Central heating

Gas and electric boilers can be set for the heating and/or hot water to switch on at times you choose.

Cold weather #

Do NOT switch heating off between October and April even if you are away from the house. We recommend heating of at least 12°C to prevent burst pipes and condensation.

Night storage heaters #

Night storage heaters are wall or floor-mounted electric powered heaters that look like radiators and set using a switch. They heat up at night on a cheaper off-peak electricity tariffs and release it during the day.

Typically, cheaper off-peak tariff rates are available between:

but this may vary according to supplier.

Heaters take 24 hours to produce heat. Some offer a boost button or instant fan heater that provide instant heat, but this is charged at the more expensive day rate tariff.

Safety #

Do NOT put cover night storage heaters: it is a fire hazard and could stop the heater working.

Using Economy 7 / storage heaters #

Night storage heater controls vary but each provides a standard set of controls:

  1. Input control dial:

    Controls the amount of heat stored in the heater at night. Set this to the mid-point when used for the first time. Adjust it as necessary over the following days.

  2. Output control dial:

    Controls the amount of heat given off during the day. Set this to 1 to release heat gradually during the day. You can increase or decrease this as necessary.

    Turn the output dial back to 1 before going to bed. This uses all the stored heat and reduces electricity use.

There may be other controls including:

  1. Timer: control heating and output times.
  2. Boost: permits extra heating at more expensive daytime peak rates.

The following video provides further information:

Economy 7 water heaters #

Your water is heated by an Economy 7 heater when:

Remember to switch back to the off-peak rate to avoid high bills.