The cheapest way to heat a small flat.....?

willing2learn_3

Hi all

I ran up a really high electric bill last winter, i mean really high. I was ill with an underactive thyroid at the time so was feeling the cold more than average.....in fact i was freezing even with the heating on. Hopefully i will be better this yeear as it's being treated now.

However i had a conversation with a stranger recently and he mentioned a heater that you can use that is really cheap to run. I cannot remember - i don't think it was a parafin heater because they scare me and i'd have remembered.....but i think it was something similar.

Really i'm posting here to seek out ideas for heating up my flat once it starts getting cold. I don't wish to use the heating system i've got in the flat at all if i can help it, i don't understand it and it ran up a huge bill before. (I rent a flat at the moment so don't have much choice as to what heating is installed but it's an old dimplex heater - i've had loads of advice on how to use them and when i've followed it the bill shot up!)

thanks for any views/comments

:beer:

willing2learn_3

a friend mentioned a heater that is used for tents when camping. Said it would be about £5 to run per fortnight/three weeks......

I will look into that and if i find something will post it here :-)

Cardew

Any form of electrical heater gives out exactly the same amount of heat for the same running cost. So there are no magic solutions!!!

If your dimplex heater is a storage heater and you have an Economy 7 tariff you should probably use that heater.

kitekat

Halogen heaters are meant to be cheap to run.

willing2learn_3

Thanks guys! Actually 'halogen' is ringing a bell.....

Cardew

kitekat wrote: »

Halogen heaters are meant to be cheap to run.

Only because they are generally low powered and do not give out much heat.

A 1kW halogen heater, will give out exactly the same amount of heat as a 1kW fan heater/oil filled radiator/1 bar fire and cost exactly the same to run.

The advantage of halogen heaters is that they direct heat in a 'beam' rather than heat the whole room. This is why they are good for someone, say, sitting at a bench in a garage. They get the warmth, but the garage stays cold.

jimexbox

I would recommend a thick woolly cardigan. You should try and conserve as much of you body heat as possible. As long as you are warm, the ambient air temperature is irrelevant. Also use a summer quilt in the evenings while watching TV, you simply don't need to run the heating, gas or electric all evening till bedtime.

EdInvestor

Calor gas heaters are cheap to run and powerful.Make sure your flat is well ventilated.

http://www.lpg-portable-heaters.co.uk/

amtrakuk

Cardew wrote: »

Only because they are generally low powered and do not give out much heat.

A 1kW halogen heater, will give out exactly the same amount of heat as a 1kW fan heater/oil filled radiator/1 bar fire and cost exactly the same to run.

The advantage of halogen heaters is that they direct heat in a 'beam' rather than heat the whole room. This is why they are good for someone, say, sitting at a bench in a garage. They get the warmth, but the garage stays cold.

Have we dusted off Grannys Electric Bar fire again Cardew

willing. As the previous person said, wrap up warm, make sure any drafts have been dealt with in the best way possible. Also worth keeping some soup in the cupboard, sounds daft but they do keep you warm and don't take too much preparation.

willing2learn_3

Thnaks guys! LOL! re the wrapping up - i had 2 thermal vests on last winter, t shirts and two jumpers at times - i amaze my friends/family with how cold i am. This winter i should be a bit better as my thyroid issue is being treated. I do keep fit, it's not a fitness thing. My mum used to be really cold at the same age, must be genetic..lol!

It sounds like all heating costs the same roughly, so i'm just going to have to work out how best to use my heaters then. i made the mistake last year of keeping them on low all the time - people were telling me that was cheaper. It was the first huge bill i'd ever had!

By the way tried 'thanking' you all but i don't have permission! That's strange i normally do...lol

willing2learn_3

i'm going to invest in an electric blanket though....got to have some creature comforts