Dimplex CLXN Storage Heater

Kadoogan

Hi,

I have a flat in which the living room has a storage heater (a Dimplex CLXN) that is around 30 years old. It is pretty basic, just having an input and output. I find on the colder days of winter that it runs out of heat in the evenings, despite leaving the output on minimum all night and all day when I am at work. I believe it is the biggest version of the CLXN model, and should not be undersized for the room. There is a built-in convection booster but of course that uses peak-rate electric which I want to avoid if I can. Gas central heating is not an option open to me. My only real option is a new storage heater.

I have been looking at the current Dimplex Quantum range and the QM150 which would seem to be the equivalent model to my existing heater. My question is whether a new storage heater would be more effective at retaining heat for later in the day, when I usually most need it. It would be around £880 plus installation, so I would want to be pretty sure it would be an improvement over the old one. There would be positives in that it would look nicer, and has a programmer for delivering more heat on a schedule. The most important thing though is that it be better at retaining heat for use in the evenings when I most need it.

Just wondered if there was anyone that has made a similar move, or knows enough about storage heaters to advise.

I have attached a photo of my existing storage heater in case that helps!

Thank you.

bburd

Did the existing heater ever provide satisfactory heat on the coldest days?

Storage heaters are very simple. The storage capacity cannot degrade over time unless something goes wrong with the controls to prevent it from charging fully. The thermal mass cannot change. This means that a new heater of the same capacity may not solve your problem. 

Kadoogan

Thanks for the reply.

I have lived here for about 11 years. The storage heater dates from when the flats were built about 30 years ago. I have always wanted a bit more heat for the colder evenings, and I don't think it has got worse since I have been here.

I wasn't thinking a new one would have greater capacity. What I would like to determine from anyone that has replaced an old storage heater with a new one, is whether they are now better at retaining heat so that I can enjoy more of that heat capacity into the evenings. Now that electricity prices have gone nuts it would be nice to reduce any need for using the convection booster at peak rate.

Jamie Hall

Storage heaters, such as the one you mention, make an effort to balance power use for a certain period of time (hopefully off-peak electric or whatever) with the energy requirements of the space. Ideally they would be able to store enough energy off peak to provide the needed power during the peak time. This is a balance which is also applicable to any other intermittent source of power, such as wind or photovoltaic or direct solar.

Will the Dimplex you mention be enough to satisfy your needs? That depends entirely on how long a period of time you want to depend on the storage. The QM150 can store 23 KW-hours of energy. It's heat output, however, is only 1.5 KW -- and it is those two numbers which you need to compare with your power requirement. If your flat takes more than 1.3 KW to heat, you'll still need the boost as I read the specs.

hot_rod

looks like a basis electric resistance type heated. I doubt a new one would change your fuel costs much. Maybe a more sophisticated control system? To reduce power consumption when rates are high?

Any way to upgrade the building insulation? Window coverings? Upgrade window weatherstripping,
Lowering your heat load is the best way to reduce operating costs.

Kadoogan

Thanks for the replies.

Being a leasehold property there isn't much I can do to improve insulation. I could look into what improvements I could make in terms of window coverings.

The QM150 is billed as a 'High Heat Retention' storage heater which is what I would like. Capacity seems to be pretty much the same as my current one. It's rated to heat a 15m² room (not sure to what temp), which mine is slightly larger than, but that was the rating for my current heater too. As I said before the improvement I am looking for is the ability to retain more of the heat it has built up overnight to then release when I get home from work, rather than too much being released during the day when I am not there, and ends up being wasted.

I guess I could do with someone to come take a look and advise on my options, as I fully admit this is not something I know much about. I will have to try and find someone locally.

Jamie Hall

What you need to do is to compare the rated storage capacity of the unit you have with the storage capacity of the one you are looking at -- that will tell you whether it will help you out. It's in the unit specifications.

Kadoogan

The capacity of the newer model looks to be 23.1kWh vs 23.8kWh of the model I have, so slightly smaller. The difference may not be too important though if that newer model can retain more of that capacity for using in the evening than my current one. I'm not sure how I can tell that.

hot_rod

The actual weight of the two units would indicate if the newer version has more mass to retain heat. I can’t imagine the difference would amount to much. Where else would the unit “retain” heat energy? Sounds like a marketing gimmick🥴 

Kadoogan

OK. Advice is looking negative on a modern storage heater being any real improvement given it has similar capacity etc. Probably best stick with what I have and use the budget on any top-up heat needed. Cheers.