Portable heater - Convector or Oil filled which is cheaper to run ?

mikeyw

Guys,

My sons room is cold and am going to buy him a portable 2KW heater for the winter to run overnight. Cost to buy both either oil filled or convector are around £30 however i'm wondering if both costs the same to run from the mains if the output is the same ?

Is the oil-filled more effecient in the fact it only heats the oil up when needed ?...i guess the same logic applies to the convenctor to some extent ?

If there's no difference in running costs i'll prbably go for oil filled as I hear they are safer.

Still why should we worry with the impending energy price crash [don't hold your breath :rotfl: '

TIA,
Mike.

Magentasue

I think they will come out about the same - ie.e a 2kwh heater will cost 2kwh every hour! The difference will come from how they're used because the oil filled will probably take longer to heat up but will still give out heat as it cools down. The convector will provide instant heat but once turned off, the room will cool more quickly. We had a convector heater that had a timer so could be set to come on and off through the night. Not sure if oil filled do this but that would probably be the best bet.

Cardew

Absolutely no difference at all in running costs.

All electrical heating gives out exactly the same amount of heat **for your £££££s
That applies to the most basic form of heater to these modern systems costing £thousands.

** excluding heat pumps.

Mazio_2

As far as the safer unit I would go for oil filled as the heating element is inside and cannot set fire to anything dropping onto it also they should not burn you easily either if you acidentally touch it.
Also look for one that is thermostatically controlled otherwise may just get too hot and cost you even more to run and get one with a safety cutout.

You need to check the heater before you buy though and assess how safe it is yourself..

I assume your son is at an age you can safely leave one in the room without it being played with as any electrical appliance left on over night is potentially dangerous. I would also get a trip switch one of those you plug the unit into as well.