Storage heaters were once very popular back in days when the economy electricity tariff was introduced around the 1950s. Their popularity has been declining with time due to the introduction of new heating technology such as oil filled radiators. The oil filled radiators are the most popular room heating mechanisms operating in the 21st century.
How do they work?
Each of the above names radiators has a unique working technique as compared to the other. Below is a description of each of the radiators.
Storage heaters
These radiators work off a cheap electricity tariff where cheap electricity during the night is used for
charging the heater up, which in turn emits the warmth during the day thus saving the user from the peak heating costs. Thermally retentive bricks are used for storing heat during the heat after they are heated by the cheap electrical current passed over them.
During the day when the temperatures are below those of the radiators, an air current is passed over the warm bricks, thus carrying some heat energy with them and moved to the room, thus heating the room. The amount of the temperature required in the room is adjustable by either decreasing or increasing the quantity of the air flow near the warm bricks. The bricks will cool down after sometimes thus recharging once again overnight will be necessary to prepare them for heating your home the following day.
Oil filled heaters
Oil filled heaters on the other hand work in a different mechanism as compared to the above radiators. Oil filled radiators use thermal fluid, which is very energy efficient that has engineered for quicker heating up. Once the liquid is heated, they can retain the heat for an extended period as they spread this heat evenly across all room space.
To determine which heater among the two types discussed above, it is essential to genuinely look at the impact of each of them in terms of prices, energy bills, and the installation cost both the oil filled radiator and storage heaters.
Efficiency and energy savings
The storage heaters have its advantage of using the economy tariff electricity that charges less money for night electricity usage and higher during the day. Since users can charge up their heaters during the night and releasing the much-needed heat during the day can save much in terms of electricity bills. The cheaper night rates are the primary benefits that users can take advantage of thus avoiding the higher day time’s tariffs.
However, there are some practical drawbacks of using the storage heaters. For instance, storage heaters are warmest in the morning, but as time goes on by evening, much of the heat has leaked out. It can disadvantage those who leave their rooms by 9 A.m. in the morning and come back at 5 p.m. makes the storage heaters most suitable for those who remain indoors throughout the day and vice versa.
Oil filled heaters are considerably more flexible with the heating options since they have the perfect ability of maintaining heat around the room easily. It makes them even more efficient even with standard energy tariffs. The thermal energy fluid has higher heat retention though it may take more time before it gets heated up. The longer it takes to heat up the longer time it takes to cool down.
Oil filled radiators are more effective in spreading heat evenly to large rooms or frequently used rooms. It is easy to program oil filled radiators to work according to your daily routine schedule, and further modification such as having accurate thermostats, thus controlling your internal temperatures becomes easy, unlike the storage heaters.
Price
The size of your room is the primary determinant of the price of individual oil filled radiators and their
counterpart storage heaters. For instance, heating a standard room space of approximately 9 square meters, a mini-sized oil filled radiator will cost under £30.00 while a storage heater of the same size can go for up to £290.00 Comparing a variety of these products you will realize that oil filled radiators are relatively cheaper as compared to the oil filled radiators.
Installation
The time taken to fully install oil filled radiators is considerately lower since the procedure is straightforward. It is as easy as plugging the power cable to a socket on the wall and you are there enjoying your warm room. They are more secure since the heated liquid is encapsulated inside thus no chances of leaking.
On the other hand, the storage heaters require a professional installing service since wiring must be done correctly. Connecting only to the nighttime electricity circuit will ensure that your property is saving your electricity bills.
Due to the bricks used in making these heaters makes them bulkier and more cumbersome thus transport is also a challenging issue. Therefore, you may require a second person to help you carry it to your home.
Summary
From the above analysis storage heaters have some advantages aspects though not desirable to many people due to their odd mode or operation, especially at the modern lifestyle. For instance, charging them overnight can be disturbing since in case of a technical fault.
Moreover, they are not very useful in heat distribution across a large room. Storage heaters are no longer fashionable to many people in the current digital lifestyle. Although they have maybe more efficient when using a suitable electricity tariff.
Oil filled radiators require no specialist knowledge for installation and can be moved throughout a house. They are very flexible and easy to install, thus keeping your other unseen costs such as transportation cost.
