Using an uncontrollable night storage heater?

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Night storage heaters were all the rage in the 70s, but many households are now getting rid of them because of the more sophisticated heating solutions that have become available. 

These kind of heaters contain thermal heating bricks which warm up overnight. They use a cheaper electricity, which then heats the air in your home throughout the day. However, the catch is that there is no way to control the release of heat, this means you can’t adjust it to suit your lifestyle.

Because most of the heat is released during the day, you’re left with a hot house in the morning and a chilly one when you’re trying to relax in the evening.

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EXISTING NIGHT STORAGE HEATER

ON ECONOMY 7 /10

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Night storage heaters are out of date and large in size. They run on economy 7 from 12 midnight to 7am in the morning wasting most of the heat by 4pm.

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Economy 10 does the same thing but wasting more electricity running from:

 

Three off-peak hours between midday and 3pm,
Two off-peak hours between 5pm and 7pm,
Five off-peak hours between midnight and 5am.

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This is using 3.5kw for 10 hours every single day. Even if you do not use it, you have no control.

 

Economy 7 will only maintain a background temperature throughout the day using 3.5kw for 7 hours .

Economy 10 will have more heat throughout the day but you have no control and will use 3.5kw for 10 hours

 

Amva radiators will only heat when you want them to, giving you complete control over your heating.

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This ensures the radiator maintains a comfortable temperature during the day or evenings when you need it.

It uses a thermostat which will keep the heat at your desired temperature without using a high amount of kW. Therefore making it more efficient than night storage heaters whilst using a normal 13 amp socket.

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For example, if a lounge is heated using a 3.5kW night storage heater, on economy 7 or 10, you would be using the following:

3.5kW x7 hours = 24.5kW used per night; 171.5kW used per week

 

3.5kW x10 hours = 35kW used per day; 245kW used per week

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This does not take into account any additional usage and boosts that may be used throughout the day.

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SUMMARY

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Night storage heaters are old fashioned and not cost effective. They cost a considerable amount more to run than the newer clay or oil filled heaters which have a more up to date technology. 

You also have no control with a night storage heater and you cannot turn them off on a warm day. They are known to run out of heat before they should.

A modern unit gives you control over your heating, allowing you to use heat when you want or need it.

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let's USE aN example of a kettle

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Power usage – Kettles

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As with all appliances, different models and brands of kettle are all made differently and therefore have different rates of energy consumption. The average kettle is between 2 and 3 kilowatts (kw). The electricity that you use in your home is measured in kilowatt hours (kWh) which is the number of kilowatts used per hour. Most people will be charged per unit of electricity so you might be charged 12p per kwh used.

So if you had something that uses 1kw, it would need to be on for a full hour in order to use up 1kwh. The cost of this would be 12p. If you had a kettle that uses 2kw then in one hour it would use up 2kwh. The cost of this would be 24p as you have used 2 units. This might not sound like a lot, and of course we won’t usually have our kettle on for a full hour but it all adds up.

 

How much could I save?

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Obviously it is difficult to work out exactly how much people can save but lets just say that your electricity costs 12p per unit and you have a 2kw kettle. People on average boil their kettle 4 times a day. If you fill a kettle full (8 cups) it will take around 10 minutes to boil and if you calculate this for the full year, it will cost you £58.40 per year just to run your kettle. If you were to just fill the kettle for 2 cups each time you boiled it, it would only take around 2 minutes to boil, if you calculate this for the full year it will cost you £11.68.

This is of course only an estimate as to how much you could potentially save but there is a significant difference and if you think about the fact that this is just one appliance within your house, you can see how this could build up and make a difference to your bills.

There are a number of other household appliances that use more electricity than you might think so it is always good to try to limit the amount we use them. Not leaving appliances on stand-by is a good way to save a little money. It is important to remember not to take this to the extreme though; there will be times when you do need to fill your kettle or when appliances do need to be used (that is what they are there for) but it’s always good to try to cut out the waste to save a little extra cash.

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COMPARED WITH EXISTING 

ECONOMY 7 /10 HOT WATER BOILERS

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Hot water storage boilers are very big and run on economy 7 from 12 midnight to 7am in the morning wasting most of the heat and cooling down as the day goes on. This wastes a lot of heat and energy.

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Economy 10 does the same thing but wasting more electricity running from:

 

Three off-peak hours between midday and 3pm,
Two off-peak hours between 5pm and 7pm,
Five off-peak hours between midnight and 5am.

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This is using 3kw for 10 hours every single day. Even if you do not use it, you have no control.

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Those hot water systems are not efficient, you have no control over the heat of the hot water which is quite often scolding hot and can burn.

Another frequent issue with these systems is that they will either run out of hot water and you have to use a boost.

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Why is too much a problem?

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In retirement homes the the majority of people are on economy 7 or 10 and typically use hot water for 10 to 20 minutes per day. Even heavier use, such as 30 to 40 minutes a day still requires heating for 7 or 10 hours every night, 7 days a week just to use no more than 20 mins of hot water each day.

 You have absolutely no control of this, but our systems puts you back in control giving you the freedom to use only what you need.

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Economy 7 heats up throughout the night using 3kw for 7 hours .

Economy 10 also heats up throughout the nite and day using 3kw for 10 hours .

An Amva unit will use 9kw but only when you desired.

This means that if you were to have a 10 minute shower in the morning and a 10 minutes shower in the evening, that's 20 minutes of 9kw instead of 7 or 10 hours of 3kw.

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SUMMARY

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In conclusion, investing in an Amva instant water heater, will save you more money, you will have more space in your home, be able to take back control of your hot water and at the same time avoid major damage that can occur from using outdated immersion cylinder boilers, such as leaks and electrical fires.

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What does it cost to change meter?

 

Always double-check with your supplier, charges can vary and in some cases you might get charged up to £50.

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