Going from storage heaters to electric radiators

[diyicant]

Have storage heaters which are good but quite old and don't provide as much as heat as I'd like especially in the evenings. Would electric radiators be a good alternative?

 

[polesapart]

Not if you are going to run them on peak tariff electricity!

 

[diyicant]

im on economy 7

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

Rads will be no good on E7. Storage heaters 'charge up' overnight using the cheap rate electricity on E7, then slowly release the stored heat during the following day. Hence by the evening most of the stored heat has been released, really useful when you need the warmth the most.....

Rads will need a constant supply of power when they're on, it'll be no different to using the 'Boost' facility on the storage heaters. You either need to look at replacement storage heaters if yours are nearing the end of their useful life or consider an alternative heating source.

 

[Charnwood]

There are high-efficiency electric radiators that claim to be as cheap, if not cheaper to run than conventional central heating.
Many are available with individual programmers and remote controls for flexibility.

Expensive up front, but if the claims are true, not a bad investment in an all-electric home.

Approach with an open mind, do your research.

There are other brands on the market, but I had some dealings with these in the past: http://www.greenvisionheating.co.uk/rointe_radiators/rointe_k_series_C145.html

 

[alan333]

My parents live in a 70's bungalow which had old fashioned "off peak" heating (anyone remember that from long before it was called white meter?). It differed from white meter because in addition to the all night cheap electricity they also got a "boost" of a couple of hours mid-afternoon, and got all day weekends.

Anyway after lots of testing how many watts each heater was using per day/week/month/summer/winter, measured against how warm the house was/actually felt they decided to change to modern electric oil-filled radiators. They've now had the new system installed for well over a year and they reckon they're around 10% less units used overall, plus the system is far more controllable especially in the hot days when they were stuck with hot storage heaters in the past. They've also done away with the "off peak" tarriff and all their electricity is now at a flat rate.

I believe you can also get ones which incorporate an instant heat facility which would give you a quick boost if required. I'm unsure whether this would be a convector and therefore quite expensive to run tho.

Hope this helps.

 

[big-all]

There are high-efficiency electric radiators that claim to be as cheap, if not cheaper to run than conventional central heating.
Many are available with individual programmers and remote controls for flexibility.

Expensive up front, but if the claims are true, not a bad investment in an all-electric home.

Approach with an open mind, do your research.

There are other brands on the market, but I had some dealings with these in the past: http://www.greenvisionheating.co.uk/rointe_radiators/rointe_k_series_C145.html

all electric heating is highly efficient with around 99% off input going to heating
with electric costing 3x the price off gas it will never come close to cost off gas unless you do a politician and false accounting by including the installation off the gas central heating in the first years bill in the same way you can prove getting a taxi everywhere is cheaper than by bike if you include the purchase off the bike against a few dozen journeys in a taxi

 

[Sparkgap]

Modern storage heaters do have better control to retain heat until the evening. On-peak electric heating is more expensive: 1kW at 12p/kWh or whatever is still more expensive than off-peak even with the losses during the day, no matter how you dress it up. On peak electric heating is only good for occasionally-used rooms.
Of course you could always go for a heat pump!

 

[stem]

they reckon they're around 10% less units used overall.

Quite likely, but when you consider that 'Peak' electricity can cost three times as much as 'Off Peak' you would need to use 30% less units to break even.

 

[alan333]

I completely agree with your point but there's a little more to the story which I didn't feel warranted explaining in the original context...

Their "off peak" tarriff included 2 hours (I think it was 2 hrs anyway) of cheap electricity for the whole house each week day and all day Sat/Sun.   Obviously the daily boost made a huge difference to the heat in the house when combined with the old style storage heaters.  It also meant they could use the tumble drier etc while on cheap rate if they wanted to.  This arrangement/tarriff hasn't been available for donkey's years (they could only get white meter without the boost etc) and therefore to keep it they had to stay with the original supplier and couldn't shop around for better prices like the rest of us.  Also the "day rate" was higher than a regular day rate, although I agree that the "night rate" was far cheaper. 

Anyway, as I'm beginning to get long winded here, their conclusion is that they now use 10% less units but their overall energy bills have remained the same, whilst the heat in the house is far more controllable.  I should also add that they are now retired and spend more time in the house than previously so, in theory, should be using more electricity with endless cups of tea etc.

Sorry if I seem argumentative, I don't intend to be.  I'm just trying to be helpful to someone with a similar dilemma as my parents faced.

Hope this helps