A storage heater is an electrical appliance which stores heat at a time when surplus electricity is available at a low price, usually during the night, and releases it during the day. Heat is usually stored in clay bricks or other ceramic material because of its low cost and high specific heat capacity.

Storage heaters are usually used in conjunction with a two-tariff electricity meter which records separately the electricity used during the off-peak period so that it can be billed at a lower rate. In order to derive any benefit from a storage heater, the house must be on a special electricity tarrif. In the United Kingdom, the Economy 7 tarrif is appropriate.

Storage heaters usually have two controls - a charge control, which controls the amount of heat stored, and the draught control, which controls the rate at which heat is released. These controls may be set by the user, or in some models are automatic and allow you to set the target room temperature using a thermostat.

Many units also contain a conventional electric heater which can be used to give a boost in heat output during the day. If this feature is relied upon too much, a lot of peak time electricity will be used and the storage heater will prove expensive to run.

Storage heaters have several drawbacks:

• If insufficient heat has been stored, for example if there is an unexpected period of cold weather, then extra heat will have to be produced using full-price electricity.
• If too much heat has been stored, then sooner or later the heat will be released into the room, whether or not the heat is needed.
• Storage heaters are very heavy and somewhat bulky, due to the material used to store heat.

Storage heaters have declined in popularity due to these drawbacks and the low cost of gas-fired central heating. However, many new properties in the UK are built with storage heaters.

Using storage heaters

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Storage heaters can be very cost effective if used properly. However, understanding the heater's mode of operation and using the heater effectively throughout the year takes more thought and planning than a central heating system.

Power switches

Newer installations will provide two separate power circuits, one for on peak and one for off peak electricity and two power switches on the wall next to each storage heater. These should be switched off during the summer when the operator does not want to store any heat. During other months the off peak switch can be left on at all times, with the on peak switch being used when insufficient energy has been stored during off peak times. The amount of heat that is stored can be altered using the controls on the storage heater unit.

Basic controls

Basic storage heaters have an input switch and output switch (also called heat boost on some models).

The position of the input switch should be changed to reflect how cold the night and following day is predicted to be. In the middle of winter, it is appropriate to turn the input switch to its maximum setting. The input switch is normally thermostatic, controlling the maximum temperature that the bricks are allowed to heat to overnight. There is no need to touch the input switch on a daily basis if you are expecting the same sort of weather for weeks at a time. There is no need to touch the input switch during the day, storage heaters only use electricity overnight when it is cheaper.

The output switch does require attention throughout the day. Before going to bed, the operator should switch the output to its minimum setting. This keeps as much heat in the bricks as possible. Enough will leak out into the room to make it warm in the morning. Only in exceptionally cold circumstances will the operator require output overnight. The operator may wish to slowly increase the output switch during the day to try and maintain the temperature in the house. Increasing the output will allow the heat to convect out of the heater. If the house is empty during the day because the operator is at work, the output should be left at a minimum all day and then switched up when returning from work in order to let more heat escape into the house.

Thermostatic controls

A thermostatic storage heater will regulate the temperature in a room throughout the day. However, the operator may wish to switch the thermostatic switch to the minimum setting overnight to stop the room being kept at an unnecessarily high temperature overnight. If the room is empty during the day, it is better to keep the thermostat at the mimimum setting and then increase the setting when the room is occupied in the evening.

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