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Night Storage Heaters

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Comments

  • Closed Accounts Posts: 573 ✭✭✭el Bastardo


    Loads of other boards postings on this - I even remember looking at them (after wasting money on big ESB bills a few winters ago). Hint: You might want to search harder :). See here (Post #11 gives the basics, which is what you want).

    I gave up on storage heaters eventually - Just too expensive (I just use convector heaters).


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,457 ✭✭✭An Ri rua


    Loads of other boards postings on this - I even remember looking at them (after wasting money on big ESB bills a few winters ago). Hint: You might want to search harder :). See here (Post #11 gives the basics, which is what you want).

    I gave up on storage heaters eventually - Just too expensive (I just use convector heaters).

    Going by that post #11 that you refer to would be incorrect advice. If you set all storage heater input to max. ie.6 , you're looking at approx €55+ per 2months per heater (based on a 1.8Kw). You need to set the input per heater according to your needs. I have my hall unit at Input 3, just to take the sting out of the air. 6 would be OTT.

    It would be great if some Boardsie could put the Devireg drama to bed. I've read substantially and STILL can't be sure of the -4 to +4 settings, but the above post by @dardhal sounds the most plausible yet.


  • Registered Users Posts: 18 topsandtails


    DarasBB wrote: »
    I'm in the middle of setting up our storage heaters.

    In our place we have Devireg 710-2 control unit and Dimplex heaters all over the place.

    In two bedrooms we have heaters with their own timers.
    dscf0585.jpg

    One storage heater in the hall and living room with on/off swith in the wall just beside the heater.
    dscf0576.jpg

    Second storage heater in the living room has two switches on/off beside and one of them has fuse as well.
    dscf0581u.jpg

    Also that second storage heater has his own "booster" on the side wall.
    dscf0582j.jpg

    When I switched on the button in the wall (the one with the fuse installed) the bulb inside the switch on the side of heater went red when ON.

    A the moment this is the only working storage heater, as second heater in the living room and the one in the hall are still cold.

    The gauges on the top of each heater are set up like presented on the pic. Input - 6 - for cold winter days (storing as much heat as possible). Output - 3 - for evening boost.
    dscf0586l.jpg

    As mentioned on the beginning in the fuse box we do have Devireg control unit for storage heaters. As you can see on the pic there are only two gauges for Day and Night setup.
    dscf0584.jpg

    At present GREEN LED stays on at all times, but RED LED flashes with a few seconds intervals )don't know the meaning right now.

    One more control unit is placed on the wall in the hall, but in my opinion it's for the water heating ONLY.
    dscf0583c.jpg

    At the moment I'm waiting for the storage heaters to "charge" at night, and I'll see what temperature in the apartment will be in the morning.

    If any of these settings are wrong please let me (and others) know.

    Thanks,
    DarasBB

    I just moved into a house and I have the exact same heater in my bedroom with the timer. I have no idea how to work it though, can't find a manual online.
    Any hell appreciated!


  • Registered Users Posts: 22 ladysadie


    We have our input at 4 and I thought the out put should be turned to 0 at night.
    Is that wrong?
    Then at about 4 we turn the out put to 6.
    Is this wrong?

    I've noticed that it doesn't really heat the room during the evening but last thing at night that are rather hot.

    Can anyone diagnose this problem?
    Is it incorrect use, or faulty heaters ( I'd say they are about 12 yrs old) or could it be something to do with the day and night electricity?

    How does the storage heater know to intake electricity at night when the rate is cheaper?


  • Registered Users Posts: 168 ✭✭giggle84


    I have been asking myself the same question.. how does the storage heater know when it's day and when it's night, and is there an internal clock that could be a bit off? Because my 2-bed apartment is warmer at 4am than 4pm (when it is generally baltic) and I just received an ESB bill for €424. I contacted the property manager and received a very patronising response outlining the premise on which storage heaters work. I have the input dial all the way up and turn the output all the way down at night and only turn it up in the evening, but barely get any heat out of them. A friend of mine is in a much bigger 2-bed duplex with storage heating, her apartment is always lovely and warm, and her last bill was €170.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 7,515 ✭✭✭Outkast_IRE


    giggle84 wrote: »
    I have been asking myself the same question.. how does the storage heater know when it's day and when it's night, and is there an internal clock that could be a bit off? Because my 2-bed apartment is warmer at 4am than 4pm (when it is generally baltic) and I just received an ESB bill for €424. I contacted the property manager and received a very patronising response outlining the premise on which storage heaters work. I have the input dial all the way up and turn the output all the way down at night and only turn it up in the evening, but barely get any heat out of them. A friend of mine is in a much bigger 2-bed duplex with storage heating, her apartment is always lovely and warm, and her last bill was €170.
    Look if your apartment or home is ever frezzing and your using the heaters its down to heat loss, which is a major problem in poorly built apartments/houses.

    When using night storage heaters the room will get quite warm during the night when they are charging, even with the output at 0 i find they will release heat slowly during the day, which is fine if the dwelling is insulated well enough to keep that heat in.

    Alot of apartments arent well enough insulated and the night storage heaters are not much good in this situaiton. Realisiticaly if you dont own the apartment i would tell you to think of moving before next winter, the property ads in the new year must have a BER rating , so it should give you a good indication of a properties energy demands before you move in.


  • Registered Users Posts: 121 ✭✭dardhal


    giggle84 wrote: »
    I have been asking myself the same question.. how does the storage heater know when it's day and when it's night, and is there an internal clock that could be a bit off? Because my 2-bed apartment is warmer at 4am than 4pm (when it is generally baltic) and I just received an ESB bill for €424. I contacted the property manager and received a very patronising response outlining the premise on which storage heaters work.

    The problem is, even the landlord may not be aware exactly of how the wiring was done in the apartment complex in the first place, and even then, it may not be working according to plan.

    For example, in the Dublin apartement I lived for 6 months (very good insulation, and storage heaters), we had electricity supply on a "nigth saver" scheme: "night" consumption charged at about 5¢/KWh, while "day" consumption charged higher than regular, KWh (close to 20¢/KWh). The idea behind that is most of the electricity (for heating, and to some extent for hot water and cooking) is used at "night". "Night" here is about 11 PM to 7 AM every day (although it changes about 1 hour or two along the year).

    To measure how much you used during days and nights, the solution in that apartment complex was to use TWO electricity meters, which were automatically selected by means of a timed switch (an internal clock switches electricity flow through the "night" meter at 11 PM every day, and switches it back to the "day" meter at about 7 AM every morning), so your bill gets two readings, one for "day KHw" and other for "night KWh".

    The "funniest" thing about this (because there were many) is, the timer was an analog one (those which a tiny knob for each 15 minute period you have to move up or down according to day or night period), but for some reason it failed to switch and got stuck randomly (and for random amounts of time) every day. That is, it was configured to switch at 11PM and back at 7AM, but due to internal (mechanical) failure, it switched randomly. Check if this is the case, as is the meter reading that determines your bill, not when you really used those KWh or units. If I had relied on the supposed times of the day "night" prices were on, I would have paid lots more.

    One related issue may be that not all storage heaters are created equal. Some of them are completely manual with respect when to start draining electricity and heating, while other are "smarter". The ones I had (and for what is worth, I only used ONCE as storage heaters, too cumbersome and inconvenient) had two different electricity feeds, one for the "day electricity circuit" and the other one for the "night electricity circuit". The storage feature only activates through the "night" circuit, to avail of cheaper electricity prices, but in this case the "night circuit" was disconnected, so you couldn't use them at all (until an electrician fixed it).

    If your apartment is warmer at 4am than at 4pm, it maybe because the storage heater is heating during the afternoon and releasing heat during the night, instead of the other way around. That would explain your scary electricity bill, as you may be using costly "day units" instead of much cheaper "night units". In fact, there is a 3-4 times price difference between both, but first check if you are on any of such plans.

    Additionally, as someone has already told you, insulation makes a huge difference regarding how long heat is retained within the walls. Bad insulation, bad windows / glasses and air drafts can make heat (and money) be lost fast. Moreover, not all storage heaters are the same quality, and yours may be of the cheap ones (which is good for the landlord, but not so good for the tenant).


  • Registered Users Posts: 484 ✭✭MMAGirl


    My husband is experimenting with storage heaters in our 3 bed bungalow for a while now.

    We have always used oil for heating before.
    And we use approx 1200L of oil a year for the last 5 years. Maybe 200L more in the two freezing winters we have had.

    We have always only heated 2 bedrooms and the living room even with the oil.

    We got 3 storage heaters, one for each of those rooms.

    In the winter the ESB bill goes up by €80 a month averaged out over the winter and we havent even switched to the dual meter. We're going to do that after christmas though. We do charge up the heaters only at night though, as if we were on the night meter. Input is usually on 3 - 4 and output at 3.

    We dont have gas.

    The living room and the 2 bedrooms are toasty all day and most of the night.
    Only starts to cool down a little bit around bed time.
    The kitchen is actually warm enough just from the cooking and the heat around the house from the storage heaters anyway, though still cooler than the living and bedrooms.

    When on oil we would have the heat come on for 1 hour in the morning and 5 hours in the evening, with extra when we needed it. It got cold any other time.

    With the storage its warm all the time.

    For the whole 6 months we need the heating we use €480 more electricity (80 a month) than if we were using oil heating.
    Oil heating at 1200 L would cost us €1100 for the same time.

    When we go on to the night time tariff we should cut that by €200 over the 6 months.

    So at the moment
    It would be €1100 pa for oil heating.
    It is €480 for storage heating.
    It should be about €280 for storage heating when we go on the night meter.

    4 years ago 1200L of oil was €540

    I never thought I would say this but electricity is the cheapest way to heat our home.
    And no annual cost of servicing of the oil burner either.


  • Registered Users Posts: 6,686 ✭✭✭tHE vAGGABOND


    I just bought portable electric heaters at the end of last winter on a deal in DID or Power City, and have one in bedroom, and another in living room [moved to spare room if someone is staying over] so we can turn on heat for the exact time we want and no other time - thus not paying to heat an empty house or a house where everyone is sleeping :)


  • Registered Users Posts: 108 ✭✭hession.law


    Can anyone recommend where I can get prices online for dimplex storage heaters, thanks


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  • Registered Users Posts: 296 ✭✭Citygirl1


    Can anyone recommend where I can get prices online for dimplex storage heaters, thanks

    Hi. I'm not sure if prices are available online. However, the site "dimpco.ie" gives details of all the different types of storage heaters currently available.

    It also includes a list of suppliers for dimplex products. I'd suspect that many of these suppliers don't actually stock storage heaters (maybe just portable heaters). Your best bet might be to ring the number on the dimco site, and ask them which suppliers are best for storage heaters, and approx prices. Last year I bought one of the smaller convector heaters from Charlie Shiels in Inchicore. I think they may do storage heaters also.


    http://www.dimpco.ie/product-range/Dimplex-Domestic-Products/Storage-Heaters


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,663 ✭✭✭uli84


    Just wondering if anyone knows or whether it is indeed possible to establish whether there is a big difference in electricity use between havin a storage heater set to INPUT1 and INPUT3 at night-will my usage be like 3 times higher on INPUT3?


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,457 ✭✭✭An Ri rua


    uli84 wrote: »
    Just wondering if anyone knows or whether it is indeed possible to establish whether there is a big difference in electricity use between havin a storage heater set to INPUT1 and INPUT3 at night-will my usage be like 3 times higher on INPUT3?


    Couldn't tell you definitively but I can tell you that until yo get up to Input 4, you're at nothing. Input 1 wouldn't even equal a frost setting on a rad in my opinion. 3 would be closer to that.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,663 ✭✭✭uli84


    true, however had it at 1 for most of last month since the apt was unoccupied pretty much and still got quite a hefty bill, so the hope is when it's on 3 or 4 from now on it wont be 3or4 times higher bill, sure will see :) thx


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,457 ✭✭✭An Ri rua


    uli84 wrote: »
    true, however had it at 1 for most of last month since the apt was unoccupied pretty much and still got quite a hefty bill, so the hope is when it's on 3 or 4 from now on it wont be 3or4 times higher bill, sure will see :) thx

    You could not have got a hefty bill from having a storage heater set at 1 on input. Unless you were also running the convector fan. Trust me. Use the calculators on Electric Ireland's website and you'll see. On max for 2 months, each 1.8kw storage heater costs approx 65-70 IIRC.

    Electricity has got much dearer. Standing charges alone are hefty.

    Edit https://www.electricireland.ie/ei/residential-energy-services/reduce-your-costs/appliance-calculators.jsp


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,663 ✭✭✭uli84


    awww, that got me worried now, I have to investigate so ;), cheers


  • Registered Users Posts: 484 ✭✭MMAGirl


    It's not just one setting that determines your bill. It's a combination of both input and output.


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,457 ✭✭✭An Ri rua


    MMAGirl wrote: »
    It's not just one setting that determines your bill. It's a combination of both input and output.

    That's not true at all. The output is just a flap, a physical flap that lets heat out after a ceramic brick has been heated up all night on cheaper electricity.

    Its really not on for people to be saying things that aren't true. If you don't know what you're talking about, say nothing. Input costs you electricity, output gives you heat (depending on when you want it) and the convector heater is completely separate. If you are wrong, you're costing people money by giving bad advice.

    How exactly do you think output affects your bill ??


  • Registered Users Posts: 484 ✭✭MMAGirl


    An Ri rua wrote: »

    That's not true at all. The output is just a flap, a physical flap that lets heat out after a ceramic brick has been heated up all night on cheaper electricity.

    Its really not on for people to be saying things that aren't true. If you don't know what you're talking about, say nothing. Input costs you electricity, output gives you heat (depending on when you want it) and the convector heater is completely separate. If you are wrong, you're costing people money by giving bad advice.

    How exactly do you think output affects your bill ??

    Oh Jesus help us.
    One of the most uninformed posts I've ever read.
    Please follow your own advice - if you don't know what you are talking about say nothing.

    I think you'll find that my last post was indeed fact, if you bother to inform yourself before putting both feet in your mouth.


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,457 ✭✭✭An Ri rua


    MMAGirl wrote: »
    Oh Jesus help us.
    One of the most uninformed posts I've ever read.
    Please follow your own advice - if you don't know what you are talking about say nothing.

    I think you'll find that my last post was indeed fact, if you bother to inform yourself before putting both feet in your mouth.

    Maybe you should report my post then? I have reported yours much earlier as I think you haven't a CLUE about storage heaters and are misleading innocent people and could end up costing them money.

    So explain? How does changing the output cost more money? It doesn't and the fact is you have not an iota of how a storage heater works. The fact that you believe you do is very worrying. I've asked the Mods to have someone step in here who has discussed Storage heaters at length; as what you're offering, confidence and 100% clueless info, is detrimental to others trying to learn how to use a SIMPLE solution.

    You never did explain how the Output dial can increase your bill??? Considering your cocky retort (clueless and confident go hand in hand), I await your response with bated breath.

    Here is my evidence. Looking forward to your 'evidence' @MMAGirl.

    http://www.adactushousing.co.uk/Information/62#chapterLink5

    "Output Dial

    This is the setting that controls the level of heat released into the room. Typically this should be set at number 1 during the day when not so much heat is needed, then turned up in the evening to release more heat if it is required. When the output control is set at 1 the storage heater will gradually release heat throughout the day. Turning the output dial up will release more heat. When leaving the home throughout the day always return the dial back to 1.

    This will ensure that the heater will retain enough heat to be released through until the end of the evening. Try to ensure by the end of the evening the storage heater has completely run out of heat. When the heat runs out and the heater has no more heat to release, before going to bed return the output dial to 1. This means that the settings will be set to work correctly the following morning."

    DO YOU UNDERSTAND @MMAGirl? God, I hope so after this. Jesus only helps those who seek, child.





    Storage Heating for people like @MMAGirl: -

    http://www.adactushousing.co.uk/Information/62

    "Setting your storage heating controls

    Input Dial – (can also be called Charge or Auto-set Control). The input dial controls how much electricity is absorbed and stored by the heater during the night, ready to warm your home the next day. The first time you use your heating system, set the input control to between 4 and 6.

    You will then be able to gauge if you have stored enough electricity throughout the night to last right the way through the day. If the heating runs out throughout the day, you will know to set the dial to 6 for the next night, as more electricity will need to be stored to enable heating to last throughout the day.

    If on the first day of heating you find that there is plenty of heating to last throughout the day, turn the input dial down slightly. Continue to do this until you find the correct input level for your lifestyle. There is no point paying for the heater to absorb electricity throughout the night if you are not using all of it."



    If you have any difficulties, with this, hit Google and try "Output dial storage heater".

    We are ready for your explanation. Of course, being cocky, you won't apologise for not knowing but blustering on anyway and misleading others; even when challenged.



    PS

    http://www.cse.org.uk/pages/skills/advice/energy-advice-leaflets/using-a-night-storage-heater More spoofmerchants, this time from the Centre for Sustainable Energy. They think the Output dial doesn't cost ya money either!! You will have a busy day on the twitter machine and the email machine setting them straight @MMAGirl. I am sure they will also enjoy your precision and technical prowess......

    Night storage heaters: a simple guide

    "Most storage heaters are wall-mounted and look a bit like radiators. They work by drawing electricity over the course of a few hours at night, and storing it as heat in a ‘bank’ of clay or ceramic bricks to use the following day. The advantage is that they can consume electricity at night – when it’s cheap – and then give out the heat many hours later.

    As a consequence they work best if the household is on an Economy 7 tariff. This is an arrangement with an energy supplier by which the electricity that a household uses at night is much cheaper than that used during the day – typically about a third of the price.

    The hours of cheap electricity are normally from 12 midnight until 07.00 in winter, and from 01.00 to 08.00 in summer, although this can vary. For more information about Economy 7 click here.

    Every storage heater has a set of simple controls. An input setting allows you to regulate the amount of heat that the heater stores during the night. This is important because, even though night-rate electricity is cheap, there’s no point paying for more than you need. If it’s not particularly cold, or you’ll be out of the house for most of the day, you don’t need to set the input to maximum because there’s no point storing so much heat. Most storage heaters will only charge up at night, so there is no danger of using expensive day-rate electricity.

    The controls also have an output setting that allows you to regulate the amount of heat that the storage heater gives off. It means you don’t have to use up all the stored heat at once, but can let it out gradually, saving some for the evening if you want to.

    Some storage heaters have a timer that gives you even more control over the output. It allows you, for example, to programme your heater to come on at a time that suits you, for example when you get up in the morning or just before you get back from work. Others include a control that regulates the amount of charge the heater draws at night, depending on the temperature.

    Some storage heaters have a ‘boost’ setting. This doesn’t use ‘cheap-rate’ stored heat, but uses ‘peak-rate’ electricity directly from the mains, so it should only be used if the stored heat has run out.

    CASE STUDY: Jack and Gwen’s storage heater

    Jack and Gwen are a retired couple living in a rural area. They are off the mains gas network and use electricity for their heating and hot water. They have storage heaters to take advantage of the Economy 7 tariff that they have chosen.

    In winter, they are in for most of the day. This means they want the storage heater to charge fully at night, so they set the input to ‘6’ and the output to ‘1’ or ‘off’. In the morning, to warm the house up, they turn the output to ‘4’. Once the house is warm, they turn it down to 2, and in the evening when it becomes chillier, they turn it up to 5 or 6 to use up the remaining stored heat.

    Storage heater tips for lower bills
    The output setting of your storage heater should be turned off at night and also turned off when you are out of the room or out of the house
    Don’t use the boost setting except when you really need the extra heat
    Avoid using supplementary plug-in heaters – it’s better to turn up the input on your storage heater and store more heat."

    That is some mad sh1t there Ted.....


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  • Registered Users Posts: 484 ✭✭MMAGirl


    An Ri rua wrote: »

    Maybe you should report my post then? I have reported yours much earlier as I think you haven't a CLUE about storage heaters and are misleading innocent people and could end up costing them money.

    So explain? How does changing the output cost more money? It doesn't and the fact is you have not an iota of how a storage heater works. The fact that you believe you do is very worrying. I've asked the Mods to have someone step in here who has discussed Storage heaters at length; as what you're offering, confidence and 100% clueless info, is detrimental to others trying to learn how to use a SIMPLE solution.

    You never did explain how the Output dial can increase your bill??? Considering your cocky retort (clueless and confident go hand in hand), I await your response with bated breath.

    Here is my evidence. Looking forward to your 'evidence' @MMAGirl.

    http://www.adactushousing.co.uk/Information/62#chapterLink5

    "Output Dial

    This is the setting that controls the level of heat released into the room. Typically this should be set at number 1 during the day when not so much heat is needed, then turned up in the evening to release more heat if it is required. When the output control is set at 1 the storage heater will gradually release heat throughout the day. Turning the output dial up will release more heat. When leaving the home throughout the day always return the dial back to 1.

    This will ensure that the heater will retain enough heat to be released through until the end of the evening. Try to ensure by the end of the evening the storage heater has completely run out of heat. When the heat runs out and the heater has no more heat to release, before going to bed return the output dial to 1. This means that the settings will be set to work correctly the following morning."

    DO YOU UNDERSTAND @MMAGirl? God, I hope so after this. Jesus only helps those who seek, child.





    Storage Heating for people like @MMAGirl: -

    http://www.adactushousing.co.uk/Information/62

    "Setting your storage heating controls

    Input Dial – (can also be called Charge or Auto-set Control). The input dial controls how much electricity is absorbed and stored by the heater during the night, ready to warm your home the next day. The first time you use your heating system, set the input control to between 4 and 6.

    You will then be able to gauge if you have stored enough electricity throughout the night to last right the way through the day. If the heating runs out throughout the day, you will know to set the dial to 6 for the next night, as more electricity will need to be stored to enable heating to last throughout the day.

    If on the first day of heating you find that there is plenty of heating to last throughout the day, turn the input dial down slightly. Continue to do this until you find the correct input level for your lifestyle. There is no point paying for the heater to absorb electricity throughout the night if you are not using all of it."



    If you have any difficulties, with this, hit Google and try "Output dial storage heater".

    We are ready for your explanation. Of course, being cocky, you won't apologise for not knowing but blustering on anyway and misleading others; even when challenged.



    PS

    http://www.cse.org.uk/pages/skills/advice/energy-advice-leaflets/using-a-night-storage-heater More spoofmerchants, this time from the Centre for Sustainable Energy. They think the Output dial doesn't cost ya money either!! You will have a busy day on the twitter machine and the email machine setting them straight @MMAGirl. I am sure they will also enjoy your precision and technical prowess......

    Night storage heaters: a [COLOR="Red"]simple[/COLOR] guide

    "Most storage heaters are wall-mounted and look a bit like radiators. They work by drawing electricity over the course of a few hours at night, and storing it as heat in a ‘bank’ of clay or ceramic bricks to use the following day. The advantage is that they can consume electricity at night – when it’s cheap – and then give out the heat many hours later.

    As a consequence they work best if the household is on an Economy 7 tariff. This is an arrangement with an energy supplier by which the electricity that a household uses at night is much cheaper than that used during the day – typically about a third of the price.

    The hours of cheap electricity are normally from 12 midnight until 07.00 in winter, and from 01.00 to 08.00 in summer, although this can vary. For more information about Economy 7 click here.

    Every storage heater has a set of simple controls. An input setting allows you to regulate the amount of heat that the heater stores during the night. This is important because, even though night-rate electricity is cheap, there’s no point paying for more than you need. If it’s not particularly cold, or you’ll be out of the house for most of the day, you don’t need to set the input to maximum because there’s no point storing so much heat. Most storage heaters will only charge up at night, so there is no danger of using expensive day-rate electricity.

    The controls also have an output setting that allows you to regulate the amount of heat that the storage heater gives off. It means you don’t have to use up all the stored heat at once, but can let it out gradually, saving some for the evening if you want to.

    Some storage heaters have a timer that gives you even more control over the output. It allows you, for example, to programme your heater to come on at a time that suits you, for example when you get up in the morning or just before you get back from work. Others include a control that regulates the amount of charge the heater draws at night, depending on the temperature.

    Some storage heaters have a ‘boost’ setting. This doesn’t use ‘cheap-rate’ stored heat, but uses ‘peak-rate’ electricity directly from the mains, so it should only be used if the stored heat has run out.

    CASE STUDY: Jack and Gwen’s storage heater

    Jack and Gwen are a retired couple living in a rural area. They are off the mains gas network and use electricity for their heating and hot water. They have storage heaters to take advantage of the Economy 7 tariff that they have chosen.

    In winter, they are in for most of the day. This means they want the storage heater to charge fully at night, so they set the input to ‘6’ and the output to ‘1’ or ‘off’. In the morning, to warm the house up, they turn the output to ‘4’. Once the house is warm, they turn it down to 2, and in the evening when it becomes chillier, they turn it up to 5 or 6 to use up the remaining stored heat.

    Storage heater tips for lower bills
    The output setting of your storage heater should be turned off at night and also turned off when you are out of the room or out of the house
    Don’t use the boost setting except when you really need the extra heat
    Avoid using supplementary plug-in heaters – it’s better to turn up the input on your storage heater and store more heat."

    That is some mad sh1t there Ted.....

    Why would I report your post. It's not a crime to post rubbish. But be sure that you are posting rubbish. Hard to take for you it seems.

    If I were you I would learn a thing or two about energy and not depend in what people post on the Internet for correct info.
    You really are making an idiot of yourself I the last few posts.

    If you have a tap fully open pouring into a sealed barrel what happens when the barrel gets full?
    The water flows out of the barrel.
    So then you put a lid on the barrel with a hole of say 3 inches diameter on it. And the water flows out.
    Then you make the hole 1 inch. What happens the flow into the barrel.
    Ah I couldn't be bother explaining this any further. Flesh out that example yourself. If you want you can alter for incoming and outgoing pressure, leaks etc.

    At the end of the excercise you will come
    To the conclusion that both input and output effect how much energy is used.

    How is here room for more energy when non, or even just less (given leakage anyway) than what's going in is going out once the heating blocks are fully charged.

    Ask yourself what the thermostat on your storage heater is doing and how this is effected by output.

    Or just ask twitter and then accuse others of giving misinformation in the same post as you are giving misinformation yourself


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,457 ✭✭✭An Ri rua


    This is a joke. You are discussing the devi-reg and not the Output switch. You are patently confusing things that you think you know about. The Devi reg acts as the thermostat. I have not seen a storage heater with a thermostat on it; apart form the convector function.

    Why report a post? When someone is misleading others. I suggest that you do. And we'll get to the bottom of this.

    Unless you're talking about having the Output flap open at 6 all night, then you're not talking in the real world when using your bucket analogy. ANYONE who knows anything about storage heaters will have the Input set to 1 or 0 overnight, i.e the lowest setting possible. Your pedantic example can only mean you do not understand the charging function on a storage heater or you believe that they charge at times other than that controlled by the meter and guided by the true thermostat, the Devi Reg. I give concrete proof and you insult me by calling me an idiot and then proceed to give a Junior Cert lesson in physics to all of us and to me, an oil industry professional. My my, you ARE confident. Must be from your username...

    In simple terms, input controls how much electricity you burn and output is when the heat is released. That is the general rule. What you 'may' be referring to is someone (for some DAFT reason) running the Output at 6 all night while they sleep (or perhaps another occupant needs the heat overnight as they are on shift) but generally, for most apartment-dwellers, working or unemployed, the advice given by me and backed by TWO reputable sources (there's lots more for delusional people who need it) clashes with the drivel that you are proposing. And yet you stand over it. I asked for evidence and you give more self-confident drivel that has no sources to back it up and no practical value to Boardsies concerned over their bills. That is absolutely pathetic for a Boardsie and poor form that you are misleading others and can't even see when reputable sources show you up as a self-confident clueless about energy usage amateur.


  • Registered Users Posts: 484 ✭✭MMAGirl


    An Ri rua wrote: »
    This is a joke. You are discussing the devi-reg and not the Output switch. You are patently confusing things that you think you know about. The Devi reg acts as the thermostat. I have not seen a storage heater with a thermostat on it; apart form the convector function.

    Why report a post? When someone is misleading others. I suggest that you do. And we'll get to the bottom of this.

    Unless you're talking about having the Output flap open at 6 all night, then you're not talking in the real world when using your bucket analogy. ANYONE who knows anything about storage heaters will have the Input set to 1 or 0 overnight, i.e the lowest setting possible. Your pedantic example can only mean you do not understand the charging function on a storage heater or you believe that they charge at times other than that controlled by the meter and guided by the true thermostat, the Devi Reg. I give concrete proof and you insult me by calling me an idiot and then proceed to give a Junior Cert lesson in physics to all of us and to me, an oil industry professional. My my, you ARE confident. Must be from your username...

    In simple terms, input controls how much electricity you burn and output is when the heat is released. That is the general rule. What you 'may' be referring to is someone (for some DAFT reason) running the Output at 6 all night while they sleep (or perhaps another occupant needs the heat overnight as they are on shift) but generally, for most apartment-dwellers, working or unemployed, the advice given by me and backed by TWO reputable sources (there's lots more for delusional people who need it) clashes with the drivel that you are proposing. And yet you stand over it. I asked for evidence and you give more self-confident drivel that has no sources to back it up and no practical value to Boardsies concerned over their bills. That is absolutely pathetic for a Boardsie and poor form that you are misleading others and can't even see when reputable sources show you up as a self-confident clueless about energy usage amateur.

    You're putting in a lot of effort to argue against my simple point that it is both input and output together that will have an influence on cost.
    You are getting quite scary actually.

    I said
    MMAGirl wrote: »
    It's not just one setting that determines your bill. It's a combination of both input and output.

    You said
    An Ri rua wrote: »
    That's not true at all. The output is just a flap, a physical flap that lets heat out after a ceramic brick has been heated up all night on cheaper electricity.

    Its really not on for people to be saying things that aren't true. If you don't know what you're talking about, say nothing. Input costs you electricity, output gives you heat (depending on when you want it) and the convector heater is completely separate. If you are wrong, you're costing people money by giving bad advice.

    How exactly do you think output affects your bill ??

    Keep digging if you want.

    Let me say it again.
    Both input and output together influence how much electricity a storage heater uses.
    It really is Simple.

    you claim the output setting has no effect on consumption. Think about it. Really.
    And if as you say you have given "concrete proof". Call CERN right now. They would love to hear about how the laws of thermodynamics have changed. You'll get the nobel prize for that one.

    Pop quiz. What do we call the component that shuts off a system based on temperature?

    Are you actually claiming to be an expert on storage heaters? Please say you are not advising people on their purchases.


  • Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 32,278 Mod ✭✭✭✭The_Conductor


    Guys- quit it.
    Sniping at one another isn't going to answer anyone's questions, or educate anyone.

    The point that was being made- correct me if I'm wrong- is that the number of units of energy consumed by the storage heater (aka its input) determines its running cost. Obviously you have the option of using daytime or nighttime units, and you can also specify the output of the heater to either a higher or lower temperature- which you can intelligently specify to minimise your costs- but the actually energy converted by the unit into heat- determines its running costs.

    No-one is arguing about the laws of thermodynamics, conservation of energy or any other fundamental laws of physics- so please stop lobbing grenades at one another.

    Now- please leave it at that.


  • Registered Users Posts: 484 ✭✭MMAGirl


    smccarrick wrote: »
    Guys- quit it.
    Sniping at one another isn't going to answer anyone's questions, or educate anyone.

    The point that was being made- correct me if I'm wrong- is that the number of units of energy consumed by the storage heater (aka its input) determines its running cost. Obviously you have the option of using daytime or nighttime units, and you can also specify the output of the heater to either a higher or lower temperature- which you can intelligently specify to minimise your costs- but the actually energy converted by the unit into heat- determines its running costs.

    No-one is arguing about the laws of thermodynamics, conservation of energy or any other fundamental laws of physics- so please stop lobbing grenades at one another.

    Now- please leave it at that.

    Actually my point was simply this.
    MMAGirl wrote: »
    It's not just one setting that determines your bill. It's a combination of both input and output.

    Thats what An Ri Rua has the problem understanding.

    Energy converted into heat determines your bill, but output, be it settings or leakage is equally as important on how much energy is converted to heat.

    An Ri Rua is advising people that output has no effect and then accusing me of being the one costing them money.


  • Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 32,278 Mod ✭✭✭✭The_Conductor


    Ok- I give up. I'm closing this thread.


This discussion has been closed.
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