Storage Heaters

[Paul]

I work for a small organisation that wants to renew 3 storage heaters. They have asked me to find out about what would be appropriate and where to buy.

Is this the right place to ask, or is there a more appropriate newsgroup?

The three rooms to be heated are;

Training room 43.7sq metres 2 outside walls Lecture room 45.13sq metres 1 outside wall Common room/Kitchen 52.1sq metres 1 outside wall

Would there be any point in using a heating consultancy or would that be overkill for a small organisation?

No SPAM from suppliers please.

[Rick Dipper]

Most good plumbers merchants will have a magic dial thing that you put in the room size and the likes and it tellys to the heat output required.

I guess sombody will have a webpage that does the same thing.

Rick

[TonyK]

From practical experience a 3Kw will take the chill off a draft free room of about 25-30 sq.m but won't heat it as such.

[Owain]

"Paul" wrote | I work for a small organisation that wants to renew 3 storage | heaters. They have asked me to find out about what would be | appropriate

If the existing storage heaters are adequate (ie the rooms are warm enough) then buy three new ones of the same kW rating as the old ones.

| and where to buy.

Probably your local electrical wholesalers. Storage heaters are heavy, so transport costs add up if you buy distantly.

If the rooms are only used infrequently then storage heating is probably not the best method; look at a combination of radiant and fan heaters. If the existing heating is not adequate then more info on the type of building construction and the heat losses is required.

If there is a major refurbishment then off-peak underfloor heating can be effective; the floor screed is used as the thermal store.

Owain

[Set Square]

When you say 'renew', do you mean that there are storage heaters there at the moment? If so, why are they being renewed - are they broken, or do you want new ones with more control options?

The information given above is insufficient for working out heat losses without knowing a lot more about the construction of the building. If you want to do it rigorously, download a heatloss calculation program from a radiator supplier such as Barlo.

Otherwise, if the existing ones provide an adequate amount of heat, base the capacity of the new ones on these. But make sure that the new ones have adjustable flaps for controlling the rate at which heat is given out.

[Malcolm Race]

Do you have a gas supply? With outside walls you could use balanced flue convectors which can be controlled by a time clock and thermostat. We have commercially sized units in two church halls which are very effective and warm up in about 20 mins.

Malcolm

[Paul]

Thanks for the replies so far.

There is a storage heater in the Common Room/Kitchen and a broken one in the Training Room (don't know what's in the Lecture room, and I'm home now til Jan 4, so can't go and look).

We've discovered that they both contain asbestos, and that's why they're being replaced. Now that you've asked that question, I'm wondering, is the asbestos an integral part necessary for them to work, or is there an asbestos substitute solution.

The building is old (it's rented) and with only single glazing. The rooms are used frequently. The training room (broken storage heater) is currently being heated (inadequately) with 2 electric stand up heaters (sorry don't know what they are) and a fan heater.

[Owain]

"Paul" wrote | We've discovered that they both contain asbestos, and that's why | they're being replaced. Now that you've asked that question, | I'm wondering, is the asbestos an integral part necessary for | them to work, or is there an asbestos substitute solution.

Asbestos will be used as thermal insulation so the heat stays stored in the heater to be slowly released during the following day. Modern heaters will use an alternative, but I can't see there being a substitute retrofittable to older heaters. There is no requirement to replace asbestos AFAIK, provided it is contained safely.

You can see storage heaters on the tlc website

Owain

[N. Thornton]

they're

Asbtestos comes in white blue and brown varieties, which are different substances, and as loose fibre or in hard sheet. The rigid sheets are in fact cement sheets with asbestos fibre reinforcement.

White is safe in all its forms, it is a very different substance to the other fibres of the same name. The 1980s scare studies failed to adequately distinguish between the different substances all called asbestos. Blue and brown are a real danger if loose, but are bound effectively by cement, though only as long as its not disintegrating.

90% of all asbestos produced was white, aka chrysotile.

So the odds are high that you wont need to replace anything from a safety point of view - though not 100%, you will need to determine that. But you will presumably need a CAW report.

For a report based on scientific detail rather than hype:

the site giving info about procedures and CAW reports: The building is old (it's rented) and with only single glazing. The rooms

The building construction type makes a big difference too: cavity vs solid walls, cavity insulated or not, brick vs wood shack etc. Also leaded, single glazed or dg windows, loft insulation, etc. Repetitive opening of doors in heavily used buildings also changes things.

NT