Advice please - Renting a house

[jazzactivist]

Hi all, I am now in the process of looking at advertisements for property to rent in the Lake District, in preparation for our move. However, I am a bit stumped about the different types of heating listed. Can any of you tell me what Economy 7 is, and whether night storage heaters work during the day? Also, are these economical or expensive to run? This may seem an odd request, but I have only ever experienced gas or oil central heating and woodstoves. Thank-you very much.

[Oola]

Hi jazz

Perplexes me too, but this link may help you:

http://www.uswitch.com/energy/economy7.html (http://www.uswitch.com/energy/economy7.html)

and

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_7

Also has some links in the article to info about night storage heaters

I have no idea what we're on...we have an ancient boiler that runs on gas and it works!!!! lol...

[jazzactivist]

Thanks for the link, Oola, it has been really useful. Economy 7 seems to be heating by electricity where the system heats up during the night, when there is a cheaper tarrif, and is used up during the day. It says on the site that heating will cool down in the evening and not to plan on a hot bath after work! Eek, not much good for us then. Also, it seems to cost about the same per quarter as our existing oil heating and electricity use combined - about £450 per quarter.

[Rustic Pumpkin]

I lived with Economy 7 for a couple of years in a very small house. We had a storage radiator in each of the rooms. I found it did well as background heating. With the exception of Summer, I found that a back up system was vital. In the Winter, I was using the back up system as early as 3:00 pm, earlier if it was very cold. The only real advantage I found was that the water was piping hot by morning, but the down side is if you don't take your shower before the system goes onto regular tarif, then it costs a lot more to re-heat the tank, or you do without hot water during the day. I did all my laundry at night, as all power is sold at Economy 7 rate during the designated hours. Unfortunately, this meant lots of planning, and unless I got up in the night, I could only do one load per night. Of course, if you have a cold fill machine (I did not) this is a different matter. Naturally, if you have an off peak tarrif you want to maximise the benefit.

Oh, if you do end up on Economy 7, don't think you can warm your knickers and socks through on a cold morning like you can on a radiator. They will at best scorch, at worst catch fire. Speaks from experience!

[Rose]

Most off peak storage heaters have a booster switch so that it is possible to add heat during the day. I had a cold fill washing machine. I never noticed running out of hot water during the day

[Treehugger]

OOOh - have you found somewhere to rent yet Jazzactivist? I only mention it as my sister is presently looking for a tenant for her lovely house in Bowness on Windermere. Let me know if you want more details.

[jazzactivist]

Thanks Treehugger, I may take you up on getting the info. on your sister's place. At the moment we are negotiating to rent a property near Kendal from someone we know, but it is proving to be a rather slow, up and down process as she had already signed up with an Estate Agent who is none to happy that she may have found her own tenants. Bowness on Windermere would suit us better, as it is nearer to Grasmere, but we feel obliged to see what happens with this option first since we know the landlord. Thanks, this is what makes RM so useful.

[Treehugger]

No worries. I understand completely. Just get in touch if you are interested.