Can anyone help with storage heaters?

[GeekGirl751]

We have a 2 bed detached house which only has electric. We have 5 storage heaters and are on an economy 7 tariff. Last year we used all of the heaters and just dealt with the expensive bills (roughly £150 a month) but this year we have bought a Calor gas fire so have decided to only have 2 of the storage heaters on and use the fire to heat the rest of the house. After recently getting a bill from our electricity supplier, it turns out that only having 2 of the heaters on is just as expensive as running all 5. Can anyone help with this? This doesn't seem right to us as otherwise what is the point in having 3 of them turned off? The 3 that are off are all turned off at the wall and of the 2 that we have on, 1 of them is on maximum input with minimum output and the other is only medium input and minimum output.

During the summer we were only using £30 a month on electric so we know that the increase is down to us turning the storage heaters on. The most frustrating thing is that they cost us £120 a month to run but don't actually heat the house up at all. By the time that myself and my partner get home from work all of the heat has escaped from the heaters and the house is freezing. We recently bought a thermometer to see exactly how cold the house is and in the spare bedroom (the heater is on max input and the door to this room is kept closed) it never got above 15 degrees regardless of the time of day; surely the heaters should be providing more heat than this?

Any help or advice with this would be greatly appreciated!

First can you read your own meter(s) once a day for a week and see what you make your electric use?

How well insulated is your house? I find night stores only work in well insulated rooms. I am mid-terrace, so insulated by houses on each side. I do find my night storage heaters cost a fortune to get warm initially, but not bad to keep them going after that. I have one night store for my lounge and one does all upstairs (2bed, bath, attic bedroom) and they will now stay warm 24/7 till spring, without me fainting from the price (and it's always warm - I think I'm part reptilian).

Also maximum input sounds drastic. I'm normally at 4 or 5 input, zero output. I crank it up to 8 or 9 input in the event of snow blizzards only.

4yoniD: I'm going to take meter readings once a day for a week so I can see how much electric we are using. To be honest I have absolutely no idea how well insulated the house is; someone has advised us that we can get a free insulation check done so we are looking into this. Maximum input on ours is 6; the reason we have the one in the spare bedroom on full is because our hamster (his cage is in there) had started to go into hibernation due to it being so cold. We tried having it on 4 but it just wasn't heating the room up enough. Out of curiosity how old are your storage heaters? I'm wondering if ours are so useless due to their age maybe

Also, what do you mean by yours cost you a lot to get warm initially then they're not so bad to stay warm after that?

A storage heater is effectively just a box lined with blocks (like bricks).

It will take a while to get these heated enough from completely cold to then give a decent output. If you are using them daily then they shouldn't ever get completely cold and it should therefore take less energy to heat them again the next night.

If you are heating fewer radiators then you should be using less electricity. Are your bills estimated or are you on a monthly DD where it averages it all out?

We had them put in as a new system in a flat I had about 30 years ago (no gas in estate). prior to that it just had a bar fire in the living room. Not a particularly well insulated flat and it was only directly connected to the flat above so open walls on 3 sides and the other onto the stair. We found it was okay for background heat but you still needed a top up from another source in the living room in the evenings.

The bricks in ours don't seem to hold any heat though; by mid afternoon they are freezing cold to touch. We are on a monthly direct debit but I keep a check on the bills every month when I provide a meter reading. The problem isn't the bill, it's the fact that using only 2 of the storage heaters is consuming as much electricity as using all 5. Prior to us buying the Calor gas fire, we would be sat in the living room in 5 layers on an evening just to try to stay warm

One of my night storage heaters would be 2005 I think. The other is shiny and new, and a duo heat model, but neither is better than the other.

I watched our electric usage when I turned them on and they cost a couple of quid overnight when turned on first, but this dropped.

My best guesses are either your electric providers are billing you on an estimate rather than actual meter readings, or your rooms are not well insulated enough for the night stores to work properly so they are loosing all the heat before they get power again, meaning you get cold and they cost a lot as they are warming to maximum from cold every night.

2 storage heaters used and pay £50 per month. Suggest look at your bill it should have a day kwt rate and a night kwt rate also some companies have a monthly standing charge. Look at several compare electric websites like moneysavingexpertcom and uswitch etc. I am sure that you will be able to find a cheaper electric supplier. Secondly, move hamster into another room!. Don't heat an unused room. Also do you have double glazing, thermal curtains, loft insulation?

Also try looking here. Note some providers charge you an exit fee if you change provider if you have been with them less than one year. If you change some suppliers will need monthly or weekly meter readings to bill you correctly www.ukpower.co.uk/home_energy/compare_electricity

If you are out all day, you may as well use basic space heaters.

Storage heating is cheaper as it uses the economy seven tariff, but if you aren't getting the benefit of the heat it's not worth it.

A cheap heater from Argos will provide heat when you actually need it. If you get a Thermostat set properly on one you shouldn't pay too much for the few hours you need the heat.

I live in a 3 bedroom end of terrace. I have lived here nearly 30 years. Night storage is expensive, there is no way round that, but I have got to like it over the years. The best thing we ever did was get onto Superdeal rather than economy 7. This gives us 5 hours overnight, and a two hour boost in the afternoon at the cheap rate. As far as I know the only company that offers this is Scottish and Southern. It may be worth investigating.