How much does it cost to run a night storage heater?

If you currently own a night storage heater, then it may be time for you to take a look at upgrading to a modern storage heater…

The issue with night storage heaters is that they don’t give you heat on demand, and they have extremely limited controllability. And most people don’t even get the full impact of E7 as they still use energy throughout the day on the standard tariff as they run out of heat from 5pm onwards.

But what is a night storage heater?

A night storage heater charges up overnight by heating the core. Then through the day, it releases the heat that was charged, and it convects it throughout the room.

What is an economy 7 tariff?

Night storage heaters tend to run on an economy 7 tariff. This is a meter that is on through the night, and it gives a cheaper rate however since October 2022 the difference between E7 and the standard tariff is very minimal (due to the energy crisis).

With the new energy prices released on October 1^st, it is now costing consumers 34p per kWh on a flat rate tariff and 20p per kWh for E7 for the electricity they use.

And for those who’s Economy 7 meter operates via the Radio Teleswitch Service (RTS), there’s a deadline to upgrade to a smart meter before the BBC radiao service supportingh RTS is switched off on the 31st March. With this deadline approaching, it may be time to reassess your heating system and decide whether an upgrade is needed to a more modern system. For more information on this, read our blog here. 

How much does it cost to run a night storage heater?

Since Night storage heaters charge up from 12am to 7am this equates to £1.40 for those 7 hours on just one heater based on 20p per kWh. If you were to have 3 heaters on, that would be £4.20 every night. Over 90 days (aka winter) this comes to an incredible amount of £378. This is a huge amount for a heater that isn’t anywhere near as controllable as others on the market. Also, you must factor in the price to pay for the inflated daytime tariff on regular appliances like your kettle, TV, microwave etc. So, the E7 tariff doesn’t benefit anyone that well, unless you’re a real eco-warrior who likes to do the washing at 2am!

What else is available if I want to find something new?

Modern storage heaters are known for retaining heat if they have a specific core and they tend to have much better controllability. Our heater (the NEOS) would cost £2.85 (for 3 rads) and 7 hours’ worth of heat each day. Over 90 days this equates to £256.50.

The savings you would make, by making the switch from night storage heaters to the NEOS, is £121.50 in 90 days on your heating bills.

You can compare the running cost’s of a range of electric heating methods in our running cost guide below. 

Now more than ever it is essential that YOU need to find the best ways to save money as the cost of living is becoming a struggle for many. And we try to make sure that our customers aren’t afraid to turn on the heating over the winter months to keep warm.

If you want to start saving money and be in control of your heating don’t hesitate to call us on 0800 5999 109.

Tags: Running Costs.