Advice regarding storage heater

[maccer1001]

I am refurbishing a modern flat that I have recently bought and it is all electric. All the old heating, which was a mix of convectors and a large storage heater have been scrapped. The storage heater is located in the lounge/dining area and I wish to replace it with a slightly larger unit to provide enough comfort heat for the lounge and background heat for the other 2 rooms. I have done the calcs and know that I need a 3.4kw or preferably a 4kw unit (on economy 7 tariff). Ther problem I have is that the old unit was presumably 3kw as it was wired from a dp switch fused outlet, 13A, fed off a 16A mcb from the board. the main wiring is 2.5mm.
Would it be permissable to replace the dp switch fused outlet for just a dp switch outlet and perhaps upgrade the mcb to 20A (if I go 4kw)?

 

[Cid]

Yes if you're just intending to run this one heater

 

[davesparks]

It is likely to be OK, but you need to assess the cable route and calculate the current carrying capacity of the cable to make sure.

 

[R-fur]

As above re assessing the cable route. I always replace fused outlets with DP switches as the the fuse contacts have a tendency to overheat over time.

 

[Zerax]

I know this is not the question that you asked... but... have you calculated the likely cost of running the system that you propose to install ? If you're on an economy 7 tariff, you really need to make sure that the whole system is optimised to use the cheaper 'night rate' electricity. In reality, systems rarely are resulting in astronomical bills ! Also, many 'modern' flats barely, if at all, comply with building regs on levels of insulation, so I'd be checking this too and upgrading it if possible. Building Regs often represent a very low standard.