Night storage heaters or electric heaters?

[HappyHippyDad]

I have a customer who wants to change her existing night storage heaters as they are around 20 years old and she fears they are no longer efficient.

I'd like to get peoples views on if new electric radiators are likely to be more or less costly to run than night storage heaters? I realise this could be based on a few factors but lets say in general if that is possible.

I expect the best option would be to go for newer electric radiators as opposed to NSH's, even though they will not be on a E7 tariff they will have greater control and be more efficient. Does anyone have some recommendations for electric heaters?

Cheers guys.

 

[pirate]

This a question I have considered myself, as I have 2 NSHs which are somewhat "vintage". The house is all-electric and the other heaters are simple wall-mounted panels with built-in thermostats. The house is very well insulated, so it's never cold in Winter.
I have costed new heaters, just to replace the 2 NSHs, as I felt they may not be very efficient, but came to the conclusion that as i get out what I put in electricity wise, the cost of taking the old ones out and buying 2 new ones would be quite a tidy sum, which could buy a lot of electricity, for not much gain that I can see. My circumstances will be different from many others, so i guess there isn't a blanket solution, but I do feel that even if there were to be a change in consumption it would need to be very substantial to get my outlay back in a reasonable time. There's also the tariff to consider. I pay a slightly higher tariff on daytime useage because I have the off-peak too, but my NSHs are only on for 6 months of the year.
If I did change them I would probably forget off-peak altogether, and install slim panel heaters instead for the aesthetics and flexibility of programming etc. The ones I recently installed were infrared from Herschel, and they are working well in their setting, where they are ceiling mounted, but they can be wall-mounted, and come in many variants, including as pictures and mirrors.

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White infrared panels are the most popular of all infrared panel heaters, with sizes and powers to suit every application and budget.

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Just my personal view, and I'm sure there are many more informed views to come from members here.

 

[bill01803]

She will never recoup the outlay

 

[pc1966]

All electric heaters are 100% efficient. You get the same heat out for the electricity you put in. Every one.

What will change the running cost is controlling that to make the best use of the cheap rate supply, the lag between demand and result with storage heaters, and of course insulation to keep the warmth in.

 

[ferg]

It depends on the number of heaters and how much they are used.

The cost per KWh is much lower off peak but the peak unit cost is slightly higher.

My experience of customers who have moved away from NSH to electric radiators is that they have had a significant increase in electricity bills.

It should be noted that I live in an area where energy bills for heating are much higher than average.

 

[davesparks]

she fears they are no longer efficient.

I'd like to get peoples views on if new electric radiators are likely to be more or less costly to run than night storage heaters?

I expect the best option would be to go for newer electric radiators as opposed to NSH's, even though they will not be on a E7 tariff they will have greater control and be more efficient.

Electric heaters are as efficient as it is possible to be, that hasn't changed, and can't.

Electric radiators will be significantly more costly to run.

The best option is the newer combined/duo heat type NSHs which have fan assist and a panel heater built in. They have both an E7 and 24hr supply and give greater flexibility of controlling when you get heat, and can boost the heat output with the panel heater element.

Yes an electric radiator will have better control, but will not be more efficient, the efficiency will be exactly the same.

 

[freddo]

The best option is the newer combined/duo heat type NSHs which have fan assist and a panel heater built in. They have both an E7 and 24hr supply and give greater flexibility of controlling when you get heat, and can boost the heat output with the panel heater element.

These are good in that they allow boost heating later in the day and more control, they cost more to run though as the boost heating will be on the expensive day rate.

 

[ferg]

These are good in that they allow boost heating later in the day and more control, they cost more to run though as the boost heating will be on the expensive day rate.

I spoke to the Dimplex tech bods about this a while back and they claim that the newer models use the combination of the 2 supplies to better effect than the older ones to prevent what they described as thermal over shoot.

The older combination heaters were terribly expensive to run if the convector was left on all day. Improper use of the old manual heaters led to some fairly frightening electricity bills over the winter because as you say the day time rate is more expensive than standard tariff.

I think the Quantum heaters are better again at using electronics and insulation to maximise the cost efficiency of heating the space.

 

[bigspark17]

Defiantly the likes of the quantum heaters, but sunhouse are just good and cheaper to buy.
especially for someone at home most of the day

 

[Zerax]

Electric heaters are as efficient as it is possible to be, that hasn't changed, and can't.

I think NSH efficiency is more about how well they retain the heat generated off-peak that is then released when you want it.
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There is no easy answer to this question... it depends on a range of factors;

1. The tariff available... when I last checked for my area (why do electricity tariffs vary by area ? I thought we had a national grid ??) if you want a cheaper off-peak rate, the peak rate is substantially higher. This means that potentially, you need to make lots of other changes to shift your usage pattern into the off-peak times (like delayed start w/m & d/w etc)
2. The way the heating is used... if you're a little old lady who stays in all day or a youngster who thinks they're entitled to live in a sub-tropical environment... it's gonna have a massive impact on usage profile.
3. Insulation... the overall insulation level of the house will again change things... does it quickly lose the heat input ?
4. Will off-peak tariffs be available forever ? It's likely that with the increasing use of electric vehicles... there will no longer be a need to sell off-peak energy at a discount. So is E7 going to go completely at some point ?

The best way to work all this out... is to sit down with a spreadsheet and start chucking in some numbers.