Cheapest way to heat a room?

swizzle_2

Hi

I do not want to put my central heating on, but my boys are saying that teh family room is cold.

Been thinking of getting a small fan/convector/panel heater for it.

It will be on when they are in the room a few hours a day.

Need something that will give instant heat but not cost loads to run- also something safe- do not like the look of the halogen one`s.

Any ideas?

Thanks

Cardew

CH is the cheapest method of heating - assuming Gas or oil.

Using anything electrical - they all cost the same to run - will cost in the region of 10p for each kWh. Gas will cost less than a third of that.

Switch all the radiators off in the other rooms.

Dead_Eye_Jones

rig an excercise bike up to a generator and then set the boys going

...or as my dear ol ma always says - "put a warm jumper on!"

pje1979

Tell them to put their coats on

mleonard79

I think you'll be spending more by using electricity for a heater - I would do as Cardew suggests and turn all the other radiators off so just the one in the main room is on.

roger56

A couple of simple suggestions:

Use curtains to retain heat.
Fit draft excluder if external doors / windows are leaky.
Check the loft has 6-8inches of insulation - if things are tight budget wise
you may be eligable for a grant:

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/index/family_parent/housing/energy_efficiency.htm#Grants_and_schemes

but if you are renting, check with the landlord first.

Also look at Ebico for gas / elec, especially if you are on pre paid meter. Ebico are a fair trade not for profit company with one tarriff for all regardless of paymet method - I use them and am very pleased - you'll find other posters in the gas/elec forum who are also happy.

http://www.ebico.co.uk/en/open/pages/indexen.php

Hope these are of some help
Good luck

JonSimmonds

in terms of heaters that plug into the wall, is a oil filled raditor style cheaper/expesnive to run compared to a fan heater, or a convection heater

orlwaysbroke

I've always found my oil filled radiators to be 'reasonably economical'. Set the thermostat to a temp that keeps the room comfortable and the cost doesn't rocket. If you keep turning the heat up and down , or if you turn off and on all the time, then I think it starts getting costly ( something to do with latent heats, viscosity and insulation W values ( )).

Then again - I'm orlwaysbroke...

Cardew

JonSimmonds wrote:

in terms of heaters that plug into the wall, is a oil filled raditor style cheaper/expesnive to run compared to a fan heater, or a convection heater

As I said in my earlier post they all cost the same to run. e.g. for a given output of heat.

Electric heating is effectively 100% efficient, so if you are paying, say 10p for a unit(kWh) all types of heater will cost the same run.

The difference is how they deliver this heat. e.g oil filled radiators are slow to heat but retain heat longer, fan heaters produce 'instant' heat but when you switch off there is no residual heat.

TimBuckTeeth

If you do switch all the other radiators off and the central heating thermostat is in another room then the temperature will continue to rise, wasting gas and making the room very warm, so just put it on for 15-30 minutes.

All electric heaters (apart from halogen) should be similar cost to run, the power consumption depends on the size, usually between 1kW and 3kW.
A 3kW heater uses 3 times the power that a 1kW heater uses, but should heat the room up quicker, so the built in thermostat will switch it off sooner.

However a 1kW heater can be cheaper than a 3kW one to run if the thermostat is set too high or the room is so badly insulated so that it is heating continuously, but it will be just using a third of the power of the 3kW one.

A fan heater can use a powerful 3kW heating element in a small case without overheating as the heat is dispersed by a fan, and will probably heat up the room quickest. I would not choose a fan heater for anything other than occasional temporary use, mainly due to the noise, but also safety.

Halogen heaters are usually lower power, 1500W or less and work in a different way. The heat given off is radiant (infra-red) and will heat you up if not too far away, but not raise the temperature of the whole room as much, so could be more efficient if you have drafts and the room is not too big.
Again I would not use one regularly/semi-permanently or leave unattended, especially around children, as they get very hot.

For permanent use I would chose a floor-standing oil-filled radiator or a wall-mounted convection heater, but would rather use the central heating if available.
Which one works out to be cheaper depends on a number of factors, but the purchase cost of an electric heater must be considered.

In any case check if the house can be better insulated.

valiant

Another thing to remember (partly mentioned by a previous poster) is that electricity is 100% efficient....i.e. there's no heat going up the chimney. It may be expensive but it's 100% efficient.

So it doesn't matter what electrical device you use to heat your living space. Remember your O Level Physics: Energy can't be created or destroyed....it is just converted from one form to another. It doesn't matter whether an electrical appliance is called a 'heater' or a 'washing machine' or a 'TV' or an 'Iron' or a 'cooker' or a 'microwave' etc. etc., they ALL ultimately heat the room they're sitting in 100% efficiently (hmm....well the washing machine does send heated water down the drain and the TV sends sound energy to the neighbours (very little).....but you know what I mean!). If you turn on a 1Kwh electric iron in a room, it will cost you exactly the same and will have the same heating effect in the room as a 1Kwh electric heater. The only advantage of a formal electric heater is that its thermostat will shut it off when the room temperature reaches the desired setting. Other devices may heat the room beyond that level and therefore cost you more than you need to pay.

That means that if you want to save money you should remember that if you have an electric heater on in your living space, then the heater is providing you with nothing other than heat. If you would benefit from ironing your clothes or watching TV or using any other 'beneficial' electric appliance then it's better to use that rather than the electric heater....or in conjunction with the heater (assuming it's thermostatically controlled).

It's illegal in the UK to advertise any electric heater as being 'efficient' for the above reason.