Storage Heater Timer

paulgibbons

Hi All,
I recently installed a Dimplex 3.4Kw Combi heater, which consists of a storage heater and a convector heater all in one unit. I plan on getting a dual tarriff meter installed in the new year to avail of the cheaper electricity at night for the storage heater part. I do not want to install a separate meter for the storage heater as I don't want the hassel of the additional wiring. Instead, I have installed the storage heater where there was previously a double socket. This socket was wired directly from the fuse box and there is no other socket or appliance running on off that fuse/CB. Hence, the storage heater has its own dedicated wire from the fuse box.

My problem is as follows. I only want the storage heater to come on during the nightsaver hours (11pm to 7am I think). However, there is no timer on the storage heater itself, and as I am going to use a dual tarriff meter (rather than a separate one for the storage heater), I can't time the heater via the meter (as the meter will be feeding power to the heater all the time, albeit at a lower rate at night). I initially installed 2 wall mounted switches for the heater - one for the storage part and one for the convector part - and connected the two heater cables directly into these wall mounted switches. However, using this system I would have to manually turn on and off the storage heater during the nightsaver hours which is very inconvenient. Therefore, I have now replaced the switch for the storage heater part of the combi heater with an immersion timer. As a result I can now turn on the convector part at any time via the wall mounted switch, and I can set the immersion timer to come on between 11pm and 7am to avail of the cheaper rate electricity to power the storage heater. I have mounted both the manual switch for the convector heater and the timer switch for the storage heater side by side on the wall beside the heater unit.

My question is as follows. Are there any regulations or other issues I should be concerned about in using a timer for the storage heater? I can't see any other way around this problem as the storage heater doesn't have an inbuilt timer and if I am using a dual tarriff meter I surely need a timer somewhere along the line to control the storage heater. I know that I could get around this problem by installing a seperate dedicated meter for the storage heater part, where the meter has its own sealed clock which will control the power to the heater. But I really don't want to install a second meter and the extra wiring. One concern I have is whether or not the timer switch can handle the current going to the storage heater, although I understand that these timers are often used for immersion heaters which have similar Kw rating to the storage heater. Any comments will be well received.

Thanks.

M cebee

You can run a twin out to the nightsaver meter to switch the heater or you can do your own timing, both via a contactor
Separate nsh meter is usually cheaper to run the heater unless youre running appliances as well on the cheaper rate
At least it was last time i looked

paulgibbons

Thank you for the quick reply mcebee. Does that mean the timer set-up i have used will not do? I basically took the wiring from the old socket to feed the convector heater (via a manual switch) and storage heater (via a standard non-digital timer switch).

The seperate meter is cheaper than the dual meter alright, I haven't looked into the standing charges, etc fully yet, but I plan on having the immersion coming on for an hour or so at night too, plus the fridge will be running all night. I don't use much electricity during the day so the increased daytime rate shouldn't should be ok.

M cebee

your arrangement isnt suitable as you dont have proper changeover as you would with a economy 7 timer

ie-risk of overload
You need separate peak and off peak to combi
really

paulgibbons

Thanks for that. I'll get an electrician to sort it out so.