Cheapest way to heat a room?

TimBuckTeeth

I would not choose a washing machine to heat my room - they are flippin noisy.:D
Also the power supplied to the washing machine is not all dissipated as heat. Even if the motor is only 50% efficient, wasting 50% as heat, the other 50% of the power is used to turn the drum.

With an electric iron, even 1kW or more, it will not heat the room as well as a proper heater because the surface area of the heated surface is small, so does not transfer heat to the air very well. So the hot plate of the iron will get hotter than say an oil-filled heater surface, but not heat the room as well. The thermostat on the iron will be off for longer than a heater because the it is measuring the temperature of the hotplate, which takes time to cool down, rather than the air. So a 1kW iron will be cheaper to run than a 1kW heater because it is not heating for as long.
If you try and heat your room only by using irons and TVs etc. then you will be cold.
An electric oven (not microwave) is a good way of heating a room, especially if you want some food. Most of the heat being released when the door is opened.

Putting a TV on for the sole purpose of heating the room is inefficient as some of the power is being used to produce the picture and sound, a heater will use 100% of the power supplied to produce heat.
With an efficient electrical device not designed for heating, very little heat should be produced. If a TV was 100% efficient then no heat would be produced.

valiant

TimBuckTeeth wrote:

I would not choose a washing machine to heat my room - they are flippin noisy.:D
Also the power supplied to the washing machine is not all dissipated as heat. Even if the motor is only 50% efficient, wasting 50% as heat, the other 50% of the power is used to turn the drum.

Nonsense I'm afraid! The ONLY energy that's lost by a washing machine from the room it's sitting in is the heat in the water that it pumps down the drain. Lets not split hairs about sound energy disturbing the neighbours! Energy can't be destroyed.....so where do you think the energy goes when the drum is turned?

TimBuckTeeth wrote:

With an electric iron, even 1kW or more, it will not heat the room as well as a proper heater because the surface area of the heated surface is small, so does not transfer heat to the air very well. So the hot plate of the iron will get hotter than say an oil-filled heater surface, but not heat the room as well. The thermostat on the iron will be off for longer than a heater because the it is measuring the temperature of the hotplate, which takes time to cool down, rather than the air. So a 1kW iron will be cheaper to run than a 1kW heater because it is not heating for as long.

All of the above is complete nonsense! Energy can't be destroyed and, in the case of an iron, electrical energy is converted into heat just as efficiently (i.e. 100%) as a formal heater. Sure, an iron may turn itself off more often and may not be as good at transferring the heat to the surrounding air but it will cost EXACTLY the same as a formal heater for the same heating effect on the room.

TimBuckTeeth wrote:

If you try and heat your room only by using irons and TVs etc. then you will be cold.

Not if you have enough irons and/or TVs

TimBuckTeeth wrote:

Putting a TV on for the sole purpose of heating the room is inefficient as some of the power is being used to produce the picture and sound.....

And where do you think that sound and light energy ends up? Remember it CANNOT be destroyed and it can't disappear. ALL the light energy you speak of is absorbed by the walls and furniture in the room and is ultimately converted into heat. The same goes for the sound. In any case, the energy associated with both is infinitesimally small when compared to the heat generated by the TV itself.

It's amazing how many people suffer from similar misconceptions. I once spoke to the CEO of a small alternative energy company who shared your views. So you're in good company!

tomstickland

Burning junk mail is probably the cheapest method.
Electrical heaters are expensive.
Gas heating is cheaper.
I've no idea on how the money stacks up, but a gas bottle and heater might be an alternative to an electrical heater.

moonrakerz

valiant wrote:

All of the above is complete nonsense! Energy can't be destroyed and, in the case of an iron, electrical energy is converted into heat just as efficiently (i.e. 100%) as a formal heater. Sure, an iron may turn itself off more often and may not be as good at transferring the heat to the surrounding air but it will cost EXACTLY the same as a formal heater for the same heating effect on the room.

I suppose to be REALLY pedantic you might say that an iron gives out more energy than the electrical energy it consumes - due to the friction of it sliding up and down the clothes !
But that energy comes from the person doing the ironing, so the more vigorous the ironing the more heat produced. Solution - turn the iron off and iron VERY vigorously - you will save lots of electricity and heat the room.

:rotfl:

jay78

What about portable gas heaters, they've not been discussed. What are the benefits of them?

JoeyG

moonrakerz wrote:

I suppose to be REALLY pedantic you might say that an iron gives out more energy than the electrical energy it consumes - due to the friction of it sliding up and down the clothes !
But that energy comes from the person doing the ironing, so the more vigorous the ironing the more heat produced. Solution - turn the iron off and iron VERY vigorously - you will save lots of electricity and heat the room.

:rotfl:

You will need food and drink after expending all that energy... so is it really an economical solution?

TimBuckTeeth

jay78 wrote:

What about portable gas heaters, they've not been discussed. What are the benefits of them?

I assume bottled gas is more expensive than mains gas. Not sure how the cost compares with electric heating.

I think the hazards, risk of carbon monoxide poisoning and fire/explosion, outweigh any benefits

black-saturn

When you've finished cooking leave the oven door open so the heat goes into the house. Switch to a stove top kettle so that the heat goes into the house whenever you boil the kettle.

TimBuckTeeth

valiant wrote:

Nonsense I'm afraid! The ONLY energy that's lost by a washing machine from the room it's sitting in is the heat in the water that it pumps down the drain. Lets not split hairs about sound energy disturbing the neighbours! Energy can't be destroyed.....so where do you think the energy goes when the drum is turned?

OK, I was thinking directly, I suppose it does eventually end up as heat through friction etc.

TimBuckTeeth wrote:

With an electric iron, even 1kW or more, it will not heat the room as well as a proper heater because the surface area of the heated surface is small, so does not transfer heat to the air very well. So the hot plate of the iron will get hotter than say an oil-filled heater surface, but not heat the room as well. The thermostat on the iron will be off for longer than a heater because the it is measuring the temperature of the hotplate, which takes time to cool down, rather than the air. So a 1kW iron will be cheaper to run than a 1kW heater because it is not heating for as long.

valiant wrote:

All of the above is complete nonsense! Energy can't be destroyed and, in the case of an iron, electrical energy is converted into heat just as efficiently (i.e. 100%) as a formal heater. Sure, an iron may turn itself off more often and may not be as good at transferring the heat to the surrounding air but it will cost EXACTLY the same as a formal heater for the same heating effect on the room.

It is not nonsense. Of course a 1kW iron uses the same power as a 1kW heater and provides the same heating effect when it is switched on, but due to the slower transfer of heat to the air the thermostat will be off for longer so it will not heat the room as much and be cheaper to run.

farhad1965

I shut the door of my office/study at home when the PC is on and it gets nice and warm in there with the heat from the PC!:j