Electric radiators haven’t had good press for a long time, mainly because the only types of electric radiators that anyone can remember are electric storage heaters – huge, clunky things full of bricks that heat up in the night then release heat during the day, cooling down during the evening when you most need the heat.
They were expensive to run, got in the way, melted anything you accidentally left on them and were generally a bad thing.
But they were the only choice at that time. When central heating was a new idea and lots of older houses had it retrofitted, you either went for gas, which was efficient and cheap to run but you had to run pipes all through the house, or electric storage heaters which only needed to be plugged into an electrical circuit.
There was less mess, less fuss and a much lower installation cost. But new electric radiators have been developed that keep those advantages but removing all the disadvantages. Let’s take a look at the top five myths.
1. Electric radiators are bulky
Old fashioned storage heaters certainly are but over the last 30 years German engineers have been developing the design and their new style radiators are not much thicker than gas central heating ones.
The ceramic cores are far more efficient at storing heat so they are nowhere near as bulky. They are also designed with a built in convection chamber with ducting, which draws cold air up through the radiator, heats it up and then distributes the warm air around the room.
2. Expensive to run
Modern electric heating systems are far more efficient than the older ones. They are quicker to warm up and better at distributing the heat. With thermostatic controls you can be confident that they stop drawing electricity once the room reaches the set temperature.
3. All heaters produce the same amount of heat
It’s true to say that any electric heater converts 1kW of electricity into 1kW of heat but this is an argument that’s misused by sellers of cheaper, inferior electric heating systems.
The point isn’t whether the electricity is converted more efficiently but what you do with the heat produced. With the correct thermostatic control system and more efficient core, our radiators reach operating temperature within five minutes and can warm a room within 30 minutes. Try that with a fan heater or a storage heater!
4. Cannot be controlled
This was perhaps the worst feature of storage heaters but not of modern electric radiators. Ecowarm Heating’s German electric radiators heat up quickly and have modern thermostatic controls as standard so you can set the temperature of the room as required.
Wireless controls can also be fitted which allow radiators to be remote controlled with a mobile phone app.
5. They’re a horrible combination of beige and brown
Not anymore. The electric radiators that Ecowarm Heating’s clients love come in a wide variety of colours to suit any decor. They can be finished in virtually any RAL colour that you like.
So in summary, all of those myths are just that – old myths. But the original sole benefit of storage heaters is retained with modern electric radiators – installation is a breeze. It’s simply a case of plugging the new ones into your electrical system, which will be tested and uprated if necessary.
It’s usually done in a day, including the removal of your old storage heaters.
Find out more
To find out more about modern electric radiators, contact us and we’ll send you an information pack straight away!