Storage Heaters, it’s fair to say, do not have the most fashionable reputation. Even the name is distinctly old-fashioned – the word ‘storage’ itself conjuring up images of dusty attics filled with box upon box of ancient mementos put away on a Sunday afternoon to be forgotten forever. In today’s fast-paced modern world where everything is available on demand, the concept of a heating system that you have to programme a day in advance, hoping the weather comes as predicted, seems as up-to-date as crystal balls and fortune cookies. Storage Heaters belong with black-and-white televisions, wind-up gramophones and telegrams – in the past. Right?
Not any more. At Storage Heaters Direct we’ve combed the electric heating market to find the latest and the best storage heaters which make the most of new innovations in heating technology to overcome many of the problems traditionally associated with storage heating. We’ve sidestepped the classic storage heater nightmare of finding oneself unprepared for sudden temperature drops or unanticipated severe weather with a selection of storage heaters with on-demand heat elements. You won’t find yourself shivering in the evening because you’ve inadequately charged your Sunhouse Combi or your Stiebel Eltron ETS with Fan Assist. These heaters utilise reserve charge stores or integrated fan heaters for an emergency supply of heat which can top up your storage heating if cold weather catches you by surprise. Elsewhere in our catalogue you’ll find storage heaters with top-of-the-range thermosolid insulation, slimline design and automatic charge regulators to prevent unnecessary over-charging – making our storage heaters stylish, more energy-efficient heating solutions which are a far cry from the large, ungainly storage heaters first introduced in the 1960s.
So, have storage heaters totally cut their link with the past?
On the face of it, yes. But the basic and most essential principle of storage heating – the concept which first developed 70 years ago and has assured the continuing popularity of storage heating to this day – remains the same: the money-saving utilisation of low-cost night-time electricity tariffs.
The idea of low-cost night-time tariffs first developed in the late 1940s to early 50s. Electricity was still relatively new – fashionable and exciting, representative of all things modern and efficient – so electricity companies were working very hard to generate power to satisfy a high demand for electricity during the day and evening. But demand for power slumped during the night. Shutting down power stations overnight proved to be inefficient so electric companies found themselves producing a large amount of unused, unwanted power. A low-cost night-time electricity tariff today known as Economy 7 was introduced to persuade the public to make use of this excess power, and before long storage heaters were developed to make huge money-savings with this useful economical loophole.
Storage heaters charge up overnight when tariffs are low, using low-cost electricity to store heat which is then released during the day without using the more expensive daytime tariffs.
So, ironically, although it’s the innovative new features of our storage heaters which improve their reliability and convenience – it’s this basic principle from the past, imbibed with 1940s ‘make do and mend’ pragmatism, that keep them a truly economical heating solution for the 21st century.
That’s not to say that storage heating is necessarily the best heating strategy for your home – there are some disadvantages. Because storage heaters focus on money-saving over efficiency, they are not the most eco-friendly of products; heat is lost throughout the storing process, warming your house unnecessarily through the night and reducing the heaters’ energy-efficiency. Meanwhile, innovations in heating control for electric radiators have come so far – with high-precision intelligent thermostats, 24/7 programming and zonal control – that even on expensive daytime tariffs electric radiators may work out cheaper, because they use power only as and when needed.
However, if you require a constant level of heat throughout the day, heating control becomes less essential – so storage heaters may still be for you. And of course, with weather forecasts becoming increasingly accurate, predicting the coming temperature has never been so easy – so perhaps storage heaters are in fact the ideal heating solution for our 21st century lives.
Why not talk to our sales team today to see what our modern storage heaters could do for you.