Storage Heaters - pros and cons

Powerhouse

Sorry in advance if this is not be best forum for these questions.

I have an old house down the country (where I grew up) and am planning to do a few bits and pieces to it so that we can go down there over the summer next year and maybe the odd weekend over the winter i.e. we would not be living there over the long run or anything.

Anyway, there is no central heating or any heating in the house. There is an electric shower and other than that water is heated using the immersion.

I was wondering if storage heaters would be a good option for heating the house or would they be very expensive? I am just concerned about the security of oil etc. when I am not around, plus storage heaters presumably would be more straighforward to install.

But obviously I don't want to be receiving massive ESB bills for periods when the house isn't even being used. I am quite happy to expect to pay a reasonable amount of course.

There will be long periods especially during the winter when the house will be unoccupied and I'd like some kind of heat there to prevent dampness etc.

Perhaps there are options I have not even conisdered.

Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated.

2011

Pros:

• Each heater is a stand alone unit (if 1 fails the others still work)
• No boiler required
• No oil tank required or gas supply
• Cheap to install, compared to central heating
• Very cheap to maintain (compared to servicing a boiler)
• Reliable if left switched off for long periods of time

Cons:

• Very poor heating control. They give out heat in the morning, cold by lunch and freezing by the evening!
• The chances are you will need to rewire the house and have a dual tariff meter installed (day/night meter)
• They dont look too nice!
• I find that many people cant get thier head around how they operate and end up cold with very large ESB bills!
• Can be a fire risk if people insist in drying clothes on them. This is more likley if the house is a rental property.

Another option you may consider is electric underfloor heating. Check out this : http://www.flexel.ie/

Pros:

• All of the advantages with storage heating
• Great control, keeping you warm and saving lots of money
• You loose no wall space - Making it easy to change the room around without restrictions
• Very even heat
• Compatible with dual tariff metering
• Fantastic in bathrooms
• Control units can be programmed to "holiday mode" ensuring that they come on only to a very low level to ensure that there are no damp issues with a low running cost.
• More aethetically pleasing

Cons:

• Will not work very well under a carpet and a disaster under a wooden floor. I would only use it with a tiled floor.
• Expensive to install.

davelerave

quote " The chances are you will need to rewire the house and have a dual tariff meter installed (day/night meter)!"
separate nsh meter preferably .shouldn't normally require a re-wire for this work.you can fit probes/stats on input controls for damp/frost protection(lagging and insulating as well obviously)

Kristopherus

davelerave wrote: »

quote " The chances are you will need to rewire the house and have a dual tariff meter installed (day/night meter)!"
separate nsh meter preferably .shouldn't normally require a re-wire for this work.you can fit probes/stats on input controls for damp/frost protection(lagging and insulating as well obviously)

Correct. Storage heaters should have a seperate circuit and a seperate meter. ESB will set the clock at the meter.They will typically come on at 7.00pm and go off around 8.00am. But you will not need to have them on all the time. Trial & Error will get you an average time to have them on. Typical installation costs would be €1000 for 2 heaters supplied and installed.ESB wiil charge anything up to 250 yoyos to get you up & running.

davelerave

They can work off dual-tarriff or separate meter .separate is cheaper (last time i checked)where the house is unoccupied for long-periods or there is no additional off-peak load
such as aga or water heating.Obviously the off-peak period starts nearer midnight

Davy

The cheaper rates are 11pm to 8am in wintertime and 12am to 9am in summertime.

To get a NSH meter fitted its €211. The standing charge will be €17 a month including vat for a nsh meter

davelerave

Davy wrote: »

The cheaper rates are 11pm to 8am in wintertime and 12am to 9am in summertime.

To get a NSH meter fitted its €211. The standing charge will be €17 a month including vat for a nsh meter

.it's about 60cent a month standing charge for nsh meter.https://www.esb.ie/esbcustomersupply/residential/your_account/rural_nightsaver_tariff.jsp

ronaneire

There not the cheapest to run, but neither is gas nor oil.
Upside is you only have one bill. Where with gas or oil you have another.
You can't judge them, if it is too hot or cold out.

Davy

davelerave wrote: »

.it's about 60cent a month standing charge for nsh meter.https://www.esb.ie/esbcustomersupply/residential/your_account/rural_nightsaver_tariff.jsp

I was including the standing charge and the nsh charge, the op mentioned about paying a monthly charge while not being there, reason i posted the €17 figure its what it will be costing him without any usage.

davelerave

Davy wrote: »

I was including the standing charge and the nsh charge, the op mentioned about paying a monthly charge while not being there, reason i posted the €17 figure its what it will be costing him without any usage.

i work it out at 12.50 pm (rural)for the 2 sc's inc. vat for separate metering.urban even cheaper
https://www.esb.ie/esbcustomersupply/residential/your_account/rural_24hr_tariff.jsp
they seem to have reduced the difference in standing charge between dual-tarriff and 2 meter setup to about 3 euro a month,the day unit is 1 cent dearer on dual as well.dual-tarriff is free installation . i was basing my decision on older differentials.it'll prob depend on the day/nite balance over time whether installation cost(211) would be clawed back

2011

There not the cheapest to run, but neither is gas nor oil.

They are far more expensive to run than gas or oil, although they are a cheaper option for the builder! This is one of the main reasons that they are not the "preferred option".

Upside is you only have one bill. Where with gas or oil you have another.

I dont think this really makes much difference. Most people have direct debit now and some (like me) get thier electricity and gas from the same supplier.

Stoner

OP,

In the 80's we were in a similar position, money was an issue and we installed storage heating, we upgraded them in the 90's and replaced them with oil heated rads 5 years ago. The rads are better. The storage heaters were OK, cheap to buy but a temp job. If you have someone to turn them on before you go down it might work (or an electronic/phone interface unit)

In my place of work we have installed many many units with an array of heating options, storage heating is the least expensive method available, and was typically selected for that reason alone. It was never selected for any other reason.

If you are getting them, try to get the duo ones, if you can afford to, stay away.

another thing to note about them is that you can adapt a gas or oil based radiator system to an eco friendly option. An eco option running 24/7 would be the best option for a holiday house anyway, some heat all the time in a closed up house (with some air circulation) is better than nothing and then blasting the place with storage heating.

Carlow52

You dont say how big the house is, how airtight it is, are doors ill fitting, perhaps single glazed metal framed windows, drafty slated roof with no insulation, big open fireplaces etc etc:D

IMO if it is a typical old rambling country house storage heaters are not the correct choice as u will need 2 many

barrycasey

Farho Intelligent electric Heaters....

Just responding to your enquiry a few months ago,

There is an alternative to Storage heaters on the market in Ireland in the last 18 months. www.farho.es

My company, South Coast Sales are the distributor for the Xana Plus range of Farho Intelligent electric heaters. They are a light weight, energy efficient electric heater with an easy to use control panel on the side that you can program each individual heater 7 days a week to give you whatever temperature you want, at whatever time you want for 6 different intervals during the day, giving you full control over each heater.

The heaters are light and easy to install and they will not dry out the air like storage heaters do and there is no odour off them either.

You can even buy a hand held control device that will allow you to send each individuall heater a Text message to turn on. This would be perfect for your situation of having this holiday home, simply send a text message on your way to the house and it will be warm and cosy when you arrive with no waste of energy also.

the heaters are competively priced also, making it a very good choice in the way of heating your home.

I would be happy to discuss further for your application.

Regards,

Barry Casey
South Coast Sales Ltd
Wilton
Cork

087 924 9275

ronaneire

barrycasey wrote: »

Farho Intelligent electric Heaters....

Just responding to your enquiry a few months ago,

There is an alternative to Storage heaters on the market in Ireland in the last 18 months. www.farho.es

My company, South Coast Sales are the distributor for the Xana Plus range of Farho Intelligent electric heaters. They are a light weight, energy efficient electric heater with an easy to use control panel on the side that you can program each individual heater 7 days a week to give you whatever temperature you want, at whatever time you want for 6 different intervals during the day, giving you full control over each heater.

The heaters are light and easy to install and they will not dry out the air like storage heaters do and there is no odour off them either.

You can even buy a hand held control device that will allow you to send each individuall heater a Text message to turn on. This would be perfect for your situation of having this holiday home, simply send a text message on your way to the house and it will be warm and cosy when you arrive with no waste of energy also.

the heaters are competively priced also, making it a very good choice in the way of heating your home.

I would be happy to discuss further for your application.

Regards,

Barry Casey
South Coast Sales Ltd
Wilton
Cork

087 924 9275

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=62866231#post62866231

But they aren't actually storage heaters?

barrycasey

No, the Farho Electric heaters are not a storage heater. They are filled with a mix of two different types of oils, and a stainless steel element along the bottom of the heater. The heaters come in 6 different sizes, 3 panel (330W), 5 panel (550W), 7 panel (770W), 9 panel (990W), 11 panel (1210W), 13 panel (1430W). For a certain size room, a certain size heater is to be installed. Typically a 7 panel heater (770W) would heat 10.42 meters squared in very cold conditions.

Also, estimated daily consumption, for 12 hours of heating at 20/21 degrees C, the Farho heater, as an average throughout Winter rarely exceeds 5/6 hours of energy consumption...

Once the Farho heater reaches its set temperature, it takes little energy to maintain that temperature...

ronaneire

barrycasey wrote: »

No, the Farho Electric heaters are not a storage heater. They are filled with a mix of two different types of oils, and a stainless steel element along the bottom of the heater. The heaters come in 6 different sizes, 3 panel (330W), 5 panel (550W), 7 panel (770W), 9 panel (990W), 11 panel (1210W), 13 panel (1430W). For a certain size room, a certain size heater is to be installed. Typically a 7 panel heater (770W) would heat 10.42 meters squared in very cold conditions.

Also, estimated daily consumption, for 12 hours of heating at 20/21 degrees C, the Farho heater, as an average throughout Winter rarely exceeds 5/6 hours of energy consumption...

Once the Farho heater reaches its set temperature, it takes little energy to maintain that temperature...

Storage heaters work on the night rate tarrif the ones that you are advertising wouldn't be efficient as they wouldn't actually be storing heat as of such.

The thread was on the pro's and con's of storage heaters, not for someone to try and sell their goods.

barrycasey

ronaneire wrote: »

Storage heaters work on the night rate tarrif the ones that you are advertising wouldn't be efficient as they wouldn't actually be storing heat as of such.

The thread was on the pro's and con's of storage heaters, not for someone to try and sell their goods.

Yes, this thread was on the Pros and cons of storage heaters, so I was trying to put some info out there on new developments in the area of home heating, that may well be of benifit to the readers.

Thanks for your comment.