New Age of Heating

Now we are not having a baby, or walking the SW Coastal Path, but for want of something better to blog let me tell you about our new heaters! (And yes, I know, you guys up there in the northern half of the planet are all sweltering, but down here it's cold, trust me). For the best part of 35 years we have relied on a couple of massive Hobart-built, off-peak storage heaters to keep the winter cold away. The one in the family room is strategically placed and many bottom-hours have been accumulated on it. Jean well remembers how Jo and Hugh would spend time perched on it, de-briefing after school. And it is still the natural place for me to park when I come in.

The old heater in the family room

Not quite bum prints, but you can see where they slid on and off!

But storage heaters, of their nature, are slow to heat up and slow to cool down, and that does not suit our changeable climate well. What's more the one in the corridor gave up the ghost with a flash of flame recently, which set me thinking about the fluff that must have accumulated inside and the fire hazard that it might pose. So after a little research we decided to get some programmable panel heaters installed instead.

The electrician worked hard all day yesterday and completed the installation a bit after dark, and to my pleasant surprise you don't need an IT degree to work the programmer. So now we just need to work out when the heat is best applied, and how much. Used strategically I hope they will be more efficient and even a bit cheaper that the old storage heaters.

Old and New
The old heater weighs a ton and has to be dismantled to move it.

New heater in corridor: so much room!

Smaller heater in front room.
Not programmable, this one, Just for a quick boost.

There. Wasn't that interesting?