whats cheaper to run in stand alone radiators?

Helen_Morgans

We have two old (15years +) flat oil filled radiators that we use to heat our childrens rooms during winter, they're cheaper to run than storeage heaters, but i am wondering if the more modern oil free ones shaped like a heat sync (dunno what else to describe them as) would be cheaper to run? they're cheaper to buy at this time of year and I'd like to know if they're a good investment.
The ones I'm looking at are 1.5kw, but i have no idea what wattage the flat ones we have are...
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks x

Cardew

It makes absolutely no difference how old, or how new, your electrical heaters, they all produce exactly the same amount of heat for the same cost.

A lot of modern electrical heating systems, costing loads of money to purchase, imply in their adverts they are more efficient - they ain't!!

£10 fan heaters, £20 oil filled radiators and your Granny's old 1/2/3/ bar heaters produce as much heat for your ££££s as these fancy hyped up heating systems costing £hundreds or even £thousands.

Stick with your present heaters.

Helen_Morgans

Thanks! looks like you may have saved up £40 odd... glad it doesn't make a difference - a little gutted that i can't shave a few more £££'s off my winter bills...
Saying that may invest in just one of those heaters as last year we relied on our open fire being backed up by a storage heater, maybe a radiator we have total control over would be better.... timer plug too...

penrhyn

I'd just add that its a good idea to have a thermometer in the room so you can optimise the radiator's thermostat setting. Plug in timers as you mention are a good idea too.
Thermal linings on the curtains work well.
I'm sure you used to be able to get combined timer and thermostat plug in units but havn't seen any for ages, looks like a job for Google.

Can't find one that does both but this was the idea.
http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Main_Index/Heating_Index/Therm_1/index.html?source=adwords&kw=plug%20in%20thermostat&gclid=CK2_3Mio1qECFcOX2AodMUPmIw

property.advert

The only thing is that water or oil filled heaters, such as radiators, offer residual heating once the power has been turned off. Air heaters start heating more quickly but as soon as they are turned off, the room quickly returns to cold and this is where your insulation comes in. Providing effective insulation can save quite significant money.

If you have a timer or can plug your items into a timer and you have economy 7 electricity, you can take advantage of that. Watch for the change of time due to BST whereas the 7 hours works on GMT.

Cardew

property.advert wrote: »

The only thing is that water or oil filled heaters, such as radiators, offer residual heating once the power has been turned off. Air heaters start heating more quickly but as soon as they are turned off, the room quickly returns to cold and this is where your insulation comes in. Providing effective insulation can save quite significant money.

.

True, but the residual heating output is exactly balanced by the initial low output as the oil/water in the radiators warms up.

Many of the hugely overpriced electrical heatings systems based on radiators filled with 'magic' gels clay etc try to imply that the residual heat is 'extra' heat - and it aint.

As you say, if you want 'instant' heat get a fan heater, or if you want residual heat, get an oil filled radiator.

The important point for the OP to recognise is that all systems give out exactly the same heat for the same running cost.

Helen_Morgans

Our heating system is economy 10, which is a little more useful than e7, but we still dont find it all that efficient.
Our living room is huge (2 rooms knocked into one) and there is no door off to the kitchen which also has no door to the hallway and back door + stone tiles which makes it freezing, because of this the storage heater uses far more power than needed as alot of heat is lost - we have a heavy curtain hung over between the kitchen and living room.
Due to the fact that we rent we can't make too many alterations, plus the way the kitchen is designed doesn't allow door to open either way without causing obstructions to other doors or the fridge or oven...
We also cannot do much in the way of insulation without it being at our own expence. We do not recieve benefits so cannot qualify for free or part funded help either.

Our bill was huge last winter using only 2 storgae heaters and the plug in radiators in my childrens room, so i just need to figure out the best options for us as far as radiators go. We use our open fire almost 24 7, pay for coal, but get wood free from a very nice farm owner friend..