Replacing old storage heaters: what your options are
Old storage heaters can be replaced with modern high retention storage heaters, electric radiators, or a heat pump. Storage heaters still suit homes on a cheap night rate. Electric radiators suit homes that are occupied unpredictably. The existing wiring and your tariff usually decide which is sensible.
- Old storage heaters waste most of their heat by the time you want it.
- Modern high retention units hold heat far longer and are controllable.
- Electric radiators are more flexible but cost more to run on the wrong tariff.
- Your tariff matters as much as the heater. Check it before you buy anything.
- Storage heater circuits are often on a separate supply that changes the options.
Why do old storage heaters feel so bad?
Because of when they release their heat rather than how much they make. A traditional storage heater charges overnight on a cheap rate and then leaks that heat steadily through the day, whether anyone is in or not.
The result is a house that is warm at eleven in the morning when everyone is out and cold at seven in the evening when they are back. People then run a plug in fan heater on the day rate to cover the gap, which is the most expensive heat in the house.
The heaters are not broken. They are doing what a 1970s design does. The insulation and the controls are what have moved on.
Are modern storage heaters actually different?
Genuinely, yes. High heat retention storage heaters use much better insulation and a fan, so they hold the charge and release it when you ask rather than continuously. Combined with a decent programmer, they behave far more like central heating.
They are the sensible answer where a household is on a cheap overnight rate and the existing wiring already supports storage heating, because the circuits and the tariff are already there. The changeover is then heater for heater rather than a rewire.
They are heavy, so the fixings matter, and they still want a genuine off peak tariff to make sense.
What about electric radiators or infrared?
Electric radiators heat on demand, so the house is warm when you are in it and not when you are not. That flexibility is worth a lot to people who work shifts or are out unpredictably.
The catch is the rate. Every unit is charged at whatever you pay at that moment, so on a single rate tariff or during peak hours they are expensive to run. They shine in well insulated homes, flats, extensions and garden rooms where the total demand is low.
Infrared panels are a variation on the same theme, warming surfaces and people rather than the air. They work well in specific spaces such as bathrooms and conservatories, and less well as a whole house solution.
Does my tariff change the answer?
It often decides it. Homes with storage heating are frequently on an off peak arrangement, sometimes with a separate meter or a separate supply for the heating circuits.
Before you choose heaters, find out what you are actually on and what it would cost to change. Moving to a single rate tariff to suit electric radiators can wipe out the saving, and staying on off peak with heaters that cannot use it wastes the cheap rate you are paying for.
This is worth a phone call to your supplier before you spend anything on hardware.
What will the electrician need to look at?
The existing heating circuits first. Storage heaters are usually on their own circuits, often from a separate board or a time switched supply, and those circuits were sized for the old heaters.
If you are moving from storage to on demand radiators, the load pattern changes completely and the existing arrangement may not suit it. Sometimes that means new circuits, and occasionally it points at the consumer unit needing attention at the same time.
Our electric heating page covers what we install. The first visit is always looking at what is there rather than selling you a product.
Questions we get asked about this
Can I just swap old storage heaters for new ones on the same circuits?
Often yes, which is what makes it an attractive option. The circuits and the tariff already exist, so it is heater for heater plus the fixings and the testing.
Is a heat pump a realistic option instead?
In a well insulated house with somewhere sensible for the unit, yes, and running costs are usually lower. It is a bigger project than swapping heaters, and it needs the building to be right first.
Do electric radiators need their own circuits?
It depends on the load and the layout. Small panel heaters can sometimes go on existing circuits, but a full set sized to heat the house normally wants dedicated circuits.
Will new heaters cut my bills?
Better control and better retention usually reduce waste, but the tariff and the insulation matter as much as the heater. Anyone promising a specific saving without seeing your house and your bill is guessing.
- Electrical Safety First, electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk
- BS 7671, the IET Wiring Regulations, electrical.theiet.org
Checked on 01 September 2026. Regulations change, so if you are reading this a long way after that date, ring us and we will tell you what has moved.
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