Help!!

emma1989

Could anyone advise me on the cheapest method of heating? I have taken over a rented commercial property in the summer and didn't realy think about what heating supplies it had, now we've have got into the winter it's freezing!! I have no central heating and as I dont own the property don't want to have to pay to install it. What us the cheapest method of heating to use and most efficient??

Cardew

Without installing equipment what options do you have?

£10 fan heaters(convector heaters) cost the same to run as any other electrical plug in heater; but any electrical heating on a daytime tariff has the most expensive running costs available. The problem is all electrical heating costs exactly the same to run.

emma1989

Well at the moment I have a fan heater and an oil filled one. Do they cost the same to run?

downshifter

Cardew wrote: »

Without installing equipment what options do you have?

£10 fan heaters(convector heaters) cost the same to run as any other electrical plug in heater; but any electrical heating on a daytime tariff has the most expensive running costs available. The problem is all electrical heating costs exactly the same to run.

I never understand this though read it several times a day on here. Surely a 2kw fan heater costs more than a 2kw oil filled radiator to run (because of the fan) I assume a 2kw convector is similar to a oil filled rad but what about those wood-burner looky-likey things, they have bulbs and fans and little blower gizmos to make the flame effect, as well as 2x1kw bars in them. They must cost more than the rads and convectors. My mother's also has a thing that rotates a bulb, that would cost too.

I think it depends on the type of heat you need, if sitting still at a pc all day then one of those horrible bright halogen heaters is best, if you need to heat a room then I think a convector is good, for a quick 5 min warm up then a fan is best. But it's all personal, that's just my view, depends on what type of heat you like/need.

grahamc2003

downshifter wrote: »

I never understand this though read it several times a day on here. Surely a 2kw fan heater costs more than a 2kw oil filled radiator to run (because of the fan) I assume a 2kw convector is similar to a oil filled rad but what about those wood-burner looky-likey things, they have bulbs and fans and little blower gizmos to make the flame effect, as well as 2x1kw bars in them. They must cost more than the rads and convectors. My mother's also has a thing that rotates a bulb, that would cost too.

/QUOTE]

The rating of appliances is nominal - i.e. a 2kw heater doesn't use exactly 2kw - it'll use something like 1.9 to 2.1kw, and what it uses will vary with things like element temperature, the mains frequency and the mains voltage (which themselves constantly vary). The other things you mention, like fans, bulbs and anything else, are usually pretty insignificant relative to the heating element, and are withing the error of measurement anyway.

But it doesn't matter anyhow. ALL the energy input into a heater (whether to power a fan or lights or anything else) still ends up as heat. So if a fan heater uses 2.1kw (including the fan), and an oil heater uses 2kw, then the heat you get from the fan heater is generated at 2.1kw, and the heat from the oil heater is generated at 2kw.

Taking things further, if you have a 300w tv, then, as well as getting a picture and sound, you are also getting heat generated at 300w. Put 7 of them in your room, and you can dispense with the fan heater!. It's a clue that electric heaters are pretty blunt instruments - it's much better to get a 'free' use of the electricity before it ends up as heat, so when you need heating, don't economise on the tv/stereo/xbox/lights/standby or any other electric device.

Edit - for completeness, I suppose I should mention that devices like heat pumps (now used for domestic heating) are outside this discussion.

downshifter

grahamc2003 wrote: »

The rating of appliances is nominal - i.e. a 2kw heater doesn't use exactly 2kw - it'll use something like 1.9 to 2.1kw, and what it uses will vary with things like element temperature, the mains frequency and the mains voltage (which themselves constantly vary). The other things you mention, like fans, bulbs and anything else, are usually pretty insignificant relative to the heating element, and are withing the error of measurement anyway.

But it doesn't matter anyhow. ALL the energy input into a heater (whether to power a fan or lights or anything else) still ends up as heat. So if a fan heater uses 2.1kw (including the fan), and an oil heater uses 2kw, then the heat you get from the fan heater is generated at 2.1kw, and the heat from the oil heater is generated at 2kw.

.

Thank you

By generated you mean what it uses/takes from source/the grid, rather than the warmth that's put out into my room?

So are you saying I could run a fan heater all day and it would cost me much the same as the convector heater I'm currently using all day? I thought it would be massively more!

Sorry to hijack the op's thread, hopefully this information is useful to you too.

grahamc2003

downshifter wrote: »

Thank you

By generated you mean what it uses/takes from source/the grid, rather than the warmth that's put out into my room?

So are you saying I could run a fan heater all day and it would cost me much the same as the convector heater I'm currently using all day? I thought it would be massively more!

Sorry to hijack the op's thread, hopefully this information is useful to you too.

Whatever energy you take from the grid (in the form of electrical energy) it all ends up as energy in the form of heat.

So if your fan heater takes the same amount of energy from the grid as your oil heater, then you'll get exactly the saem amount of heat. If both are rated at 2kw, then they'll both cost about the same when they are operating and supplying heat. Note that one or both may be controlled by thermostats with different characteristics, so they may use more or less electricity than the other, but the heat you'll get will be proportional to the electricity used.

TheSaint_2

grahamc2003 - that is just plain madness. You are correct in stating the energy use will be the same if you "run them all day", but in reality you wouldn't. One will be more efficient than the other, meaning that for the amount of energy put in one will give you more heat than the other. If that were not the case you would not get different ratings in appliances (A+ being the most energy efficient).
So in practice you would reach your desired temperature in the room and turn it off - or the thermostat on the device would turn it off. Either way it would not be on all day.

WhiteHorse

Rollaround gas cylinder heater. About £120 to buy and 15Kg cylinders at around £25. Several heat settings, max output usually 4Kw. Cylinder lasts roughly 50-70 hours, depending on usage.

grahamc2003

TheSaint wrote: »

grahamc2003 - that is just plain madness. You are correct in stating the energy use will be the same if you "run them all day", but in reality you wouldn't. One will be more efficient than the other, meaning that for the amount of energy put in one will give you more heat than the other. .

Unfortuntely for you, we have some very basic laws of thermodynamics which disagree with you, madness or not. All resistive electric heaters are 100% efficient at the point of use.

TheSaint_2

The OP was asking about two different heating methods, and I was suggesting that they would use both differently and would likely find a solution that fitted their needs.
My point being that it is unlikely that you would run both heaters all day constantly - and if you did then yes you would use the same energy if they are both rated the same for energy use.

Having just re-read your post you also make the same point about differing uses of different devices. Sorry about that I obvisouly mis-read your post. I was trying to make the same point that you had already made.