Cheapest way to heat a large room?

okay79

Not sure if this is in the right section but here goes!

I am renting a really large room. It's quite chilly at night. What's the cheapest way to heat a space like this?

There's no central heating, but I have a convection heater and a portable radiator I could use, both are electric. I could buy another heater if that would help.

Any advice appreciated, thanks!

MX5huggy

It makes no difference what type of electric heater you use they all cost the same to produce the same amount of heat. Are you paying the electric bill?

okay79

MX5huggy wrote: »

It makes no difference what type of electric heater you use they all cost the same to produce the same amount of heat. Are you paying the electric bill?

Really? Aren't some more efficient than others?

I am paying the bill.

totalsolutions

Nope all the same a kilo watt is the unit of power consumed. It is a straight line curve double the power, double the heat, double the cost, include a fan, more cost no more heat......

Mankysteve

When it comes to electrical heating it all about how it heats the room fan heaters will be every so slightly me more expensive due to fan but it makes so little difference might as well consider it too be same.

The main option are
FAn heater- Will heat the room very quickly, I personally don't like the way they turn on then off again to maintain rooms temp

Oil radiator gives a nice steady output takes a bit longer to heat the room up but not as much cycling of heat output like a fan heater.

Convection radiators are pretty much the same properties but can be smelly due to dust being heat/burnt by the element inside and there not as safe.

Halogen/infra red- This is one you'll hear companies claim magical money saving properties about. Infra/halogen use radiant heat so they don't heat the air in room so much but the give out infra red radiation that heats you and any other surface the radiation hits. Its advantage is also it disadvantage it only heat things that are in a direct line of sight so you don't pay to heat the air as much so will keep you warm for a bit less money)but not a huge amount)the disadvantage is that as soon you move around the room/ put something in front of it and it'll no longer function to keep you warm..

Asbove says electrical heating always works out the same cost(unless you get a storage heater and eco7).

okay79

Wow, thank you very much, that's really helpful. I'm not keen on fan heaters because of the noise, or infra red because of the the line of sight requirement. So I'll stick with my convector and (probably) oil radiator for now.

It would be great to know how much these cost to run. I found this quote on the Which website: "Running costs for portable heaters can be very low. The 3000W De Longhi HCA530FTS heater costs about 25p in electricity an hour to run, whereas our 500W De Longhi Bambino 500 KTRN0505M costs just 4p an hour."

(the whole article is here but you have to subscribe to read it).

4-25p per hour doesn't sound too bad... say £1 per evening, that's about £365 per year. Seems quite reasonable actually. Do these numbers sound about right to you or have I missed something? I will measure with my electricity meter and see how I get on.

And is there anything else I could realistically consider here, other than electric heaters? The room is my bedroom and living room, so I want it to be quite warm in the evenings and without leaving the window open, i.e. no ventilation for a portable gas heater.

macman

okay79 wrote: »

Wow, thank you very much, that's really helpful. I'm not keen on fan heaters because of the noise, or infra red because of the the line of sight requirement. So I'll stick with my convector and (probably) oil radiator for now.

It would be great to know how much these cost to run. I found this quote on the Which website: "Running costs for portable heaters can be very low. The 3000W De Longhi HCA530FTS heater costs about 25p in electricity an hour to run, whereas our 500W De Longhi Bambino 500 KTRN0505M costs just 4p an hour."

(the whole article is here but you have to subscribe to read it).

4-25p per hour doesn't sound too bad... say £1 per evening, that's about £365 per year. Seems quite reasonable actually. Do these numbers sound about right to you or have I missed something? I will measure with my electricity meter and see how I get on.

And is there anything else I could realistically consider here, other than electric heaters? The room is my bedroom and living room, so I want it to be quite warm in the evenings and without leaving the window open, i.e. no ventilation for a portable gas heater.

A 3,000W heater uses 6 times as much power and produces 6 times as much heat as a 500W one. Therefore it's not surprising that it costs 6 times as much to run!
A 0.5kw heater is not going to heat a large room for you very adequately.

ailuro2

The cheapest way to stay warm in a big room is to wear more layers and a hat, even fingerless gloves. Also make sure the room is well insulated, e.g. thicker curtain or a blind to help stop the heat escaping. Have a blanket over you if you're sitting still watching TV, reading etc.

hopefully now summer seems to be here you won't need the heater for too much longer.

Owain_Moneysaver

Cheapest way of providing a little extra warmth would be an electric blanket, either just to pre-heat the bed, or run overnight (if the type of blanket allows overnight use - some do, some don't)

Are you sure the problem is not cold but drafts? Foam draft strip costs only a few pounds and can make a big different if you have leaky windows and doors. (You don't have gas, but anyone installing draftproofing should not block safety vents needed for gas/oil/solid fuel heaters or boilers.)

The 500W heater may consume one-sixth of the electricity of the 3kW when running continuously, but once the room is up to temp both heaters will cost the same to run as the bigger one will cycle on and off.

okay79

Thank you both for those tips. I'll investigate if there are drafts and look into the foam draft strip, that sounds good. And I'll get a hat!

27col

The only reason for choosing one type of electric heater over another is possibly ease convenience of use. As has been said, they are all the same efficiency and thus will all cost the same to use.