Electric Storage Heaters:
If your property is heated by either electric panel heaters or old/faulty electric storage heaters, then you may be eligible for an upgrade to brand new, high heat retention electric storage heaters.
What are Electric Storage Heaters?
Electric storage heaters use electricity to generate heat. They store this heat inside their core, which is often made from heavy clay blocks.
Electric storage heaters usually pair with a dual rate tariff that supplies electricity at cheaper rates during certain times of the day (usually cheapest at night). Your electric storage heater can charge overnight when electricity is at its cheapest price, then use this stored electricity to heat your home any time you’d like.
Can You Replace Electric Storage Heaters Yourself?
You should not attempt to replace electric storage heaters yourself. A registered electrician should replace your storage heaters for a number of reasons:
-Electric storage heaters are extremely heavy because of their dense core.
-Storage heaters also need a connection to the correct circuit in your home and are hard-wired to the circuit. Only a registered electrician should do this.
-Storage heaters installed before 1974 sometimes contain asbestos, if so it’s safer to leave this job to qualified installers who can handle and dispose of them safely.
Benefits of Upgrading Electric Storage Heaters:
Storage heaters have improved considerably since they were first created. Any storage heaters manufactured after 2018 have stricter efficiency standards and come with better heating controls.
Higher heat retention – As the name implies high heat retention electric storage heaters hold heat for much longer than electric panel heaters and old electric storage heaters. This keeps your home warmer for longer.
Quicker to heat – Modern storage heaters can heat your home much quicker than older models so no need to worry about how long it will take for your home to warm up.
Electric Storage Heater Controls
Modern electric storage heaters often come with improved heating controls, such as automatic charge control, programmer and room thermostat. These controls work together so once you set the programme, the heater can control itself automatically.
The programmer lets you set the temperatures you want the room to heat up to and at what times.
The automatic charge control works out how much electricity it needs to store overnight to meet the set programme.
The room thermostat tells the heater to release more or less heat based on if it detects the room is colder or warmer than it should be.