Storage heating for dummies

Chunkylover

Looking for some help, ive never used storage heating before and have been told that if you get it wrong the esb bill will go through the roof, im not sure if they are all different systems so Ill describe mine as best as possible, there are 2 "dials" on the fuse board, 1 saying day, the other night both with +1, +2, -1, -2 on them, the rads in the bedrooms have timers on them as well as on/off switches both on the rad and wall, the rad in the sitting room has 2 switches on the wall beside them, a switch on the rad, 2 dials on the top, an imput and output and also a small dial on the side with 1-5 on it

Can anyone give me any idea as to how to use it cause im afraid that when I turn on the heating itll just use loads of electricity

Thanks

knx

Chunkylover wrote: »

Looking for some help, ive never used storage heating before and have been told that if you get it wrong the esb bill will go through the roof, im not sure if they are all different systems so Ill describe mine as best as possible, there are 2 "dials" on the fuse board, 1 saying day, the other night both with +1, +2, -1, -2 on them, the rads in the bedrooms have timers on them as well as on/off switches both on the rad and wall, the rad in the sitting room has 2 switches on the wall beside them, a switch on the rad, 2 dials on the top, an imput and output and also a small dial on the side with 1-5 on it

Can anyone give me any idea as to how to use it cause im afraid that when I turn on the heating itll just use loads of electricity

Thanks

Firstly the unit in the fuseboard is called a devi. Check out the following link for instructions on this "http://www.esb.ie/main/downloads/energy_home/goldshield_devi_controller.pdf". The rads in your bedrooms are panel heaters and can be switched on at any time. How expensive they are to run depends on the power rating. The rad in your sitting room is a combi heater which means it is a storage and panel heater in one. Assuming the switches on the wall have lights on them only one should come on at any time. This is the panel heater section of the combi. The switch on the side and dial are also controls for the panel heater section. The other switch (on the wall) is for the storage section of the heater and will only come on at 11 or 12 pm depending on the time of year. The 2 dials on the top are for the storage section and adjust the amount of heat you want to put into the heater at night and at what rate it lets it out during the day. Have a look at the heaters and look for the rating it will be expressed in kw. 1 kw for one hour is one kilowatt hour and this is the unit by which the esb charge. ie one kilowatt hour = one esb unit. Note that on your bill the night rate is what the storage heater is costing. What kind of switch is on your immersion heater?

preilly79

Thanks! I was going to post the exact same question yesterday!

Chunkylover

Thanks for that
So, if I put the input to high, that will use more elec to store more heat, and the output will let it out, is that right, when I 1st tried to use it (about 7pm), only 1 switch would light up), would I be right in saying that the other would light up after 11pm

My immersion is a horstmann eco 7, theres a off/timer switch on it, also a light that is ment to come on at night when the cheaper elec starts and a boost light

1 other thing, do I need the swicth at the side of the rad to be on to start storing heat, may sound like some stupid questions but I really dont have a clue

knx

Chunkylover wrote: »

Thanks for that
So, if I put the input to high, that will use more elec to store more heat, and the output will let it out, is that right, when I 1st tried to use it (about 7pm), only 1 switch would light up), would I be right in saying that the other would light up after 11pm

My immersion is a horstmann eco 7, theres a off/timer switch on it, also a light that is ment to come on at night when the cheaper elec starts and a boost light

1 other thing, do I need the swicth at the side of the rad to be on to start storing heat, may sound like some stupid questions but I really dont have a clue

Yes it will store more heat and the higher the output the quicker it will let it out during the day. If you turn the output right up what you will find is that all heat may be gone early in the evening forcing you to use the more expensive to run panel heater. You'll have to play around with it till you find the setting that suits. When I install storage heaters I would usually turn the input to max and the output to half to allow even heat during the day. Now I will admit I've never had to live with storage heating so maybe this will not suit you. The switch that lit up straight away is for the panel heater part but if you can find the right setting on the storage part hopefully you won't have to use it. The switch on the side of the rad is just for the panel heater section. Similar to the ones in the bedrooms. Also the dial adjusts the output of the panel heater section. So no it has nothing to do with the storage heating.

You seem to understand the craic with the immersion switch. You probably have a water tank with two elements. One on top and one on the bottom. What the switch does is turn on the bottom one at night to heat the whole tank but allows you to turn the top one on with the boost button (again more expensive to run) during the day if you run out of hot water.

Chunkylover

again, thanks for all the help, last question, do I keep the switch (that didnt light up) on all the time so that it will store heat or does it do that automatically

knx

Chunkylover wrote: »

again, thanks for all the help, last question, do I keep the switch (that didnt light up) on all the time so that it will store heat or does it do that automatically

Yes leave it on.

RoundyMooney

Think of the heater as a bucket with a tap on the side

The input will regulate the amount of water in the bucket, in other words, its size.

The output is the tap on the bucket.

Assuming the input is up full whack, then the bucket is full. You've paid for this water by the pint, so that is the only way you can affect your consumption.

If you open the tap (Output) to the max, you'll get a fine flow of water, but it will not last as long* Keep it down to a more moderate level, and the heat will last longer.

Much of this is trial and errorand dependent on your lifestyle, there's no right or wrong way.

*Personally I think that storage heating is only fit for offices (where people vacate at 5) or holiday homes, for the reason that the heat is finite, and needs an element of clairvoyance to operate.

Stoner

welcome back Roundy

Chunkylover

thanks for all the help, woke up to a nice warm sitting room this morning, only problem is that I had the output on 1 (I had input turned to 6 for the last 2 days without using it), I tried to turn it on lastnight and it was only luke warm so turned the output to 1 as I didnt want to waste any
Anyone know what I could be doing wrong

Cheers

Scotchie

Good guide, pity I didnt find it before my current ESB bill. I didn't realise that they were COMBI heaters, assumed they just normal storage heaters, had it switched on 24/7. Just got a bill for €440 for 2 months (small flat). Not good

purpose

knx wrote: »

Firstly the unit in the fuseboard is called a devi. Check out the following link for instructions on this "http://www.esb.ie/main/downloads/energy_home/goldshield_devi_controller.pdf". The rads in your bedrooms are panel heaters and can be switched on at any time. How expensive they are to run depends on the power rating. The rad in your sitting room is a combi heater which means it is a storage and panel heater in one. Assuming the switches on the wall have lights on them only one should come on at any time. This is the panel heater section of the combi. The switch on the side and dial are also controls for the panel heater section. The other switch (on the wall) is for the storage section of the heater and will only come on at 11 or 12 pm depending on the time of year. The 2 dials on the top are for the storage section and adjust the amount of heat you want to put into the heater at night and at what rate it lets it out during the day. Have a look at the heaters and look for the rating it will be expressed in kw. 1 kw for one hour is one kilowatt hour and this is the unit by which the esb charge. ie one kilowatt hour = one esb unit. Note that on your bill the night rate is what the storage heater is costing. What kind of switch is on your immersion heater?

Hi, I tried that link but it does not appear to be working. do you have an alternative link for the information on the Devi? Thanks

knx

Can't remember now if I actually posted a link there. Copy and paste it into your browser and it will come up. I've just done it.

RaoulDukeHST

Very helpful thread, many thanks all!

Max001

Ditto. Info much appreciated. Always had proper
central heating before so this storage malarky was
a bit of a mystery! :eek: