Often, electric storage heaters are the go-to for heating in homes. These are usually installed to take advantage of the off-peak electricity rates and keep your house warm. The way electric storage heaters work is by storing energy from the environment and releasing it as heat.
Though electric storage heaters seem like a great option to warm up your home, they have their pros and cons.
Advantages
Electricity Tariff
Electric storage heaters were made to save money and make use of electricity during off-peak hours when the tariffs were cheaper. By storing all the heat at night and slowly releasing it at night, you can get heating and make sure you are doing so in an affordable way.
Inexpensive Installation
Installation fees for most heating appliances and systems can be costly. Electric storage heaters are less costly than these options. Central heating, for example, can cost up to three times the fee of storage heaters just for installation. Because electric storage heaters don’t need a lot of complex equipment, they are easily installed, and costs remain low. If you’re looking for an affordable heating solution, electric storage heaters may be for you.
Easy Maintenance
Unlike some other heating methods such as gas boilers, electric heaters are easy to maintain and don’t require much servicing.
Efficient
The heater doesn’t burn the dust particles in the air but warms them, so they don’t burn your walls. Electric heaters also save energy through the use of a thermostat, which lets you control how much heat you want and when. In a well-insulated property, heaters can give heating of up to twice the amount of time they spent storing heat from the environment.
Disadvantages
Energy Loss
Sometimes, in the process of producing heat energy from electric energy, some energy is lost, which can make the environment less warm than it should be, or it could lead to the heating lasting for less time than it should.
Difficulty in Operating
Electric storage heaters are easy to install and maintain, but they can be difficult to operate. Before getting an electric storage heater, you’d want to make sure you learn how to use it.
Heating vs. Storing
Storage heaters need to be turned off for them to store heat, and this heat is released when they are turned back on. This means that if you want to use the heater for any amount of time, you’d have to turn it off first and let it store the energy. For that length of time, you won’t be able to use your heater.
Bulky
Electric storage heaters can be quite cumbersome in comparison to some of the newer electric heating models. They can also be quite heavy, starting from 40kg and moving onwards to much larger, heavier weights. This makes them difficult to handle and may not have a very desirable appearance as an object in your house.
So, What’s The Verdict on Electric Storage Heaters?
Though electric storage heaters can have their advantages, they also have a few flaws. When selecting a heater for your house, you should consider the structure and location of your house as well as how useful or not each kind of heater would be, depending on your usage.