Storage Heaters : How Do They Work?!

Jim

So having no idea how to use them properly and after getting a massive leccy bill last winter I decided last night to do some research. So from what I understand there are two "on" switches on the wall for the heater. One for peak times and one for off peak times. The idea is that I leave the "off peak" switch on 24 hours a day and it will start generating heat only during off peak hours and then release the heat slowly during the course of the day.

So last night at about 11:30pm I try both switches. One turns on the heater and the other doesn't. So I figured that must be the off peak switch. I leave it on and set the Input to 4 and Output to 1. It starts generating and releasing heat and the light on the side is on. So I leave it and go to bed.

When I go into the sitting room at 11am this morning the heater is still releasing heat, fine, but it also still seems to be generating heat? I can't be 100% certain, but it was much hotter than I thought it would be if it had stopped generating heat (due to now being peak hours) and the "on" light is still on. So I switch the "off peak" switch on the wall off and the light goes off and it stops generating and releasing heat. I then tried to "peak hours" switch but that had no effect on the heater. No heat and no light.

So it seems that the "off peak" switch is the only one that turns the heater on and it leaves it on all the time instead of just at "off peak" hours. Is the heater broken or is there something I'm missing?



Cheers,
Jim.

PeterHughes

Jim,
you must be careful when deciding which is the "off peak" and which is "on peak" switch.

So to start:

"On Peak" switch
This switches on a fan heater that blows hot air out of the vent at the bottom of the storage heater. Using this constantly will be expensive and should be used to boost an already warm room.

"Off Peak" switch
This switch controls the "storage" function of the heater. This must be turned on the day before you want to heat the room as it will store heat overnight and then let it out gradually during the day. The input governs how much heat is stores and the output governs how quick it lets that heat out during the day.

So which is which.
If you turn on a switch and the fan heater (normally at the bottom) starts blowing hot air then this is the "On Peak" switch, on some heaters this can also be linked to a thermostat or boost dial on the top of the heater. So you may have to set this to max to get it to come on.

If you turn on a switch during the day and nothing happens, chances are this is the "Off Peak" switch. This switch will only start working during off peak hours which is set at your fuse board, normally 11am - 7pm or 12pm - 8pm depending on Winter time or Summer time.
If you switch this switch on and leave it overnight then next morning the heater will be very warm (depending on your input settings) and then the heater will let this heat out gradually over the day. (Note: red light beside this switch will only come on during off peak hours)

If in the evening the heater has let most its heat out then you can use the "On peak" switch to boost the temperature in the room.


Hope this is helpful as I have to live with one for 5 years and hopefully is a similar model to yours

Jim

Cheers for the reply Peter! I'll try and explain it a bit clearer. I'm really paranoid about leaving something on I shouldn't and getting hit with a massive bill.

So there is Switch A and Switch B on the wall and Input & Output dials on the heater itself.

When Switch A is turned On the light on the heater turns on and there a big amount of heat is released and the heater body heats up very quickly. I've tested this in the morning, afternoon, evening and night and it does the same thing no matter the time of day.

When Switch B is tried On the light on the heater stays off but heat seems to be released from the heater slowly over time, but I don't think it's generating heat at the time. This happens in the morning, afternoon, evening and night again.

I checked the fuse box like you suggested and found the dials for day / night. The dials have the settings -4, -2, 0, +2, +4 (the +4 has constant written beside it). The Night was set to +4 so perhaps this is why the heater seemed to be generating heat whenever I turned on Switch A? Any idea how these dials should be set for this time of year?

Cheers,
Jim.

Jim

Bumpidy bump!

Philip42

Hi Jim,

I have been in two apartments that had storage heaters, and in short, they're useless, and massively inefficient. My house has been given a BER of G, the worst rating possible and it's a lot down to it having Storage Heaters (which I'm soon to be replacing with oil fired central heating - no gas available in the estate).

In short, if the heat comes out and the light comes on if turned on during the day, immediately, this is the expensive instant heat option.

If you turn on the switch during the day and instant heat DOESN'T come on, then it is most likely your "storage" function. This will become obvious if the light comes on, on the switch at about 11pm at night and goes off in the morning. The heater should be warm to the touch in the morning.

The sad thing about storage heaters is, if you're out at work all day, you're missing out on the "heat release" that's happening during the day and when you arrive home you're back to square one with the only option being the instant (expensive) heat option.

In most cases in an apartment, you will have simple electric heaters (with timers on them) around an apartment in addition to a number of storage heaters. These are also quite uneconomical.

Hope this helps you mate.

Philip

LavaLamp

glad I'm not the only one that finds storage heaters a bit of a nightmare. This is my first winter of trying to use them, think I have mastered it but have one question. If I have the "expensive" heat option on when the cheap rate night time storage function kicks in, does it still store heat?

Should I have both on at the same time? I have been switching off the storage heat bit until I turn off the other switch in case I blow somthing up LOL!! :eek:

maynooth_rules

I appreciate I am bumping an old thread and I apologise for that, but just one question in regards to storage heaters. We have them but havent used them as of yet. Will do this weekend. Do i turn on the switch on the wall just before off peak to let iy heat up or when am I supposed to switch it on??

Cushie Butterfield

For heat on Friday switch it on any time after 8am & ideally before11pm on Thursday. It should start charging around 11pm on Thursday night.