In this paper, a kind of novel high temperature phase change storage heater was developed that can shift electricity from peak periods to off peak periods to provide significant economic benefit. A series of experiments were conducted to test the heat charge and discharge performance of this kind of heater. The results show that: (1) with high heat of fusion and thermal conductivity, AlSi12 is a suitable heat storage medium; (2) the heat storage ratio of the heater is high and increases with increasing heating power; (3) during the phase change process, the heater can provide a stable heat discharge rate and meet the demand for thermal comfort indoors to some extent; and (4) the heater is economical for domestic space heating because of low operating cost. Besides, the experimental results provide the data for further modeling and optimization of such high temperature phase change storage heaters. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.