How to Get the Best From Night Storage Heaters

by

SelJones

Night storage heaters are designed to provide low-cost electric heating, but many people consider them expensive. The key to getting the best from them is to understand how they work. This article explains how you can use them to stay warm without breaking the bank.

Night storage heaters are designed in the UK for use with Economy 7 meters which provide cheaper electricity during certain hours, usually at night. You can check your bill or contact your electricity supplier to confirm details

The heaters automatically switch on and heat up during these hours. The heat is stored in thermal bricks inside the heater. Because the heater is well insulated, the heat is released slowly throughout the day.

A switch on the wall allows you to control whether each individual heater is on or off, so that you can save money by simply switching them off in rooms you don t need to heat or in warmer weather.

On top of the heater, often hidden under a hinged cover, are two control knobs which allow you to fine-tune the heating. They are usually labelled Input and Output.

The Input knob controls how much heat is used during the night to heat the bricks. This is the knob that affects how much the heating will cost. To provide background heating that just takes the chill off, you can leave this set to 1 or 2. During freezing cold spells you may need to set it to maximum to get the warmth you want. It can be really helpful to check the weather forecast before setting the control each night.

The Output knob opens and closes vents which control the speed at which the stored heat is released. In most circumstances this is best set to 1 so that the heat is released slowly and steadily throughout the day.

If however you wake up on a frosty morning and the room feels cold, you can boost the heating by turning the Output control to a higher number for an hour or so.

Be aware that using more heat now will leave less available for later in the day.

Always remember to turn the control down again as soon as possible so that there will still be some warmth later.

Never leave the Output control set above 1 at night as this will result in paying for lots of heat while you re asleep and having less during the following day and evening.

Understanding your heating controls and planning ahead should enable you to keep electricity costs down. If your bills are still too high you may also want to:

monitor your use of other appliances (such as boiler, washing machine or tumble drier)

improve insulation (for which grants may be available) or

switch to a cheaper supplier.

Advice on fuel savings is available in the UK from the Energy Saving Trust or from your own electricity supplier.

Sam Jones

is the author of this article. He regularly reviews the energy market to find the best deals. He recommends that doing an

energy comparison

on sites like uSwitch.com is one way that people can save on their energy bills

Article Source:

ArticleRich.com