portable heating

pam.g

Just built a little office in the corner of the garage (it has walls!!) but no source of heat. What would be the most efficient and cost-effective independent source of heating. I've put in one of those wheelie oil-filled radiators which is reasonably warm but is electric and our electricity bills are already astronomical:eek:. Can anyone offer advice please?
Pam

paceinternet

At the bottom of this page:
http://www.heatandplumb.com/acatalog/Radiators_and_Towel_Rails.html
is a calculator to find out what heat is required for your room.
Consider working out how many kw is needed and multiply by the number of hours a week that it will be needed to be on, then multiply by your electricity rate at about 11 p per kwh.
Cost per week for your oil filled radiator = x
Multiply by how many weeks per year it might need heating, say 30 ?

Now you can make a judgment if it is worth spending some capital to reduce that cost. Example, extend your gas fired central heating into the office, or install an air source heat pump which may cost about one third of the std electrical heater to run.

Example: Say your oil filled radiator uses 3 kw for 8 hours a day for 5 days a week for 30 weeks a year at 11p per kwh. This will cost you £396 per year.
An air conditioning type split heat pump would save you £264 per year and cost £500-£600 to install. Just over 2 years to pay back the investment (without any price increases) and you would have the option to use the cooling if it was really hot in summer (at a cost).
The gas central heating running cost would make similar savings, so if you could have it extended to the new office with suitable controls to prevent it heating the rest of the house unnecessarily, then that could also be an option.

pam.g

Thanks for this. I'll do my sums!
I omitted to say that the garage is some 30 yards from the house and therefore unreachable by the existing gas central heating system. I think that any outlay is going to be a non-starter, so portable/independent seems to be the way forward. I've looked at some of the new generation of calor gas heaters which look really nice and are efficient, but suppliers still admit that they give off approx. 1 1/2 litres of moisture per hour of use and in such a small confined area, this is a no no. I suppose that the small oil radiators are as good as anything as long as they have a thermostat which can be set to come on and off, wouldn't you agree?
Pam

Cardew

pam.g wrote: »

Thanks for this. I'll do my sums!
I omitted to say that the garage is some 30 yards from the house and therefore unreachable by the existing gas central heating system. I think that any outlay is going to be a non-starter, so portable/independent seems to be the way forward. I've looked at some of the new generation of calor gas heaters which look really nice and are efficient, but suppliers still admit that they give off approx. 1 1/2 litres of moisture per hour of use and in such a small confined area, this is a no no. I suppose that the small oil radiators are as good as anything as long as they have a thermostat which can be set to come on and off, wouldn't you agree?
Pam

Unless you go for a heat pump as suggested above, it doesn't matter what form of electrical heating you use as they all give EXACTLY the same amount of heat for money

All forms of electrical heating(including Granny's old 1/2/3 bar electrical fire) are 100% efficient, however their charachteristics for delivering the heat differ - instant heat but no residual heat, or vice versa.

Some people prefer to use the radiant type heaters which direct the heat at the occupant.