Why choose storage heaters?
The answer to that question, in our age of innovative energy efficient electric radiators, is increasingly becoming – don’t! Storage heaters are more difficult to control, bulkier and less efficient than their electric radiator counterparts. For many people they can work out a more expensive heating option. So why do we sell them?
The answer is that storage heaters have one unique advantage over every other heating system on the market – an advantage which seasoned storage heater owners have been exploiting for cheaper heating since the 1970s. Storage heaters charge up overnight and release heat during the day, making the most of the cheaper economy 7 tariff.
The economy 7 tariff was established in 1978 as an incentive for homeowners to use supplies of night time electricity which were much higher than demand. Using the economy 7 tariff, homeowners would pay a reduced price on electricity used in a 7 hour night time period – typically between 1:30am and 8:30am. Storage heaters were set to charge up during this period, costing significantly less than if they used electricity during the day.
Unfortunately, life on the economy 7 tariff has never been a straightforward proposition. The economy 7 tariff, so appealing at its surface, is laden with snares which make saving money on your electricity a complicated game requiring forethought and strategy. When you sign up for an economy 7 tariff you pay a reduced rate on night time electricity – but increased rates on any electricity used in the rest of the day. Today, UK Power estimate that the tariff only becomes economical if 40% or more of your electricity use happens during off peak night time hours.
That doesn’t mean it’s impossible to save money by using an economy 7 tariff. People have been doing it for years, adapting their lifestyle to suit the evening tariff, tweaking their daily routines to squeeze maximum money savings out of their storage heaters. Here’s an example of a storage heater pro at work…
It’s 6pm, a mild February evening. Rita finishes her dinner, loads up the dishwasher and fills the washing machine with this week’s woollen wash. She knows exactly when the tariffs apply in her area – 1am to 8am in winter, 2am to 9am in summer – and has set both machines to run overnight.
“Time to put the kettle on”, she murmurs. There goes a good dollop of daytime rate electricity… but you have to make some allowance for life’s little necessities. As she fills the kettle she watches the last rays of sun sinking behind the garden fence. “Red sky at night, shepherds delight” – it looks good for tomorrow. But just to be sure she switches on the TV just in time for the weather report. She’s never been a big fan of TV – she’d rather curl up with a good book or meet up with friends. That said, she charged her laptop up last night and would quite fancy some quality time catching up with her favourite soap opera…
Overcast, breezy but mild tomorrow. Excellent. Rita finishes her tea and sets off on her evening rounds: closing all the curtains to keep the heat in, making sure all unnecessary lights are switched off and checking her storage heaters for the day ahead. Usefully, each storage heater can be controlled independently so she can set the heating to suit each room. Her son David is away at university – so the heater in his room is switched off. The heater in her room is set to release more heat later in the day than the heater in her living room. She sets the heaters to release a steady stream of heat throughout tomorrow evening so she can stay cosy when she gets home.
After four episodes of Eastenders, Rita can feel the room starting to cool down. Her heater usually gets to the end of its charge by this time in the evening, so she heads upstairs for her usual early night.
In the morning, Rita wakes up early to shower, make tea and toast and wash up before the cheaper tariff ends at 8am. She hangs up her washing from the day before and heads out to town to pick up some shopping, meet her sister for lunch and do some research in the central library.
She returns to a warm home, but with an ominous sense of a cold snap in the air. She switches on the TV to find snow forecast for the following evening. With a sigh, she heads round the house to readjust her storage heaters. They’ll need to kick out more output to keep the house warm enough tomorrow. That means the heat will run out earlier – so she’ll need to top up with a daytime-tariff fan heater, or head to bed at 8pm.
It’s far from ideal. But, with a pragmatic smile, Rita closes up the house for the night, knowing that the heating won’t matter so much in summer – and that the amount she’s saved makes everything worthwhile.
Does that sound like a lifestyle you’d be happy with? For many people, the answer would probably be a “no”. In our modern age we’re increasingly used to receiving comfort and entertainment on demand – and many of us are so busy that we don’t have time to check and set up storage heaters each evening. The idea of changing our lifestyles so radically to make most cost-efficient use of our heating can seem very old-fashioned.
But many of the money-saving practices in Rita’s life actually make very good habits for trying to live an eco-friendly as well as an economical life. Closing curtains, switching off unnecessary lighting and appliances keeps energy wastage to a minimum. But storage heaters themselves are not particularly eco-friendly. Even with cutting edge modern storage elements a significant amount of heat “leaks” from storage heaters, heating your home unnecessarily. If you’re aiming for a greener lifestyle, electric radiators are usually the better choice: with full control and the latest technology electric radiators are some of the most energy efficient heating products on the market. They often work out cheaper than storage heaters, even though they operate on a standard tariff.
However, we know that for those with a “make do and mend” ethos, those who enjoy the challenge of adapting their lifestyles for optimum economy, or those who have already perfected the art of living on an economy 7 tariff, storage heaters will remain a cheap and popular option. So we’ve scoured the market to make sure you can find storage heaters which are as energy efficient and intelligent as possible. With automatic charge controllers, in-built fan assisters and reserve heat boosters, our range of storage heaters are some of the most sophisticated on the market.
We’re here to help our customers make economy 7 lifestyles that little bit easier.
—
Eco Stores Direct are here to bring you the very latest in energy news, views and opinions from across the UK. They are also suppliers of energy efficient electric heating solutions and are constantly assessing the market for the best products and the latest ground-breaking technology which they think will make a real difference to their customer’s homes. Eco Stores Direct are devoted to helping you reduce your carbon footprint and bring down your energy bills and they work hard to raise awareness of energy efficient products that can make all the difference. If you’re interested in wall mounted electric heaters or infrared panel heaters, call Electric Radiators Direct today on 0330 300 4444 for a free assessment.