David Patrick of Dimplex explores how updated storage heater technology remains essential for home heating, offering economical solutions while adapting to modern energy demands and environmental goals.
Since the 1950s, storage heaters have been a widely used home heating solution in UK homes, particularly in areas without mains gas connections. The same core principles in the first products to market remain in those being developed today – to store heat generated during off-peak hours, when electricity is cheaper, and gradually release this heat during the day as required.
The surge of storage heater installations in the UK during the 1970s, with many being used in social housing properties, was prompted by a government initiative to reduce peak demand for electricity and support residents to reduce their energy bills.
Fast-forward half a century, and these two aspects remain a priority when building or re-developing dwellings – especially where there’s no central heating infrastructure – to ensure a balance of thermal comfort and efficiency while taking advantage of off-peak electricity. The network of six million estimated storage heaters in use throughout the country continues to support the grid to service the ever-increasing daily demand for electricity. This technology is a silent hero in electrifying and decarbonising our grids, and it has even more to offer in the future.
Today’s state-of-the-art solutions
While the core features of storage heaters remain, the development of smart high heat retention (HHR) storage heaters has brought this traditional technology right up to date with better insulation, smart controls and improved heat distribution.
The most economical electric heaters on the market today are products that offer high heat retention and enable flexibility on the grid, complementing the rollout of heat pumps at a national level. Importantly, they’re also a modern and efficient option for refurbishment scenarios where aesthetics, control and running costs are a priority.
Thanks to advances in insulation, the latest HHR models retain more heat for longer, compared with traditional storage heaters. This means they work even more efficiently compared to historical storage heaters, as they drastically reduce the amount of heat that is naturally lost while being stored, known as ‘case emission’.
These products help balance the grid by electrifying buildings where it isn’t easy to fit traditional heat pumps. What’s more, it does so with a system that uses energy on a different profile, creating diversity in the electrification of heat. This includes properties subjected to EPC improvement targets, as HHR storage heaters can significantly improve EPC ratings.
Reassuringly for residents, modern thermal storage heaters can provide heat day and night, using a single or dual power supply, which means that heat will always be available even during times of unexpected demand. This means the primary source of the property’s heat will always be off-peak energy, but in times of need, the storage heater boost function can draw energy from the peak supply, ensuring residents will never be without heat.
As well as the core storage technology, intelligent HHR options also now utilise smart algorithms to learn usage, lifestyle and climate patterns and adapt accordingly, storing only the required amount of low cost, off-peak electricity needed to meet the heating requirements of the occupant.
With an emerging trend of misselling it’s crucial to understand the impact that a selection will have on resident bills. Any direct-acting heating system such as a panel heater, electric, radiant or aluminium radiator will cost more to run than a HHR unit. This is because the storage capability allows these units to use cheaper electricity, meaning they are the only type of electric heater recognised in SAP to be up to 27% cheaper to run than a standard storage heater system and up to 47% cheaper to run than the direct electric systems listed above.
Specialist tariff access
Furthering the benefits of storing up off-peak energy to be used on demand throughout the day, Dimplex has partnered with British Gas to launch a new tariff, the UK’s most advanced electric storage heating tariff for use with Dimplex Quantum storage heaters.
The tariff is a first-of-its-kind, it can offer lower rates than typical Economy 7 tariffs thanks to the heaters’ capability to charge when electricity costs are lowest on the grid.
Designed, developed, and manufactured in the UK, the heaters intelligently communicate with British Gas, who charge them up with low-cost electricity when it’s available on the grid. This cheap electricity can be intelligently stored as heat, which not only helps consumers to lower their bills but can also provide flexibility to the UK’s energy system as we continue to decarbonise our national energy infrastructure and transition towards Net Zero.
David Patrick is head of specification marketing at Dimplex