Night storage heaters are very common in Germany. Over one million homes rely on this technology. Yet, quite often users are not entirely sure how to select the optimum settings, and many don’t dare to open the fuse box, let alone touch the controls. Today’s systems calculate the heat demand for a given day based on the outside temperature detected on the previous day. If the outside temperature on the following day is well above or below the temperature recorded on the previous day, the storage heater will have stored either too much or too little heat, which means the user either has to increase the output during the day, which will be very expensive, or open the windows to get rid of the surplus heat.
Easy system control – anytime anywhere
This is where E.ON’s new Heat Manager comes in. It is currently being launched in northern Schleswig-Holstein, which has been selected as a pilot region. “The old control units are being replaced by a smart control logic, which greatly simplifies system handling,” explains Dr Uwe Kolks, Managing Director of E.ON Energie Deutschland. Instead of turning control knobs or dials, the user can set the desired room temperature very conveniently from their smartphone or computer – no matter where they are. If on holiday, for example, it may be worthwhile to turn the temperature down a few degrees. Before travelling back home, the system can then be turned up so they return to a warm, cosy home. This will save them about three euros in heating costs a day.
Heat Manager increases comfort and saves money
It’s all pretty straight forward: The local installation company selects the basic settings when installing the Heat Manager. The home owner can then control the night storage heater via a normal controller over a range of 0 to 5 – in much the same way as with standard radiators. Unlike normal control units, the Heat Manager takes the latest weather forecasts into account, thereby making sure that sufficient heat is available if a sudden temperature drop has been predicted, or that the heat charge is not too high if forecasts show a temperature leap. This way, owners of a single-family home will save an average of about 70 euros a year. Proper system capacity use also allows the room temperature to be reduced by an average of one degree over the year, which can again cut the heating bill by as much as € 250 annually.
“The E.ON Heat Manager not only simplifies night storage heater control and increases living comfort,” says Kolks. “It also turns these heaters into a storage device for renewable energies because they can absorb and store any surplus solar or wind energy and then make this energy available as and when needed. This way they can make a major contribution to the supply of green energy.”
