economy radiator company

Philaspden

Well the forum itself seems to be generating a lot of heat [its probably 100% efficient in that respect] but it is difficult to make a decision based on what has been said so far and to know that what we have got is a balanced or fair view.

Cardew

Philaspden wrote: »

Well the forum itself seems to be generating a lot of heat [its probably 100% efficient in that respect] but it is difficult to make a decision based on what has been said so far and to know that what we have got is a balanced or fair view.

Of course this thread, and others, generate a lot of heat; there are salesmen who don't like to see their sales tactics exposed.

I assume you think that the Energy Saving Trust and WHICH are biased, so you won't seek their views.

Well you have read the advice in this thread ,if you think our views are unbalanced and unfair - I suggest you go and buy the heaters.

P.S.
Can you suggest why the laws of physics are incorrect.

daveyjp

As I have said before which gives out more heat? A match taken from its original cardboard box, or one from a solid gold matchbox?

gopk

I need some advice-- I have a large office area 8 x 10m in a warehouse, ground floor, concrete floor. 3 staff sit in one corner of the room where we need most of the warmth. I don't want to invest in gas boiler system. What sort of electrical heating would you suggest? We have been using TWO 2kw fan heaters and TWO halogen heaters. But it is never warm. Always cold. To stop losing heat I am thinking of putting carpet tiles or industrial carpet. There is not much traffic through the main door.
Any suggestions please.

HappyMJ

gopk wrote: »

I need some advice-- I have a large office area 8 x 10m in a warehouse, ground floor, concrete floor. 3 staff sit in one corner of the room where we need most of the warmth. I don't want to invest in gas boiler system. What sort of electrical heating would you suggest? We have been using TWO 2kw fan heaters and TWO halogen heaters. But it is never warm. Always cold. To stop losing heat I am thinking of putting carpet tiles or industrial carpet. There is not much traffic through the main door.
Any suggestions please.

What you have is fine. You have a space of 80 square metres and at this time of year with no insulation you will need much more than 6kW of heat. Double the heating and it will be warm. You need the door to be closed so the heat stays in. I'd put a door closer on the door so it closes by itself. More insulation helps. Carpet will help any carpet will do even cheap carpet tiles or the £2 a square metre stuff.

gopk

Thank you for the reply.
What sort of electrical heaters would you suggest?
The small 2kw fan heaters used at present are only good up to 1-2m.
Will electrical panel heater or oil filled radiator be better instead of the small fan heaters. Another option I can think of is 3kw electrical industrial fan heater.

jamie11

Very interesting. Having now read the whole of the thread I have decided to use these radiators for an unheated flat that I rent out, I do realise that they are fairly expensive to buy but they do look good, and that is a major factor in my decision. Because the flat is rented now and will be rented in the future then I don't have to worry about paying the cost of the energy used. As long as they do the job then I'll be happy.

By my understanding of the comments made they should be able to be set to a temperature and then just left switched on 24/7 to maintain that temperature, if the ambient temperature is more then they wont switch on, ergo, no use of power. Have I got that right?

My flat has no gas and I don't want it, partly because of the cost of the yearly inspections but also because of the ever present danger of gas leaks.

All in all the electric (good looking) radiators seem to be a good buy for someone in my position.

camedowninthelastshower

Hi everyone,

Well, having just spent the last hour and a half reading this forum, I am enormously grateful as although it is necessary to wade through alot of posts it has been really useful.
As my username suggests myself and my money are often easily parted (I considered ringing when a misspelt letter arrived on my doormat claiming I had an unclaimed Eurolottery win and I once bought 2 'Armani' coats from a guy who pulled up in a car on the street- I kid you not- claiming to be from the London Fashion Week and on his way back to Italy- in my defence- which is pretty flimsy- I got him down to £50 a coat rather than the £250 each he first wanted )
I have just moved into my first flat, and I love it but the only downside is that there is no Gas and no possibility of getting it. The house is fitted with 3 thirty year old storage heaters (2 in the sitting room??, and one in the hall) and there is also no heating at all in either the bedroom or the spare room. I have no idea how to use these heaters and there are no instructions and I have had experience of storage heaters before and really don't like them as I really want control over my heating, and the ability to choose when they are on, turn them on or up if I'm cold, know what they are costing me and also have the ability to turn them off if I want. Obviously as with everyone (especially on this website) I am having to be very careful wityh money and don't want to pay too much for the heating system and I also want to heat my home as economically as possible.
Therefore having accepted that electric heating is more expensive than Gas Central Heating, I wanted to replace my old Storage Heaters with new, hopefully more controllable, more efficient and hopefully more effective heaters.
During my research I came across the Economy Radiator Company and thought all my Christmases had come at once (see aforementioned username). I literally thought job done. However on account of my previous mishaps I stuck the name into a google search and thats when I came across this thread.

At first I didn't know what to think but having trawled through the whole thread it has been really helpful. As far as I can gather it is clear that companies like the Economy Radiator Company do provide a well built, smart and effective product but
what I have taken from the thread is that I am convinced that their prices as well as their claims of their particular radiators being especially different etc. are hyper inflated and actually, on account of the much discussed laws of physics, their products cannot heat a room any more or less than any of the much cheaper products, which has been really helpful, so thankyou very much for all the information.

However... I am still a bit lost.

As far as I can tell the electric heater that I should go for is an oil filled heater, as I like the idea of it retaining heat even when switched off even if it takes a little longer to heat up. It sounds like its also easy to get these with a thermostat and a timer as control is so important for me- my first question is: is it possible to get an electric heater that combines the possibility of turning it on or up whenever you want with an element of storage heat to take advantage of Economy 7 as well, or do you have to choose one or the other? (in which case I think I would choose to get rid of economy 7 and suck up the price of a flat rate tariff as I hate the lack of control over storage heaters-ie. heat whether you want it or not and often not able to access more heat when cold)
Also the look of my home and the heating system that I have is really important to me. Ideally I would like a heating system that is wall mounted, effective but also looks smart and has the controllability of a thermostat/ timer etc.. (ie. just like the ones offered by the Economy Radiator Company). To fulfill all of these criteria I don't think it sounds as though the cheaper plug in heaters would be what I am looking for, but is there a half way house whereby there is a make of electric heaters who cater for people who want their heating systems to be part of their home, like quasi Gas Central Heating, rather than something they plug in but equally do not want to be charged over the odds by a company who may be over promoting their product to drive up the price?
I know that I have to do more research and I am not looking for a direct link to the exact webpage of peoples opinions of the best electric heaters on the market, but any help at all from people with knowledge or experience in these areas woukld be much appreciated, for instance even the names of a few reputable but cheaper makes of electric heaters who don't have all the razmataz and guff or what shop, online or otherwise, has a good selection or where to find expert and trustworthy advice and knowledge etc.. rather than just general advice such as that on the Energy Saving Trust Website.
Just to finally say thanks again- this thread has been enormously helpful (the whole discussion- on both sides of the argument) and i am very grateful that people take the time to contribute. In short it has been an excellent way of becoming more informed about some of the possibly more dubious sales techniques of some electric heating companies but I'm just looking for a bit of help trying to track down whether and where there are alternatives that woul fit all the criteria that I am looking for!

many thanks and apologies for such a long post

Ali

Cardew

Welcome to the forum.

As you will have gathered, the lesson that people should learn from this, and other threads, is that all electrical heating is 100% efficient. This means that the heat produced from ANY electrical heater is EXACTLY the same, for the same running cost.

The oil filled heaters, that you favour, are no exception to the above; they do retain heat, but initially take longer to produce heat.

However as you point out the ability to control your heating is a very important factor.

Nearly all electrical heaters have a thermostat. It is very easy to purchase timers and remote control sockets for the electrical heaters; so for very little money you can set up your own 'automated' heating system. You will then have the ability to determine when your heating switches on/off and the ability to over-ride that control.

The type of heater is really down to aesthetics and your pocket! There is a huge choice from firms like Dimplex. Personally I wouldn't spend too much on heaters with 'on-board' electronics(timers/remote etc). If you look closely at the guarantee of many heaters, they will cover the heater elements for long periods, but not the electronic controls.

Presumably you are aware that if you get rid of your old storage heaters, you probably will want to change your electricity tariff from Economy 7?

camedowninthelastshower

Thanks Cardew,

Thats really kind. I think that I definitely don't want to go down the storage route so in that case am I right in thinking that the only reason to have Economy 7 at all is if it is storage heating you are using.

I shall get on the internet today and research more on different heaters, and different makes such as Dimplex and see what I can come up with and post back with any information that I feel may be useful.

Heating is such an important part of a home and I want to get it right and that is what makes the ads that this thread refers to, and other similar companies, so instantly appealing, but the fact that their salesmanship is possibly disingenuous and not totally upfront, puts me off going with them, however many merits their heating systems may actually have and with all the costs involved with setting up a new home, if their is money to be saved by not being dazzled by possibly over inflated claims then that is brilliant- even if i do pay a bit more for heaters due to look/ and usability this thread has meant that I will at the very least look into it further and hopefully save a few quid.

Or I may end up going with the economy radiator company! I, possibly naively, do believe the threads including the ones from the poster who started this whole discussion, that say that once you swallow the cost, they are happy with the heating system installed by these companies.

But, like I say, in general I'm not happy going with any product that is not marketed and sold in a largely honest and genuine way. I don't mind paying a bit more for what i want but if I can get the a product that fulfills all my criteria but save even a few hundred quid by not getting sucked in by nonsense (that I usually fall for hook line and sinker) then that would be brilliant!

I'll do some research and see what i can find!

Many thanks again.

Ali