Continuous Heat

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31657, 18 April 1968, Page 19

Continuous Heat

What makes a house comfortable in winter ? Heating engineers have recently completed a

vide an afternoon “booster” period, when the Nightstor is automatically switched on.

years as the budget allows, with none of the heavy .installation .costs of central heating.

project designed to answer this question—and they found that it is more than a matter of air temperature, as measured by the thermometer. They discovered that winter warmth is largely a matter of drying out the surplus moisture from the atmosphere: a conclusion that leads to a reappraisal of conventional ideas on home heating. The engineers — a team from G.E.C. (New Zealand), Ltd—recommend a system of continuous (or “background”) heating, to produce the most efficient and economical form of household warmth. In line with the engineers’ report, G.E.C. updated their range of night - storage heaters —a field that G.E.C. pioneered throughout the world under the name “Nightstor.” Although the looks are modern, the principle is unchanged. Nightstorage heaters exploit the low, off-peak rates charged by most electrical supply authorities; the heater stores up warmth during the night, and dissipates it slowly right round the clock. In many areas power authorities pro-

Other “side benefits” from background warmth are reported by engineers. The continuous heat dries out building materials which normally deteriorate through absorption of moisture; and in warmer areas it solves problems arising from excessive humid-1 ity. Other sources of background warmth recommended by engineers are convector and panel heaters. Convector heaters set up currents of warm air that circulate throughout the home. Panel heaters fit above skirting boards or under window sills: these are modular heaters — other units can be added at any time to provide increased effectiveness. Both types 1 of heater are produced to an advanced design by G.E.C., who also supply heaters providing “spot warmth” — direct heat from infrared or radiating models, to supplement the warmth provided by background heaters. Another advantage pointed out in the report is the practicability of building up a complete system of background heating piece by piece over the