Lets talk about getting the best out of your storage heaters!
Over the years I've lived in lots of rented accommodation. Unfortunately this meant I wasn't always able to choose what heating type I've had in the home.
A few of the properties I lived in had storage heaters - from the old clunky ones filled with bricks (ours had asbestos bricks 😷) to more modern ones with lots of dials and digital displays. Never once in all of those properties was I ever told how to use the storage heaters and had to do my own research and guesstimates!
So I've created this little guide for anyone maybe just starting out - Just to point out these are my own views based on my experiences and research.
First things first what type of storage heater do you have?
Old Style: If you have an older storage heater it will likely be a big chunky thing with 2 dials on the top that you turn manually - one for input and one for output.
Modern: This is likely to be a bit more slimline - rather than dials it will likely have buttons, a little display screen and possibly even timers
So now you've established what type of heater you have - how do they work?
Lets start with the older style:
If you have an older heater you most likely have a peak / off peak tariff such as economy 7 or 10. These heaters are controlled by your timer attached to the meter and will heat up during your off peak cycle.
Your input dial is the one that you turn to control how much heat is stored in the heaters the higher you turn the dial the more heat you'll store to be used during the next day - a higher input will mean you use more energy to store the heat.
The output dial controls how much heat is released from your heaters. Try setting your output to a lower number to use less heat throughout the day then turning it up in the evening to release a bit more when you're home and it's colder. The lowest setting should also stop the heating getting used up and wasted in the middle of the night!
Now on to modern storage heaters:
With a modern heater you can decide how much is actually stored during your off peak period. You can usually set a timer and choose the temperature you want which is an improvement on the old fashioned ones in my opinion!
Each storage heater will have different settings based on the brand you choose however you should be able to set your timer for certain times and select preset options such as "out all day" etc.
You should also be able to set the temperature to something that is comfortable for your home. The downfall I found with these new ones though is just like older heaters is that if there isn't enough heat stored then it might not reach the temperature that you want which when it's a cold winter day this is the last thing you want! The thing I do like about the modern ones though once your property reaches the temperature you have selected then it will reduce the heat that it puts out so you're not wasting energy heating at higher temperatures for no reason.
Modern storage heaters will sometimes have a boost button / an auto boost button /an anytime heat button whilst it's great that this is an option I have personally found them more expensive to use especially during the day so that's always something to be mindful of.
In all storage heaters can be good if you have a small home and you have an economy 7 tariff. I personally would choose something else if I had the option especially in a larger property.
My last house was old with thick stone walls, very high ceilings and mixed old and new storage heaters. The lower half of the house had the old fashioned heaters which gave out a lot of heat during the day because the dial was damaged and you couldn't change the settings 😏 so you were cold at night. Up the stairs was the modern kind, however the rooms were very large and to heat the bedroom would have taken 2 heaters, it only ever really took the chill out of the air and it was never warm.
I would love to hear your experiences of storage heaters and if you try any of these things please let me know if you notice a difference! Have you got your own tips for using them if so please share this below so others can also benefit!!
Over the years I've lived in lots of rented accommodation. Unfortunately this meant I wasn't always able to choose what heating type I've had in the home.
A few of the properties I lived in had storage heaters - from the old clunky ones filled with bricks (ours had asbestos bricks 😷) to more modern ones with lots of dials and digital displays. Never once in all of those properties was I ever told how to use the storage heaters and had to do my own research and guesstimates!
So I've created this little guide for anyone maybe just starting out - Just to point out these are my own views based on my experiences and research.
First things first what type of storage heater do you have?
Old Style: If you have an older storage heater it will likely be a big chunky thing with 2 dials on the top that you turn manually - one for input and one for output.
Modern: This is likely to be a bit more slimline - rather than dials it will likely have buttons, a little display screen and possibly even timers
So now you've established what type of heater you have - how do they work?
Lets start with the older style:
If you have an older heater you most likely have a peak / off peak tariff such as economy 7 or 10. These heaters are controlled by your timer attached to the meter and will heat up during your off peak cycle.
Your input dial is the one that you turn to control how much heat is stored in the heaters the higher you turn the dial the more heat you'll store to be used during the next day - a higher input will mean you use more energy to store the heat.
The output dial controls how much heat is released from your heaters. Try setting your output to a lower number to use less heat throughout the day then turning it up in the evening to release a bit more when you're home and it's colder. The lowest setting should also stop the heating getting used up and wasted in the middle of the night!
Now on to modern storage heaters:
With a modern heater you can decide how much is actually stored during your off peak period. You can usually set a timer and choose the temperature you want which is an improvement on the old fashioned ones in my opinion!
Each storage heater will have different settings based on the brand you choose however you should be able to set your timer for certain times and select preset options such as "out all day" etc.
You should also be able to set the temperature to something that is comfortable for your home. The downfall I found with these new ones though is just like older heaters is that if there isn't enough heat stored then it might not reach the temperature that you want which when it's a cold winter day this is the last thing you want! The thing I do like about the modern ones though once your property reaches the temperature you have selected then it will reduce the heat that it puts out so you're not wasting energy heating at higher temperatures for no reason.
Modern storage heaters will sometimes have a boost button / an auto boost button /an anytime heat button whilst it's great that this is an option I have personally found them more expensive to use especially during the day so that's always something to be mindful of.
In all storage heaters can be good if you have a small home and you have an economy 7 tariff. I personally would choose something else if I had the option especially in a larger property.
My last house was old with thick stone walls, very high ceilings and mixed old and new storage heaters. The lower half of the house had the old fashioned heaters which gave out a lot of heat during the day because the dial was damaged and you couldn't change the settings 😏 so you were cold at night. Up the stairs was the modern kind, however the rooms were very large and to heat the bedroom would have taken 2 heaters, it only ever really took the chill out of the air and it was never warm.
I would love to hear your experiences of storage heaters and if you try any of these things please let me know if you notice a difference! Have you got your own tips for using them if so please share this below so others can also benefit!!
Last edited by DebF_EONNext; 2 Weeks Ago at 11:22.
"Green is the prime colour of the world and that from which it's loveliness arises"-Pedro Calderon De La Barca 🌳
E.ON Next Poll - How much do you know about the Priority Service Register? - If you have a spare 2 minutes 🕑 we'd love if you complete our poll about the Priority Service Register 🤗
Wondering about heat pumps? Check out this thread 👉 Air source heat pumps in winter: Busting the myth!
