Components of night storage heaters
Application, products: older night storage heaters, with a manufacture date until 1984 might contain asbestos in various parts; in most cases free or weakly bound asbestos used as insulation material.
Do you own an old night storage heater? Caution, night storage heaters used to contain asbestos in insulation or insulating materials (see below). If the building material is damaged or worn, carcinogenic asbestos fibers can be released. To protect yourself, you should always have your material tested for asbestos before you plan to renovate, refurbish or dispose of your electric heating system.
- Types of asbestos: predominantly chrysotile, rarely amosite and/or crocidolite
- Asbestos content: generally 10-15%
CRB will reliably test your night storage heater for asbestos. Simply send in a sample of the insulation or insulating material and have quick certainty as to whether your building material contains asbestos.
Our services for you
- analysis for asbestos carried out by qualified scientists in our own accredited laboratory
- short processing time, as a rule 3 days after sample receipt
- court-proof analysis
- regular participation in collaborative studies in the field of asbestos analysis
Costs for the analysis for asbestos in night storage heaters
Analysis as material sample according to VDI guideline 3866, page 5 for
€ 62.00 net or € 73.78 VAT incl.
Frequently asked questions about asbestos in night storage heaters
What are night storage heaters?
A night storage heater is an electric-powered heater that was introduced in the 1950s and 1960s. One advantage of this type of furnace was that it was quick to install and inexpensive to purchase.
However, heating with an electric storage heater nowadays often involves high electricity costs and it is also somewhat complicated to operate.
Moreover, there is another very big disadvantage: asbestos used to be installed in night storage heaters. This makes electric heating a danger even today, because asbestos fibers could be released into the air and inhaled.
How long was asbestos used in night storage heaters?
The danger from asbestos was known for many years before the ban on asbestos. Until when asbestos is contained in night storage heaters depends on the manufacturer.
Since the use of asbestos-containing materials in night storage heaters was not banned until 1984, it should be assumed that heaters built before 1984 still contain asbestos. However, certain manufacturers stopped producing night storage heaters containing asbestos even earlier. The model and brand of the heater can therefore provide initial insight into whether the heater contains asbestos.
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In which components can asbestos be found in night storage heaters?
Various components of a night storage heater may contain asbestos, often in a weakly bonded and thus particularly critical form:
- the insulator and heat shield on the core support plate
- the flange gaskets between the fan and housing
- the switch compartmentcontrol
- resistorsinsulation
- matsinsulation
- plates over the storage plates
- the sheathings of the sensors
- the space between the storage plates and thermal insulation
What types of asbestos are found in night storage heaters?
Chrysotile is predominantly found in electric heating, less frequently amosite and/or crocidolite.
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What is the asbestos content in electric night storage heaters?
The asbestos content of individual components in night storage heaters can be up to 100%.
What does asbestos look like in night storage heaters?
If asbestos has been installed in night storage heaters, it is often in the insulation material and cannot be seen with the naked eye. Therefore, if you want to know whether your heater contains asbestos, you can first research using the manufacturer's information, such as year of manufacture, manufacturer type or serial number. For example, some manufacturers stopped using asbestos in their night storage heaters as early as 1976.
Models containing asbestos are listed, for example, on the site heizungsfinder.de. If this does not provide any information, then the only way to be sure is to carry out an asbestos test.
How dangerous is asbestos in night storage heaters?
Whenever there might be a release of asbestos fibers, great caution should be exercised. Danger exists especially when disposing of night storage heaters. If asbestos fibers enter the lungs, it can lead to fatal diseases, such as pleural cancer, even decades later.
Most importantly, because asbestos in night storage heaters is usually only weakly bound, there is an increased risk of fiber release.
Therefore, never dispose of night storage heaters containing asbestos in the bulky waste, but always have the hazardous waste tested for asbestos beforehand. If this asbestos test is positive, specialists must be commissioned to dispose of the night storage heater containing asbestos.
What to do about night storage heaters containing asbestos?
Asbestos only becomes dangerous when it is released. But over the years, small cracks may have appeared in the material. Moreover, it is also not impossible that asbestos dust can get into the air through normal operation and heating. Therefore, if your old night storage heater contains asbestos, you should have it professionally disposed of.
How can I dispose of night storage heaters containing asbestos?
Asbestos is a hazardous material and certain regulations apply to the disposal of products containing asbestos. This is also the case for the old heaters. Therefore, disposal of the equipment should only be undertaken by a verified specialist company.
The night storage heater should in no case be disassembled in living quarters, but should be removed from the apartment in its entirety by the professionals.
Is the use of night storage worth it?
Nowadays, night storage heaters are often associated with high costs, but this was not always the case.
In the past, there were different tariffs for daytime electricity and nighttime electricity. Electricity consumed at night was often significantly cheaper. This also made the use of night storage heaters relatively inexpensive, as the electric heater was charged with electricity at night and released the energy in the form of heat the following day.
It is true that there are still electricity suppliers today who offer a night-time electricity tariff. But one should not expect large price differences compared to daytime electricity, since nowadays much more electricity is consumed at night than in the past. For example, many people charge their electrical devices overnight.
Identification of asbestosnight storage heaters in by means of SEM images and energy-dispersive element-spectra
