Storage heaters - WTF?

[Cheekywoo09]

Hi there,

REALLY hoping you can help me especially as it's getting colder now!

I've recently moved over the summer into a flat (renting) and am on Economy 7, storage heaters and immersion tank for heating the water.
I've been reading a bit online about using them and the input / output functions, however am clueless on some aspects still:

- All the storage heaters are old and only have input / output and a mains switch to the individual heaters, none have onboard timers or radio switches (if that's what it's called?!). If I switch the mains on, will I have to do this for all individual heaters at the off-peak times and then switch them off in the morning? How does it know not to charge for electric use during the on-peak time if it's left on all day?
- The immersion heater hasn't got a timer (it looks like there was something before but has been removed), will it be worthwhile to install a timer? How easy is it to install?
- I have a Bosch dishwasher without an onboard timer, are there any solutions to this so it's on only during the night or will I have to purchase one with a timer?

I'd really appreciate any help as both the landlord and EDF our supplier couldn't give us any advice. I'd like to understand this before the chilly snap!

I an take pics of meters etc and upload tomorrow if it helps.

Cheers in advance,

Cheekywoo09

 

[stem]

Here's how they work.

The storage heater is full of bricks which store heat. How much heat they store is set by the "input" control. Set this before you go to bed depending upon how cold it will be the next day. Then when the cheaper rate electricity supply comes on during the night, the bricks will be heated up. The higher the number on the "input" the hotter the bricks will get. The brick heating will stop automatically when the lower rate tariff finishes. There is no need to switch them on and off at the wall, unless you don't want them to work at all, such as during the summer.

Then in the day, the amount of heat that comes out is controlled by the output setting. Basically a damper that lets the heat out or keeps it in. You can adjust this up and down during the day to control the temperature. However the bricks will loose their heat more quickly if the output setting is higher.

Some immersions are wired into the same 'off peak' consumer unit as the storage heaters and will only work on the low rate. Usually a second element is then provided for daytime back up.

Others are controlled via a timeswitch set to be on during the 'off peak' rate. The timeswitch can then be overidden during the day if you need more hot water, but it will be at the more expensive rate. But yes if yours doesn't have time control, operating it on the dayrate can cost 3 times as much depending on your tarriff. So a timeswitch is a good investment.

We have a plug in timeswitch to turn our dishwasher on during the off peak time. Don't know if you can do this with a Bosch though.