View Full Version : Stoage Heaters
I absolutely hate mine and grudge the fact that even if i pay £40 a week or more that my house still isn't warm in every room. I have a council house so i've got no option for changing the heating that i know of.
I was just wandering if anyone else has the same problems with these heaters and what other heaters do you use to keep the rest of the house warm.
I've only got the storage heaters downstairs and upstairs are panel heaters which if i used them the whole time i'd dread to think how much money i would spend on electric every week.
Would love to have central heating :~(
espadartecars
25-Nov-10, 15:01
Hi ,my mum has the same heating as you and she lives on her own in a bought council house,she spends £50 a week to heat it and to be truthfull it is not that cosy ,in the really cold weather she was using the halogen heaters as they are cheap to run.She is waiting to get gas central heating installed any week now so she should find a difference.Maybe you should complain to the council that it is costing you a fortune to run that type of heating.
We use storage heaters throughout the house on the Total Heat Total Control tariff. The Input controls are set to about two-thirds of the way round the dial with the output baffle closed. The heaters usually take their charge from about 05.30am till around about 9.30am, and then we switch off the system at the fuse box forgoing any additional charges. The heaters remain warm until early afternoon when we open the output baffle a fraction. By bedtime the heaters have cooled with only a little residual heat along the top. We use a small Calor Gas fire if we need any additional heat in the evening.
We have panel heaters in each of the bedrooms which we don't use. Even tho’ they’re on the cheaper tariff they use up a lot of units which can be costly.
We make sure we dress in layers and wear a bobble hat if necessary.
So far during this cold spell our heating and hot water is averaging less than £2.50 per day.
Its getting to the point where i am going to go and see the council as it seems to get more and more difficult every year to keep warm. I doubt though that it will get me very far. I hope your mum gets her new central heating soon :)
I just can't turn the heating off like that i wish i could but my son has asthma and it is always worse in the winter so if the house was any colder than it is just now it would not help him at all :(
Dad has total heating with total control in a bungalow, which has a panel heater in the bedroom and had a pull on convector in the bathroom. The council changed the bathroom heater to a storage heater and he uses a mini oil filled radiator to keep the chill off the bedroom as he is an end house, exposed to the elements.
Aye its a hard situation to be in. Only thing you can do is get some oil filled radiators and halogen heaters like someone said but even then theres the expense of buying them...
Are the oil filled heaters cheap to use. I'm scared to use plug in heaters in case they cost a fortune to run as well.
I did have a portable gas heater but didn't like it because of my son and 3 dogs with very waggy singed tails. lol
I've seen them used instead of storage heaters so as far as I know they are cheaper. Have you checked to see if you can get your loft insulated? Not sure if they are still doing that...Keep banging on at the council, I'm sure you will get a response of some sort.
I've seen them used instead of storage heaters so as far as I know they are cheaper. Have you checked to see if you can get your loft insulated? Not sure if they are still doing that...Keep banging on at the council, I'm sure you will get a response of some sort.
The loft was insulated a couple of years ago. They were meant to come and do the cavity wall over 6 months ago and i'm still waiting :roll:
Scarybiscuits03
25-Nov-10, 16:54
It might not be the heating. Could be due to bad insulation.
I had storage heaters in my old house. It was a new build (well insulated) and we couldn't cool the place down! Xmas day had snow on the ground and we had all our windows and doors open to try and get rid of some heat!
It might not be the heating. Could be due to bad insulation.
I had storage heaters in my old house. It was a new build (well insulated) and we couldn't cool the place down! Xmas day had snow on the ground and we had all our windows and doors open to try and get rid of some heat!
My storage heaters are over 12 years old so they probably aren't as good as ones that are in a new build.
Hmm If your cavity walls aren't insulated then they are going to be coooold. I would really get onto them about that aswell.
The loft was insulated a couple of years ago. They were meant to come and do the cavity wall over 6 months ago and i'm still waiting :roll:
IMO this is the problem. You should have at least 150mm (6 inches) in the attic. As for the cavitiy; all the heat you invest in is going to heat the gap between the plasterboard and the brick/blockwork. You need to be pestering the council at all levels and lobby your MSP, MP. [disgust]
Insulating a house is not rocket science and both Westminster and Holyrood have been banging on about their energy savings policies for long enough.
I'm the same as you Kitty, costing a fortune to run the storage heating and i'm still freezing!
I bought an oil-filled heater and it certainly helps keep the chill off, there much better than the Halogen.
The loft was insulated a couple of years ago. They were meant to come and do the cavity wall over 6 months ago and i'm still waiting :roll:
It might not be the heating. Could be due to bad insulation.
I had storage heaters in my old house. It was a new build (well insulated) and we couldn't cool the place down! Xmas day had snow on the ground and we had all our windows and doors open to try and get rid of some heat!
I think the problem is probably due to you not having cavity wall insulation so you should really get onto the council about this.
When I was researching what kind of heating to install I was recommended to get Storage Heating (on the Total Heating Total Control tariff )as our house has loft(which we got topped up) and cavity wall insulation.
We are absolutely delighted with it as the house is warm all day and night and is a lot, lot less than coal was costing us. Even during this cold spell when I have the heaters turned up really high it's only costing about £30 per week. I have the heating turned up higher than most folk would due to illness which is exacerbated by cold.
We have convector heaters in the bedrooms and bathroom but hardly ever use them and if we do it's only for a very short time as they heat up the room really fast.
Of course we got new doors and windows fitted as well and this made a real difference.
Basically, no matter what kind of heating you have if it's escaping through doors and windows and there are draughts anywhere then it's going to be a costly business to get warm.
It sounds like you may need new heaters as well. So really you should go to the council and get them to sort it out.
Good luck!
cuddlepop
25-Nov-10, 21:34
I too have storage heaters and hate them with a passion.They just eat electric,just now we're £30 a week and the house is comfortable with lots of layers.
Never mind, HC have a schedual of loft insulation that we're part of and our 70 will be turned into 300 on the 11th of December.
All we need to do now is empty the loft.:eek:
I'm definately going to get onto them about the cavity wall and see if there is anything they can do about all the drafts in the house. Maybe also ask them if they can come and at least inpsect my heating.
Thank you all for your replies :)
Stack Rock
25-Nov-10, 21:55
The old storage type are useless - however the newer ones on 'total control' are excellent. They charge up 3 times at day - the house therefore is at almost constant temperature 24 hours. I personally would not have anything else. Price wise - comparable with oil. Also hot water & showers at reduced rate,
sassybreeks
25-Nov-10, 22:07
unfortunately you are treated as having 'central heating'. pretty crap i know! The council has requirements to meet under the Scottish Housing Quality Standards by 2015 and this is to make sure your house is as energy efficient as possible with regards to insulation & heating. Chase them up about the cavity wall insulation and id query whether heating efficient given the age of it. good luck!
unfortunately you are treated as having 'central heating'. pretty crap i know! The council has requirements to meet under the Scottish Housing Quality Standards by 2015 and this is to make sure your house is as energy efficient as possible with regards to insulation & heating. Chase them up about the cavity wall insulation and id query whether heating efficient given the age of it. good luck!
Thanks sassybreeks. If i have time i'll pop in after work tomorrow... if not i'll phone them when i get in and see what i can get them to do
The old storage type are useless - however the newer ones on 'total control' are excellent. They charge up 3 times at day - the house therefore is at almost constant temperature 24 hours. I personally would not have anything else. Price wise - comparable with oil. Also hot water & showers at reduced rate,
This would make sense as to why some hate storage heating and others, like you and me, love it!
I am so grateful every single day that we changed from solid fuel to storage heating as not only is the house so much warmer all the time but we are saving a fortune. Coal, at this time of year, would be costing us about £60 per week compared with about £25 for storage heating.
Kitty you should contact Angela at Ormlie Renewables as she gave me great advice and was ever so helpful. http://www.caithness.org/community/environment/ormlie_renewables/index.htm
Kitty this might be helpful to you too.
http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/scotland/Scotland-Welcome-page/At-Home/Energy-Assistance-Package
This would make sense as to why some hate storage heating and others, like you and me, love it!
I am so grateful every single day that we changed from solid fuel to storage heating as not only is the house so much warmer all the time but we are saving a fortune. Coal, at this time of year, would be costing us about £60 per week compared with about £25 for storage heating.
Kitty you should contact Angela at Ormlie Renewables as she gave me great advice and was ever so helpful. http://www.caithness.org/community/environment/ormlie_renewables/index.htm
Thanks Liz i will drop her an email :)
Kitty this might be helpful to you too.
http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/scotland/Scotland-Welcome-page/At-Home/Energy-Assistance-Package
Thanks for the link Venture. Handy site to have saved to favorites. I will get in touch with them if i have no joy with the council.
I have now spoken to the council and have made them aware of all the issues that i have. I got through to the woman in the call centre so i've now got to wait for the maintenance officer to phone me back.
Thank you all for your help and suggestions. I will keep you all updated on how i get on :)
I too have that heaters and they are useless my onebedroom house is freezing in weather like this i go to bed early which saves electric and keeps me warm in this day and age the hc should be putting mordern heaters in that work,they have a cheeck asking me to pay £63 per week,wot for? to freeze in the winter time:mad:
I too have that heaters and they are useless my onebedroom house is freezing in weather like this i go to bed early which saves electric and keeps me warm in this day and age the hc should be putting mordern heaters in that work,they have a cheeck asking me to pay £63 per week,wot for? to freeze in the winter time:mad:
I totally agree with you annshoe. I was at my mother in laws last night and she said that (she has gas) she pays out about £40 a week (same as me) between the electric and gas. I told her that i wouldn't mind paying that much as long as the house was warm right through.
I don't think in this day and age that people should have to wear numerous layers of clothing or go to bed early just to be able to stay warm in their house
In our last flat we took out the old storage heaters as neither of us could sleep with the heat at night when they were charging up, but by 11am the house was chilly again. The council put sockets where the night heaters had been and I ran my tumble drier on a timer in the early hours and had an oil filled radiator in the hall which heated the whole house as downstairs was open plan. Nice and toasty, but being in a high rise we benefited from the heat from neighbours either side and below. The only reason the council agreed to the sockets was because we had to pay extra money on top of the rent to cover the service and provision of the central heating. It was a tenner a week, so I wanted something for my money.
Good luck with the council, you may need it, and always have councillors and MP to fall back on. Energy advice team are excellent too.
Shame we can't knock holes in the ceiling and burn whatever stuff you come across. There was loads of litter blowing down our street and theres a tree across the road that I know will come down in the wind one of these days. Alas the council would evict me I'm sure.
Och the council are all too quick to tell you off for anything aren't they.
I didn't hear back from them today. I didn't really expect to seen as i didn't phone them until after i'd finished work but i will be calling them again on Monday morning.
And if i don't get anywhere with them i will be getting in touch with John Thurso. I've always found him to be helpful with council issues.
Just noticed that i started the thread with 'stoage' heaters instead of storage. lol [lol]
my sisters has the same heating,her house is always cold its controlled and comes on three or four times and she has a booster,she hates it to i bought her a oil rad and it heats her lounge really quickly.its also quite cheap to run.
my sisters has the same heating,her house is always cold its controlled and comes on three or four times and she has a booster,she hates it to i bought her a oil rad and it heats her lounge really quickly.its also quite cheap to run.
I did used to have one of them but the wheels and legs broke off of it. I was always paranoid about using them thinking they would be expensive as well but now after reading a couple of the posts on here i'm realising they aren't that bad :)
Thanks Liz i will drop her an email :)
You are very welcome and am sure she will do all she can to help.
Getting in touch with John Thurso is a good idea as well.
The Council, as your landlord, should make sure that your house is warm and well insulated.
You said your son has asthma so may be worth chatting to your GP as he/she might be able to put some pressure on the council.
You will get there!
In the meantime get your thermals on, lots of hot drinks and use a good old hot water bottle.
Most electric companies offer a rebate scheme dependent on income, may be you should get in touch with your supplier?
I was in the same situation as you until we got gas installed this year and it as made a massive difference.
Go for a oil filled radiator Kitty deffo the cheapest option for you try and get one with a thermostat on.
And phone the council every day and be a pain because those storage heaters you have are not doing the job they should........good luck
You can cut down on electric in the winter by turning off your fridge and freezer and putting your stuff outside.
Most electric companies offer a rebate scheme dependent on income, may be you should get in touch with your supplier?
I was in the same situation as you until we got gas installed this year and it as made a massive difference.
Go for a oil filled radiator Kitty deffo the cheapest option for you try and get one with a thermostat on.
And phone the council every day and be a pain because those storage heaters you have are not doing the job they should........good luck
If i lived in town i would be pushing for gas central heating but out here it just isn't an option on mains.
I will get another oil filled heater i think. And i am going to pester the council the whole time.
sassybreeks
27-Nov-10, 12:49
Kitty this might be helpful to you too.
http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/scotland/Scotland-Welcome-page/At-Home/Energy-Assistance-Package
This government scheme is only available to homeowners and private tenants meeting the specified criteria. For local authority or housing association tenants, its your landlords responsibility.
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