Replacing Storage Heaters

[Deleted2797112]

Not sure if this would be better in electrics - please move if so. I've searched the forum but not come up with anything recent to answer my questions.

My very elderly mother lives in a small one bedroom flat in a purpose built 1980s-vintage retirement block. She has two wall mounted storage heaters, probably the original ones, one in the bedroom and one in the living room. Nothing in the hall or kitchen and a wall mounted fan heater in the bathroom which she finds she doesn't need to use as the bathroom wall is back to back with the living room storage heater and it stays warm.

She's like most elderly people, worries about her bills and keeps the place a bit on the cold side. I think she also sometimes forgets to adjust the heating for what the weather's going to do the next day. She's been using two fan heaters to top-up the living room and bedroom, mostly in the evenings.

She would like to replace the two storage heaters - they're very bulky and ugly. I've seen pics of modern storage heaters and they're certainly more attractive but are they any more efficient/flexible? Would wall-mounted oil-filled rads be a better solution? Or something else (there's no gas in the block). I want to find whatever it is that will keep her most comfortable with least fiddling/intervention. Thanks in advance!

Edit - forgot to add that the storage heaters are on the Economy 7 tariff.

 

[Madrab]

If economy 7 is the only tariff option open to your mother then storage heater are really the only viable option available. They are really the only heat source that can store cheap energy through the night and release it through the day. They are a nightmare tho as we found out when our mum bought a flat within a managed complex that only had electric storage heaters.

If it is possible to obtain other tariffs, i.e. economy 10, then a point of use heater may be an alternative as cheaper electricity can then be made available during the day. Only control for your mum is to primarily use them when the cheaper periods are active. That would be the first suggestion, see what else is available and take it from there.

 

[stem]

Storage heaters use electricity at a time the suppliers deem to be 'off peak' IE outside of the maximum times of usage. So it is offered at a discount, less than half the price of the normal rate. Storage heaters use this cheaper electricity to heat up an internal core that stores the heat for release throughout the day when the energy would cost more. So stick with them.

It will cost less for your mum to turn up the storage heaters when necessary, and stop using the fan heaters altogether. If you swap the storage heaters for something like oil filled radiators, or panel heaters, expect the cost of heating to more than double.

Some of the modern storage heaters have controls that will make the off peak charge 'input' adjustments automatically. I have never used them, so I can comment on how well they work. The Dimplex XLSN is an example.

Newer storage heaters won't be anymore efficient in their use of electricity because the originals were already 100% efficient, in that all of the energy they consume is converted into heat. The newer models may have better controls and insulation to stop them overheating the property in milder weather and make some savings, but don't expect to notice much.

 

[alan333]

In theory storage heaters are good, as explained above. But, having lived with them on and off over the years, I find them terrible. They heat up overnight so your house is boiling when you want it cool, then all the heat has gone out of them by the time you need it in the evenings. It's especially dreadful if you get an unexpected hot day cos the house is stifling hot cos you had to remember to know this last night and turn the input down accordingly before you went to bed.
My parents had a storage heating only bungalow, and changed to oil filled radiators a couple of years ago. They found their electricity usage to be the same, but they can now have heat as and when they want it.
I also have a workmate who swapped out storage heaters for oil filled rads and says it's much better and no more expensive.
My vote is for oil filled rads (with thermostats), and timers if necessary.

 

[Echo the husky]

As above really, remember that with economy 7 you get cheap electric at night, but you pay a higher rate during the day than people with a single rate do.

 

[Deleted2797112]

Thank you for the help. The heating just never seems to be right - it's either too hot and she opens the windows or too cold and she uses fan heaters. I'm wondering now if she might be better on oil-filled rads with timers and thermostats, even if there's a modest increase in cost. She gets up very early (5.30-6am) and goes to bed very late (typically 1am-ish) so if they were on timers, they could be set to still get some benefit from the Economy 7 night tariff. She's often out for lengthy periods during the day so wouldn't use too much daytime tariff except in the evenings when she's using it anyway with fan heaters. Any drawbacks with this? I've never had storage or electric heating of any kind so I'm flying a bit blind on trying to help an 87-year old! Thank you again.

 

[alan333]

Nothing wrong with your plan IMHO, it's exactly what my parents/guy at work do. You could skip the timers and see how she gets on simply turning the rads down when she goes to bed - the thermostats will kick in/out as necessary to keep the room at the temp you choose. You can add timers later if needed.

Edit...I should point out that I'm not an electrician, but if you want them wired into the existing storage heater fcu's then your wiring/fusebox will need modified such that the rads are constantly live.

 

[Madrab]

We obtained ceramic wall radiators with thermostats for my mum, she uses economy 10 so get some cheap leccy 3hrs in the afternoon, 2 hrs at night and 5 hours overnight and just switches them on when she needs the heat, rather than having a separate meter and a split consumer unit setup.
She also dropped her bill by around 30% per 1/4, so it worked well for her.

 

[stem]

The quantity of heat required to heat a property is measured in kWh, (Kilo-watt hours) this is the same regardless of which tariff you use.

So, just as an example, if your property requires 6,000 kWh / year to heat, using off peak electricity at 6p per kWh would cost you £ 360, with peak rate electricity at 12p per kWh that would cost you £ 720. You would be able to see from your mothers electricity bills, how many 'off peak' units she is using per year, and the price she will have paid per unit, if you multiply the number of units by the peak rate from the bill you will be able to see the cost difference for yourself.

OK, it's not quite that 'cut and dry' because different suppliers have different rates, and there is also the standing charge to consider. The standing charge for 'off peak' supplies can be more that just a 'peak supply' but if your mother presently heats her hot water using 'off peak' and intends to keep it, then that would still apply even if you did swap the heating over to oil filled radiators.

If they are comparing comparable heating conditions / periods, those that are saying the cost is the same when heating with 'Peak Rate' electricity and 'Off Peak' electricity were either on the wrong tariff, their meters were faulty and not switching over to the off peak rate, (used to happen quite a bit with the old mechanical switching units) they were not using the heaters properly, were overheating the property or even opening the windows to let the heat they have paid for go to waste.

Oil filled rads, do have better control-ability, and the facility to heat the property for just a few hours each day, this is an advantage for people who are out at work all day. Unfortunately with storage heaters you can't do this. Once they have received a charge they will emit some heat all day, even if the output is set low. However, this won't apply if your mum is at home most of the time and would want her heating on all day anyway.

You should also, consider the much higher price of the storage heaters to buy in the first place, (Approx £250 each as as opposed to £50 for an oil filled radiator) Which given their inflexibility, would make you wonder why there would be a market for them, if they didn't offer significant savings in running cost.