trying to stay warm

Poppycat

Drink plenty of warm drinks too but good advice being given above. Several layers of clothing are better than one thick layer as it traps air which acts as a barrier

Tustastic

Good advice here melaniec, the only thing I would add is that you need to move around regularly so as not to get cold, especially if your work means you are sitting for a long while. Do some stretching exercises then some more vigorous stuff. You can get books/videos from the library with fitness routines and yoga stretches. Also make sure you go for a couple of brisk walks during the day.
I've been known to get freezing cold sitting in front of the PC obsessing with this site, only my eyeballs swivelling and my fingers tapping on the keyboard! Very bad for the health.:p
HTH:)

Whistling_Gypsy

Halogen heaters are real cheap to buy (less the a tenner some places) and should be much cheaper to run than a fan heater - and warmer than an oil filled rad, though not so cheap.
Lots of thinner layers (they trap air which insulates) rather then one or two big jumpers/fleeces. Regular hot drinks, hats, socks (at LEAST two pairs!) and gloves are vital - as is moving when you get the chance. Sounds obvious - and probs the last thing you want to do when you are freezing your bits off - but get up and move around as much/often as you can - just a few quick star jumps or (my personal favourite) wiggle the whole of your body from tip to toe as enthusiastically as possible a few times - not only will it get the blood flowing (and therefore convert warm you up a bit) but you will feel silly too, and hopefully end up laughing!
And that's always good, right!

Poppycat

I think they were tenner at Wilkos just before Christmas.

Cardew

Whistling_Gypsy wrote:

Halogen heaters are real cheap to buy (less the a tenner some places) and should be much cheaper to run than a fan heater - and warmer than an oil filled rad, though not so cheap.

All electrical heating costs the same to run for a given heat output, so halogen heaters are no cheaper to run than any other form of electrical heating. i.e. a 1kW halogen heater gives the same amount of heat output as a 1kW fan heater or 1kW oil filled rad and all 3 cost the same to run.

They have different characteristics in the way they deliver that heat; Halogen radiates heat toward a person etc.

miggy

Layers and more layers - I go for four!
Double socks especially - and air your feet sometime during the day - let them dry thoroughly (they give off moisture even if not sweating, and this makes them colder.)
A hot wash or shower first thing, and a hot drink.
Hot water bottle day and night!
Get your metabolism moving with a walk, unless the weather's too bad. Once you are moving you will warm up and stay warmer longer. It's also good for keeping the right weight!
Make sure you are eating healthily - some protein and slow-release carbs such as beans or cheese on wholemeal toast, or porridge.
Keep wrists and ankles warm.
In addition to hot water bottles, make yourself a wheat sock. You can buy them with lavender in but I admit I made my own - stuff a (clean!) old sock about half full with wheat (I bought some from a pet shop - pigeon food!) and tie it shut. Then heat in the microwave for a couple of minutes. The lavender is optional but smells better than the wheat and is relaxing. When the sock is warm it's lovely round your shoulders or under your feet and retains the heat a while.

member161067

Just stopping to say I admire all of you in being able to brave being cold. I stinge on everything else but not my heating. Like the OP, I work from home and I find that if I am cold, I am basically unproductive and fidgety so I would rather pay more as it means a more efficient and happier me. One interesting thing I read from the above is the bit about halogen heaters. Coincidentally, I was thinking about getting one as I was thinking perhaps it might be cheaper than gas central heating as during the day I only keep 1 room (where I sit) heated. However, someone mentioned it would basically be like for like costs in terms of heat output so I guess there would be no saving.....? Can anyone add to this??

CrabPaste

member161067 wrote:

However, someone mentioned it would basically be like for like costs in terms of heat output so I guess there would be no saving.....? Can anyone add to this??

It's true that a Halogen Heater rated at say, 1000 watts would use the same amount of electricity as an Oil Filled Radiator also rated at 1000 watts. However, both devices are either on, or off. They're either using 1000 watts or nothing at all.

To better explain:

A Fan Heater will switch itself off when the desired room temperature is reached, but it wont continue producing heat.

An Oil Filled Radiator, once warmed up, will switch itself off. It will though, continue to produce heat from the heated oil, without consuming electricity. Only when the oil cools will the radiator switch itself back on and consume electricity.

This means that even if the OFR and FH are rated at 1000 watts, its much more likely that the FH will need to consume more electricity because it can't continue to produce heat (like the heated oil can) without pulling 1000 watts from the mains supply.

I don't know how well Halogen Heaters perform so I can't comment on them. (Do they only produce heat for the time they're consuming electricity or are they able to maintain and output heat like an OFR can?)

Similarly rated (if all are the same wattage) heating devices, OFR, Halogen, Convection, will all use the same amount of electricity when switched on and heating up. It's when they switch off and are still able to continue to produce heat, like an OFR can, that you're saving electricity/money.

So, comparing the wattage of various types of electrical heaters like for like, isn't a good way to estimate actual consumption in correlation to heat output.

Cardew

CrabPaste wrote:

It's true that a Halogen Heater rated at say, 1000 watts would use the same amount of electricity as an Oil Filled Radiator also rated at 1000 watts. However, both devices are either on, or off. They're either using 1000 watts or nothing at all.

To better explain:

A Fan Heater will switch itself off when the desired room temperature is reached, but it wont continue producing heat.

An Oil Filled Radiator, once warmed up, will switch itself off. It will though, continue to produce heat from the heated oil, without consuming electricity. Only when the oil cools will the radiator switch itself back on and consume electricity.

This means that even if the OFR and FH are rated at 1000 watts, its much more likely that the FH will need to consume more electricity because it can't continue to produce heat (like the heated oil can) without pulling 1000 watts from the mains supply.

I don't know how well Halogen Heaters perform (do the only produce heat for the time they're consuming electicity or are they able to maintain and output heat like an OFR can?) so I can't comment on them.

Similarly rated (if all are the same wattage) heating devices, OFR, Halogen, Convection, will all use the same amount of electricity when switched on and heating up. It's when they switch off and are still able to continue to produce heat, like an OFR can, that you're saving electricity/money.

So, comparing the wattage of various types of electical heaters like for like, isn't a good way to estimate or guage actual consumption in corrolation to heat output.

I think the last paragraph requires clarification and also the point about a fan heater using more power than an Oil filled Radiator is not so.

Any electrical heater does produce the same amount of heat for the power it consumes. i.e. there are no running cost advantages between any of the 3 types being discussed. Halogen, Fan Heater or Oil Filled Radiator.

The differences are in the way they deliver the heat.

A halogen heater radiates heat. So anyone in front of the heater gets a lot of heat directed at them, but they don't heat up a room quickly. This is why they were used a lot in unheated bathrooms.

A fan heater produces heat quickly which the fan disperses around the room. However when it switches off there is no residual heat from the heater.

An Oil Filled Radiator is much slower to produce any warmth into a room as the power is being taken to heat the oil. However when switched off there is still residual heat coming from the radiator(which is exactly what it is designed to do)

Most Oil Filled Radiators and Fan Heaters have variable power settings and thermostats so will switch off when the room has reached the required temperature.

However the main point to make is there are no cost advantages in running any of those 3 types of heater; but the way they produce heat will be better suited for some applications than others.

CrabPaste

Cardew wrote:

Most Oil Filled Radiators and Fan Heaters have variable power settings and thermostats so will switch off when the room has reached the required temperature.

However the main point to make is there are no cost advantages in running any of those 3 types of heater; but the way they produce heat will be better suited for some applications than others.

You seem to understand how the appliances work, but you've contradicted yourself in the post above.

The only way a Fan Heater can produce heat is by drawing power.

An Oil Filled Radiator continues to produce heat AFTER it's stopped consuming power, because the oil maintains its temperature for some time, therefore, doesn't need to consume power for as long as a fan heater.

Of course when the thermostat kicks in and both appliances are drawing power, if they're the same wattage, they will use the same amount of energy. That applies to any appliance drawing equal power no matter what it is.

Here's a quote from an external website.

Oil Filled Radiators: - The radiator is filled with oil that warms up whenever heat is required. The great thing about oil filled radiators is that when they have reached the desired temperature they stop consuming electricity but stay warm for a considerable time. They only start to consume power again when the temperature drops.

Because the oil retains heat without drawing power, it takes longer for the temperature of the room to fall before power is required to reheat the oil. A Fan Heater would have needed to draw power to maintain the same room temperature.

This is where the cost saving is. Not the time the heaters are on, but the time that they're off, but the OFR can still output heat.