Storage Heater Controls

Air pumps used to heat council houses in Taunton trial

A new trial to heat council houses with air is being carried out in Somerset.

It is being run by Taunton Deane Borough Council which is using air source heat pumps to heat four homes.

Fresh air contains low-grade energy and the pumps which are attached to the side of the house take in that air and convert it to high-grade energy which in turn generates heat.

The council is trialling the pumps in homes currently using electric storage heaters.

The cost to the council of installing the pumps at each home is comparable to fitting a new gas supply, but is cheaper for tenants who have previously been paying electrical fuel bills.

For every 1kwH of energy that the pumps take in, they output it at 3 to 4kwH, making them more energy efficient than an electric storage heater.

Executive councillor for housing services Jean Adkins described the initiative as "the way forward".

"We're hoping the system will prove very economical for our tenants," she said.

If the trial, which is due to run until the winter is successful, the council has funding in place to install the pumps in 40 other homes.

The environmentally-friendly air source pumps have previously been trialled by councils around the UK, such as West Lothian and South Norfolk, where CO2 emissions were found to be cut by nearly 50%.

Storage Heater | Donals Home Improvement

When it comes to the bathroom, heating is every bit as important as it is in the hallway or living room. However, it is also a very different room with different demands. In most homes, it is one of the smallest rooms, while the presence of high levels of condensation, moisture and humidity in the air can make some people hesitant about which type of heater to choose. For this reason, bathroom heaters have traditionally tended to be the safest rather than best.

While contemporary designers have created more stylish heating items for the bathroom, such as the towel heater, the demands of the more practically minded home owner tends to lead them to the same fan heater options that have been around for years.

What they overlook is the fact that there are night storage heaters and electric panel heaters available that fit the bill, so to speak. And just as a Triton electric shower has made showering a luxurious experience, these heater options deliver an equally satisfying performance, with a certain amount of style.

Of course, it is understandable that a storage heater would be considered unsuitable for the bathroom. Typically, this type of heater is large and bulky, so much so that their heating output is too much for the needs of such a Small Room .

After all, a bathroom can get close and stuffy very easily when it is subjected to regular family use, with hot water creating a humid atmosphere and the closeness of the four walls serving to make the room that little bit claustrophobic.

Not only would the bulk of a normal storage heater only add to that claustrophobic feeling but the cost of running such a heater would be too great given the actual needs of the room itself. The small, light fan heater, therefore, seems like the perfect solution, hanging on a wall just above head height and operated with a cord to create a hot breeze within seconds.

However, there are versions of the storage heater design that are significantly smaller than those that we are so familiar with. The range of Dimplex mini storage heaters, for example, take up significantly less room than their full sized versions, with widths of just 330mm. That is roughly a third of the size of the larger living room options, and half the size of the smallest heater on the full sized range. The heating ability is also proportionately smaller, at just 850w input load, compared to 3.4w for the largest version and 1.7w for the smallest full sized option.

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