Electrics and gas
Night-storage heaters are still fixed in the rooms. Does the survey switch them on, or price a replacement heating system?
No. The survey does not switch the night-storage heaters on, and it does not price a replacement heating system. It records that the heaters are still fixed in the rooms, if they could be seen. A home survey does not run the storage cores, test the off-peak wiring, or design what should replace them. One row of heaters is not a quotation and not an order to rip them out. If you need to know whether they heat, ask an electrician to test the circuits. Any decision to change the system comes after that, not from the survey sentence.
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.
What is the fuller explanation?
Storage heaters are part of the electrical heating, not a boiler the surveyor services. Seeing the cases tells you they are present. It does not tell you the bricks inside still store heat, that the supply is live, or that every room has one. Level 1 scope does not test services, and a visual survey at any level still does not switch these heaters on as a performance test or write a price for a new system.
If the heaters matter to how you would live in the house, ask an electrician to inspect the circuits that feed them and to say what was tested. Do not pull the cases off on a viewing. Do not ask the survey firm to invent a replacement scheme or a cost. Use their paragraph as the record that the heaters were fixed in place, then get separate advice on condition and on any change you are considering.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Which rooms still had a night-storage heater, and which had none?
- Were the heaters only noted as present, or did you see scorch, damage or loose covers?
- Did you see a separate consumer unit or off-peak meter linked to them?
What are the typical next steps?
- Treat the survey note as a record that the heaters were fixed in place.
- Ask an electrician if you need the storage-heater circuits tested.
- Do not expect the survey to price a replacement heating system.
Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.
Also asked about this
Does a cold heater on the day mean the unit has failed?
No. The survey did not switch the night-storage heater on. A cold case is not a test of the core, the supply or the off-peak circuit.
Must every storage heater be removed before you can buy?
No. The survey does not order the heaters to be removed. Decide later with an electrician's findings, not from the cases being still fixed in the rooms.