Electric Heater Installation Advice

[bigp26]

Hello All!

Before I start, I want to thank you all for your help in advance!

I have recently been refurbishing my flat and decided to replace the storage heaters whilst the builders were in. I opted to replace my old and bulky storage heating solution with some panel headers from the Adax NP range.

What my builder has done, is to convert the fused spurs which previously powered the storage heaters into standard 3 pin sockets and simply plugged my wall mounted electric panel heaters in. This works, however I hate the fact that there is a wire hanging between the socket and the heater (in 4 areas where I have the 4 heaters).

I had asked him to feed the wires for the heaters behind the plasterboard wall, directly into fused spurs rather than fitting a standard 3 pin socket however he had the following comments:

• The wires for the previously fitted storage heaters were not placed behind the wall so there must have been a reason for this.
• Hiding the wires behind the plasterboard could pose a fire risk as the heater would heat up the cable (nb. maybe 5cm of wire is directly behind the heater. This would be the case regardless of if the wire was placed in front or behind the plasterboard wall).
• The plug sockets are getting warm and therefore it poses a fire risk (nb. I tested this theory and the plug sockets for the 2kw heaters do get very slightly warm after a couple hours of use).

Now I’m not sure whether the builder is either being lazy, or simply isn’t sure about the rules and regulations and guidelines about this sort of stuff.

Your thoughts on the matter would be much appreciated!

Kind Regards,
P.

 

[EFLImpudence]

The wires for the previously fitted storage heaters were not placed behind the wall so there must have been a reason for this.

They never are. They are flex outlet switches.
That's just how they are always fitted.

Hiding the wires behind the plasterboard could pose a fire risk as the heater would heat up the cable

Rubbish. If that is the case then the cable is too small.

The plug sockets are getting warm and therefore it poses a fire risk (nb. I tested this theory and the plug sockets for the 2kw heaters do get very slightly warm after a couple hours of use).

You have not stated the rating of the heater.
Perhaps plugs or Fused connectors should not be used.
Fused connectors should not have been used for the storage heaters,

 

[DaftPunk]

Why are you using a builder to do your electrical work? There are people who specialise in doing nothing but electrical work, and as a result they actually know what they're doing. They're called electricians. It might be a good idea to employ one.

 

[bigp26]

Many thanks for the prompt replies so far!

@EFLImpudence - By rating do you mean how many watts the heaters are? They range from 1kW for the smallest one to 2kW to the largest one.

Please find a link to the website where I purchased the heaters from here: http://adax-solaire.com/presta/gb/a...-electric-panel-heater-wall-mounted-adax.html

You mentioned that plugs/fused connectors should not be used. By this do you mean fused spurs? What should have been used for the storage heaters?


@DaftPunk - I am a first time buyer and this is the first time I am really doing anything like this! The builder assured me that he had an electrician on his team however it seems that this electrician is an over-the-phone mate of the builders! To be honest, the builder does seem to know what he is doing in terms of the electrics generally; this was the only point of discussion and dispute.

 

[EFLImpudence]

By rating do you mean how many watts the heaters are? They range from 1kW for the smallest one to 2kW to the largest one.

Yes.
Those wattages should not heat the plugs nor fused connectors - loose connection?.

You mentioned that plugs/fused connectors should not be used. By this do you mean fused spurs?

Yes.

What should have been used for the storage heaters?

Just a 20A switch - assuming they were installed in the usual manner.

 

[sparkwright]

EDIT; Didn't RTFQ properly.

 

[bigp26]

Thanks EFL Impudence - Now that I have installed panel heaters I assume that standard fused spurs should be ok and that I don't need the 20A switches?

By rating do you mean how many watts the heaters are? They range from 1kW for the smallest one to 2kW to the largest one.

Yes.
Those wattages should not heat the plugs nor fused connectors - loose connection?.

You mentioned that plugs/fused connectors should not be used. By this do you mean fused spurs?

Yes.

What should have been used for the storage heaters?

Just a 20A switch - assuming they were installed in the usual manner.

 

[EFLImpudence]

Yes.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I have recently been refurbishing my flat and decided to replace the storage heaters whilst the builders were in. I opted to replace my old and bulky storage heating solution with some panel headers from the Adax NP range.

So you replaced storage heaters with non-storage ones.

What have you done about the peak/off-peak tariff you were on, and are you prepared for the big increase in running costs?

 

[bigp26]

Hi ban-all-sheds,

Yes - this is correct. The old storage heaters looked like they were the originals from when the flat had been built in 2002 - horrible looking, massive and made a lot of noise when on.

Having done some research, I decided to go for the panel heaters for 2 main reasons. Firstly, the up front cost; being a first time buyer I am pretty much broke at the moment so had to go for the best short term solution for now (hopefully this doesn't come back and bite me! ). Secondly, as I am at work all day, the energy and heat released by the storage heaters would have gone to waste.

I am currently on the economy 10 plan with EON. The off-peak times are as follows:

02.30-7.30 am
13.30-16.00 pm
22.00-00.30 am

The costs are as follows (excluding VAT):

Daily standing charge; 24.780p
Day KWH; 16.180p
Night KWH; 8.270p

As I haven't moved in yet, I wanted to try and configure my heaters and time them whilst bearing the off-peak times in mind. After a few months, I can then assess if being on a standard tariff would be cheaper.

Any additional insight and advice would be very much appreciated!

Kind Regards,
P

I have recently been refurbishing my flat and decided to replace the storage heaters whilst the builders were in. I opted to replace my old and bulky storage heating solution with some panel headers from the Adax NP range.

So you replaced storage heaters with non-storage ones.

What have you done about the peak/off-peak tariff you were on, and are you prepared for the big increase in running costs?

 

[Steve]

I have recently been refurbishing my flat and decided to replace the storage heaters whilst the builders were in. I opted to replace my old and bulky storage heating solution with some panel headers from the Adax NP range.

So you replaced storage heaters with non-storage ones.

What have you done about the peak/off-peak tariff you were on, and are you prepared for the big increase in running costs?

Probably SFA.

@ the OP, storage heaters on the correct electricity tariff will be much cheaper to run than what you've installed. They heat up overnight on cheap electric (via a special timed economy 7 meter with two readings). During the day they release the heat via a flap (some have a fan and have two supplies as a result so the fan can run during the day).

With eco7 you get 7 hours (usually midnight to 7am or similar) of cheap electric but as a payoff your daytime rate is slightly more than the average.

If you must continue with your ill-thought out plan, contact your energy supplier and tell them you wish to do away with the eco7 meter and tariff.

There's nothing wrong with storage heaters where gas is unavailable - they rarely go wrong, but old ones are big and unsightly. New ones are prettier.

What control measures have you put in place for the new heaters? Have they timers built in? Thermostats? (by the way the wrong answer here is "I'll just turn them on and off as I need them")

 

[Steve]

*Disclaimer: My last post was made whilst the OP was posting his last reply as the times will prove. However I maintain the best/cheapest short term solution would have been to keep the storage heaters and see what the running costs were over a winter. 12 years is nothing for them. If they were making noise that sounds wrong, perhaps this should have been investigated.

 

[bigp26]

Hi Steve,

Please see my post above for additional detail but in response to your specific question:

- The new panel heaters have built in thermostats and timers so hopefully will be able to tweak the settings to make my energy bills more efficient.

Many thanks to you and everyone else for the contributions so far!

I have recently been refurbishing my flat and decided to replace the storage heaters whilst the builders were in. I opted to replace my old and bulky storage heating solution with some panel headers from the Adax NP range.

So you replaced storage heaters with non-storage ones.

What have you done about the peak/off-peak tariff you were on, and are you prepared for the big increase in running costs?

Probably SFA.

@ the OP, storage heaters on the correct electricity tariff will be much cheaper to run than what you've installed. They heat up overnight on cheap electric (via a special timed economy 7 meter with two readings). During the day they release the heat via a flap (some have a fan and have two supplies as a result so the fan can run during the day).

With eco7 you get 7 hours (usually midnight to 7am or similar) of cheap electric but as a payoff your daytime rate is slightly more than the average.

If you must continue with your ill-thought out plan, contact your energy supplier and tell them you wish to do away with the eco7 meter and tariff.

There's nothing wrong with storage heaters where gas is unavailable - they rarely go wrong, but old ones are big and unsightly. New ones are prettier.

What control measures have you put in place for the new heaters? Have they timers built in? Thermostats? (by the way the wrong answer here is "I'll just turn them on and off as I need them")

 

[ban-all-sheds]

As I haven't moved in yet, I wanted to try and configure my heaters and time them whilst bearing the off-peak times in mind.

Surely you'll want them on when you are there and the place needs heating, rather than when the electricity is cheap?

I guess you'd get a bit of off-peak heating in the mornings, but you'll be pretty chilly in the evenings if you go without until 22:00.

What controls have you put in for the new heaters - timers, thermostats etc?

 

[bigp26]

Yep correct I will want them on when I need them - get your point. Do you therefore think that it will definitely be cheaper to switch to a standard tariff?

The heaters have built in thermostats and run-back timers so I will be able to control each room independently.

Before we go on, I wanted to express my appreciation of all of this help. I realise that this isn't your recommended solution and that you would have probably stuck with the storage heaters but unfortunately I am where I am now. Respect to you for helping me out even though it isn't what you would have done in terms of solution.

As I haven't moved in yet, I wanted to try and configure my heaters and time them whilst bearing the off-peak times in mind.

Surely you'll want them on when you are there and the place needs heating, rather than when the electricity is cheap?

I guess you'd get a bit of off-peak heating in the mornings, but you'll be pretty chilly in the evenings if you go without until 22:00.

What controls have you put in for the new heaters - timers, thermostats etc?