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Original poster

How do people afford storage heaters? is this too much?

35 replies

upsetandang · 07/11/2020 08:43

Right so we put the heaters on in the hallway and the living room last night. storage heaters so should be cheaper on that 7-7 economy 7.
it cost us £4.50 for the night.
thats over 30 a week and just over £125 a month.

we don't use our heaters because of this- its just too much money.
Does this sound like average to people?

In our old place we had central heating so we only had it on for an hour or so to warm up, maybe on for a couple more hours in the day.
our whole electric bill back then was £80 a month so just having 2 heaters on alone will cost us over 45 pounds more than our entire electric bill that wasn't on a key meter.
(and when I left i had over paid and got about 200 pounds back)

I just can't justify it!
I've been using hot water bottles and blankets and copious amounts of tea and hot chocolate to keep us all warm- hot porridge for breakfast, something warm for lunch etc but it is miserable.

How do people afford it? I want to know. I have a new baby so will have to suck up the cost this winter but I'm not sure how.
we already save as much money as we can in all other areas of our life-
I'm not asking for charity just the ins and outs of everyone's lecky bills please
(no gas for us)

OP posts:
LittleOverwhelmed · 07/11/2020 08:51

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ at the poster's request.

Original poster
upsetandang · 07/11/2020 08:57

its a council place so its very very old and dented and the one in the bedroom doesn't work at all.
pretty much everything is old and dented or doesn't work Blush

OP posts:
JanewaysBun · 07/11/2020 08:57

My grandparents had them and I had them for a while. I hate them as they run out of heat and you get freezing again. Sorry to hear your troubles, would buying a little fan heater be more efficient?

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Original poster
upsetandang · 07/11/2020 09:00

oh thats sounds terrible! but I can't believe you'd trust dh with viewing houses!
ah see i would love to move but it would cost us an extra 300 for a house round here, and the prices have been going up.

OP posts:
Original poster
upsetandang · 07/11/2020 09:01

we do have a tiny little halogen heater but you have to be sat close for it to make you warm up, im q little worried about heaters because baby is crawling now

OP posts:
Michaelbaubles · 07/11/2020 09:05

Oil-filled portable radiators are quite efficient and I think would be cheaper to run - you’d have to do the maths on it but if it’s 1000w, for example, and a kw/h is 13p or so (that’s what mine was last time I checked) then it’s 13p an hour to run. 26p for a 2kw one and so on. They heat up quickly and give off a lot of heat so no need really to have on during the night - maybe on a plug in timer so they come on half an hour before you get up.

Also electric blankets are cheap to buy and run and very effective. They’re a good investment as it’s nice just to get into bed early in the evening instead and then you don’t need any heat on.

Lazysundayafternoons · 07/11/2020 09:05

We have an electric convection heater and an oil filled electric heater. I'd say it's at least a fiver for 24 hours. I have 2 DC - 7yo is prone to chest infections in the cold and have a 1yo aswell, so we just pay it because we have to, we can't let them go cold.

Bobbybobbins · 07/11/2020 09:06

We had older storage heaters in my first house and they were awful. We replaced with newer versions which were much better but the lack of control of heating means they aren't great.

Oil filled mini radiator might be a good option for you as cheaper then a halogen and safe for baby.

Michaelbaubles · 07/11/2020 09:07

I also have one of those small electric stove things in my living room. Again it was only about £60 and is quite cheap to run and heats up really quickly. We only need it on for half an hour or so in the morning and it’s toasty. Then on half power for an hour at night. Very safe too as not hot to touch (warm but not enough to burn) and can’t be pulled over.

Meruem · 07/11/2020 09:10

I agree with Michael, oil filled radiators are really good. I was once without a boiler over winter and one of those heated the room up lovely without being too expensive. Also heated throws are good for sitting and watching tv in the evenings etc and again not expensive. Storage heaters are crap and cost a fortune.

Figmentofimagination · 07/11/2020 09:26

Our first home was a 1 bedroom flat with storage heaters. We lived there for 2 years. We then moved into a 3 bedroom house. The cost of electric each month for the 1 bedroom flat was more that gas and electric for the house. And we still had a final bill of nearly £200 to pay when we moved out.
I would never have storage heaters again.

InTheLongGrass · 07/11/2020 09:34

Are you sure you've got an economy7 tariff? And is it charging (price wise) properly? Economy7 doesnt usually start at 7pm. More like 10pm when demand from everyone else drops. I'd check the details of your tariff carefully.

But, yes, storage heaters are pants and expensive- just hopefully not quite as expensive as last night!

borageforager · 07/11/2020 09:36

Yeah. We have a rural house with storage heaters, in winter it would cost us £10 a day to keep the place toasty warm.

Original poster
upsetandang · 07/11/2020 09:38

When we moved in we were told about how much money we will save with these storage heaters- if only I knew it was because I'd be so reluctant to turn them on

OP posts:
sociallydistained · 07/11/2020 09:39

I learned that lesson soon after I moved into my flat. Never again with the storage heaters! I have an oil portable one now that I use but I haven't used it yet! I'm so tight!

Pearsapiece · 07/11/2020 09:39

Yeah they're very expensive. We put the hall way one on only and have a oil heater thing for our bedroom. Ds's room has an electric heater which is better for that room as at least they go to bed warm, where as storage heaters have run out by bedtime!
It's the only con of our council flat though so we just suck it up

CleanQueen123 · 07/11/2020 09:41

Must be something in the air today. I've just posted about my storage heater issues!

What you're describing is my experience. They triple the electricity bill, run out of heat by mid morning, and even when there is heat it's barely enough to take the edge off.

I spent most of last winter staying elsewhere with my toddler because her lips were turning blue at weekends and every evening it was cold enough to see your breath.

Currently in a dispute with my landlord who claims that because they do heat up, there's no need to replace them with anything that might actually keep us warm.

Sausagis · 07/11/2020 09:45

ALL Electric heating produces the same amount of heat per kilowatt hour of electric put in. The same as kettles all use the same amount of electric to heat 100ml water. The difference is in how they function eg convection, fan, etc. A fan heater will be felt straight away but the heat will dissipate fast once off, because you've only heated the air circulating around the heater.

In my experience night store works well in fairly well insulated rooms. Mine don't cost a fortune and in winter don't ever get cold (ie they never run out of stored heat). I have one new and one old and there is effectively no difference (despite different controls and a built in fan on the newer one). I previously had one in a poorly insulated room and it was expensive and cold.

I have a 3 bed mid-terrace, 4 people, entirely electric and it's under £100 per month. The heating is a chunk of that, but so is the oven, hot water, etc.

It's a question of getting the correct heater for you. There is nothing wrong with night storage when it's the right choice for your house and circumstances. How long have you kept the heating going for? Night stores used properly will cost a lot when you switch them on - it may take a few days to properly heat all through your house. But after, with reasonable insulation, they never get completely cold so you are then just topping up every night.

Flaunch · 07/11/2020 09:51

Are you definitely on a E7 tarrif? Old storage heaters are horrendously expensive to run but new ones aren’t anywhere near as bad. It may be worth getting on to the council and seeing if they’ll change them. Complain if you have to.

PanamaPattie · 07/11/2020 10:00

We have 8 old night store heaters - but I rarely turn them all on as they are too hot. I set them at maximum in and minimum out - position 6 on the dial power in - position 1 heat out and they stay warm all day. Our economy 7 is 10:30pm to 12:30am and then 3:30am to 8:30am - so it’s warmer going to bed and getting up and then the heat ticks over all day. I’m finding them very economical now as we’re WFH.

RandomMess · 07/11/2020 10:04

Not cheap to but but electric heated throws are cheap to run and incredibly toasty for when sat on your sofa!!

CleanQueen123 · 07/11/2020 10:08

I'm on economy 7 and the cost of my storage heaters is still obscene. I wouldn't mind so much if we were actually warm but we're not.

If I can't convince my landlord to replace them I'll be looking at buying fan heaters and electric blankets. Then moving before the next winter.

SadSack39 · 07/11/2020 10:10

Don't seem too bad for me.. i only use one main one and it seems to warm all the house... dont turn on the others and my bill isnt bad.. and i have got some thermal curtains which help massively

InFlagranteDerelicto · 07/11/2020 11:00

I lived in a flat with storage heaters & agree they are a nightmare. Aside from being expensive, you need to change the settings approximately 24 hours in advance. So you need to anticipate any changes in the weather etc a day ahead. Ridiculous. I got a little oil filled radiator on wheels, an electric blanket, & drank lots of hot drinks!

BarbaraofSeville · 07/11/2020 11:03

Definitely check when the tariff operates and see if you can switch to another supplier. Others might have different E7 times that suit you better (your landlord can't stop you from switching supplier BTW, that's a myth).

Do they have to be on for the whole period? Could you put them on for (say) 6 hours a night? Would that provide enough heat?