If you are wondering how long do storage heaters take to heat up then you came to the right place. This article explains the heating times and benefits.
| Storage heaters generally take overnight to heat up. Their timer cycle keeps them off until the assigned charge time. If you want a quick heat then there is an override on the thermostat. |
How Long Do Storage Heaters Take To Heat Up And Can I Make It Faster?
As stated above storage heaters follow the charge cycle of the time of use meter assigned to your home from your local power utility. Some heaters have an internal timer, which must be programmed by the installer when it is initially set up.
Other models have a low voltage communications line wired back to a central timer board which communicates to the outside power meter. Both methods are great, however the internal timer method units are cheaper to install.
The charge is usually set up for an 8 hour cycle during the off peak time at night. Depending on the room temperature the heat may not take a full charge. It determines this by checking the room temperature and some cases outside temperature over a period of hours in 30 sec intervals.
This causes the charge to be more accurate. Most thermal storage heaters have settings to take them off “smart mode” and put them in “dumb mode”. If you want to cal it that.
This mode is called storage only. This means the minute the off peak time starts the heater will start taking all the charge it can get as quick as it can. There is also an override that can tell the heater to come on during the peak power period. This is in case you live in a climate with large temperature swings.
How Do I Change The Thermostat Settings On The Heater
On all thermal storage heaters there should be a display board on the top or side of the heater. Each type of heater will vary in its charge settings but mainly they all have two main modes. Most of the heaters usually have a symbol or letter to indicate the mode they are in.
You will most likely need to refer to your owners manual to translate what the letter means. For example our storage heaters have an A for smart mode and an AC for storage only mode.
Important, if you change modes on a storage heater this does not mean you are changing the set temperature. They set temperature will be a different mode on the display and it is usually the default mode. So after you are done changing modes make sure you look at the temperature setting after the display returns to it’s resting state.
Do All Types Of Storage Heaters Take The Same Amount Of Time To Heat Up
Short answer no. All thermal storage heaters can be different sizes or wattage variations. The heaters also have different amounts of bricks for different sizes. Hence the larger the heater the more storage bricks and the more mass to heat up. This means it will naturally take longer to heat up to its set temperature.
This also means once that mass inside the heater is to its full capacity. The larger the heater the more lasting storage time the heater will produce without needing further charging.
Many types of storage heaters have different smart setting and take advantage to the off peak hours differently. Our ecombi storage heaters have an option built internally to take a deferred charge on start time. These are for customers that like it cooler during bedtime and warmer in the morning when they wake up.
How Long Do Storage Heaters Take To Cool Down
Storage heaters take at least 48 hours to cool down to the point that you can have them serviced. In fact your installer will ask you to shut the power completely off two days prior to coming if they know they have to take the heater apart.
The heaters will hold a charge for 24 hours and produce heat. Some of the larger models with hold heat even longer. Due to the simple size in mass and the amount or number of bricks.
In climates with large temperature variances we often get calls saying. Its 65 degrees outside and the heater seems like it is cranking out heat. This is because the night before it was clear and 32 degrees telling the heater to take a charge. Overnight it clouded over, the temperature rises into the 60s and it starts raining. The heater has already taken that charge from when it was colder a few hours ago. The heat then needs to be released.
This causes an overheat situation in the room being heated. This is also why it is best to leave the heater in smart mode and not pay with the temperature settings so it can properly do its job.
Is Having A Larger Storage Heater An Advantage For Warm Up Time?
Having a larger storage heater will increase the btu output rating and also wattage used. We size the heaters by a standard 10 watts per square foot of heated space.
In some cases when there are poor insulation ratings in the home or drafty areas we will size them up to 12 watts per square foot.
If you take a 100 square foot room and install a 1000 watt heater. We will say the room heats up in 3 hours from cold. If you install a 2000 watt heater in the same space it should technically heat up in half the time. Using the same amount of energy.
Storage heaters don’t quite work like that. They need time to store the heat which takes longer. If you double the size of the output or storage heater in the same place then technically yes it will heat quicker. However installing to large of a storage heater in a smaller area will cause problems or what we call short cycling.
Short cycling if when the heat source is too large for the area which tells the heater to shut off before its done charging. In other words it fools the heater into thinking the room it satisfied.
The same standards apply for other kinds of heat sources like heat pumps. If its over sized for the space it will come on, think the room is to temperature then stop. Then come on and repeat until something burns out.
I guess what it really comes down to it the source of heat and how its designed to work to heat the space.
More on storage heaters here.
More on other heating….
