the water based units they will stay warm for a week when heating turned off but they need a large area for the storage units and are expensive. My brother in law has it was in the house from new. Set to frost protection it is totally powered by solar panels even with snow the snow is not on the roof for long enough for it to need to use grid power. When in residence then also the wood burner heats the water so one fire a day is enough. He lights the fire as he sits down for evening and it burns one batch at more economic rate which re-heats water to keep house warm all the next day with of course some solar power as well.

However ideal as it may seem the thousands of pounds extra the house cost to have this all installed on his mortgage likely increases his mortgage payments by more than it would cost to electrical heat the house. It may have paid for its self if he was 25 when he moved in but not when he was 60 already his wife has gone and even if he lives until 90 it will likely not pay for its self.

 

[ericmark]

are very efficient and heat up very quickly.

That is what efficiency is. It's the time they take switch on to reaching full heat output the shorter that time the more efficient they are considered to be.

So 7 minutes to warm up used for 1 hour 89% efficient, 15 minutes to warm up then 80% efficient. But use for 5 hours then with 7 minutes warm up 98% efficient and 15 minutes 95% efficient.

One could claim heaters with high hysteresis are less efficient than with a low hysteresis as it's the minimum temperature we are worried about and any over shoot will result in higher losses. So to damp down the hysteresis using oil to store heat means there is less over shoot so although with the above example they show as less efficient over an extended time they are more efficient due to not overshooting temperature required as much.

But in real terms heat pumps are best, hard to qualify radiated heat but all other heat forms can be considered the same. The efficiency is just a sales gimmick.

 

[winston1]

are very efficient and heat up very quickly.

That is what efficiency is. It's the time they take switch on to reaching full heat output the shorter that time the more efficient they are considered to be.

That is not the definition of efficiencyat all.

Efficiency % is energy out/energy in x 100. As such all electric heaters are 100% efficient.

 

[JohnW2]

That is what efficiency is. It's the time they take switch on to reaching full heat output the shorter that time the more efficient they are considered to be.

What an interesting definition of 'efficiency'

Kind Regards, John