If you want to heat your home efficiently, a storage heater will use energy stored when the cost is less, to use during the day when the cost is higher. These heaters are generally made from ceramics, clay bricks or concrete. Most of these heaters have two means of control. The first is charge control, also called the input control, and this will control what amount of heat is stored. The other control is called output, and this contains the amount of heat that the unit will release into the room where the heater is located.
Many times, these two controls can be used by the homeowner, but you can also set them up so that they will run automatically. To do this, you will set a thermostat which will tell the heater the temperature you wish maintained. You can also find heaters with a supplementary electric heater, and this can be utilized to increase the heat output through heat pumps or resistant heaters. Many owners of storage heaters won't use the electric supplemental heaters, because they feel that since they run in the day, when the price of electricity is higher, that it would make operation more expensive, instead of making it cheaper.
If you heat your home with electricity, you will find that it is more expensive than using oil or gas, depending on those prices, but storage heaters make heating with electricity more economical. These heaters don't take up as much room as some other systems, so that makes sense financially, too. In addition, there are some locations where you don't have access to natural gas, so a storage heater and electric heating is a very workable alternative.
You will need to determine the size of heating unit your home needs before you look at storage heaters. If you buy a unit that is larger than your home needs, the cost will be higher to run it. And if the heater is too small, you'll pay more for supplemental heating, during the day, when it is most expensive. If you use the correct size heater for your home, it is quite possible to save money using it.
The need for storage heaters is determined by the rate your electric supplier charges at different times of day. The more people using the power, the more expensive it will be. In the middle of the night, when demand is very low, the prices will be lower. Night storage heaters can take advantage of this way of pricing electrical service. They will generate and store their heat during the night time, and then heat your home during the day, to save money.
Night storage heaters have heating elements similar to those you see on electric stoves. These elements are actually known as resistors, because they resist electric current's flow. When electricity does flow through the elements, they turn it into heat. The night storage heaters are well-insulated, and you can control them with a thermostat on a timer.
In the night time when power usage is low, a timer on your heater will turn the thermostat on. This sends electricity into the elements, and they then heat up the bricks. When they reach the temperature desired, the unit shuts off, and the storage heater disperses heat during peak daytime hours, to save money.