Storage heater control

Controls are conviniently positioned on the top of the storage heater for ease of use. Once the optimum settings are selected, no other adjustments will be necessary.

The input charge controls how much heat is stored and output controls how much heat is released. Automatic storage heaters allow room temperature to be set using a thermostat.

Input Control (overnight charge)

storage-heater-input The thermostatic input switch should be adjusted to predict how cold the following night and day will be. The input switch controls maximum brick temperature allowed to heat them overnight. This can be determined by how many hours in the day is needed to maintain heat, how much heat is lost in the room and how high the room temperature will be. Experiment with the input setting to find the best balance to forecast the outside temperature. If you expect the same weather for long durations it is not neccessary to change the input switch regularly. During the day the input switch does not need to be changed as storage heaters only use off peak electricity at night. It's common to keep the input switch on maximum during winter.

Output Control (heat boost or temperature control)

The output switch should be turned to minimum at night to retain heat inside the bricks. Heat then slowly releases into the room making it warm next morning. To maintain temperature in the house during the day the output switch can be slowly increased. More heat will convect out of the heater by increasing output. Output should be minimum if the house is empty during the day and switched back up when the room is occupied. Only in extremely cold circumstances output will be required overnight.

Off Peak and On Peak Power Switches

storage-heater-power-switches Modern storage heater installations have two power switches and two separate power circuits for off peak and on peak electricity. The power switches are positioned next to each storage heater on the wall. During summer months both power switches should be turned off when heat is not neccessary. The off peak switch can be left on during other months. On peak should be switched on only when there is not enough energy stored during off peak electricity times. Storage heater control can alter level of how much heat is stored.