Oil Radiators (one room) vs Central Heating (whole house)

lawero

We live in a big 4 bedroom victorian terrace. I have my office in a large 12x12 room. I would of thought it would be more expensive to heat the whole house during the day then buy a 2 or 3kw oil filled radiator just for the office.

What do you think?

Also, how much does electricity cost per unit nowadays? I understand a 1kw is 1 unit which was about 15p an hour a couple of years ago.

HappyMJ

lawero wrote: »

Also, how much does electricity cost per unit nowadays? I understand a 1kw is 1 unit which was about 15p an hour a couple of years ago.

Look at your bill. 10-12p per unit is more the norm. Gas will be cheaper than electric but you will have to turn off all the other radiators if you are going to be in the office for long hours.

chris1973

What about the potential cost later on due to damage from dampness in these unheated rooms?. How does this potential longer term building / plastering / redecorating etc outlay compare with at least maintaining some background heat through the entire house during the peak of the winter months, even if the thermostat in the unused rooms is turned down?.

If you rarely use the entire house, surely downsizing to a smaller property with subsequent lower energy bills would be a better long term decision?.

To answer your question, Electricity ranges anywhere between 12p and 20p a KW/H depending on the tariff, and Gas between 3.8p and 5p. If you dont know exactly what you are paying with your own energy provider then you are probably not on the cheapest tariff, so perhaps it might be an idea to look at your tariff to see if changing your energy provider would also save you considerable money over a year.

Also if you work from home, are you claiming the cost of heating your 'workplace' from your employer / inland revenue?. An accountant will be better placed to advise you on what you can claim back if it is relevant.

lawero

Thanks.

Although still not sure which would be cheaper?

I live in a rented house with 4 others btw.

HappyMJ

lawero wrote: »

Thanks.

Although still not sure which would be cheaper?

I live in a rented house with 4 others btw.

What is the timer on the heating currently set to? If it's on for around 3 hours in the morning and up to around 6 hours in the evening then just having it on all day won't make much difference and will be much cheaper than using an electric heater.

lawero

HappyMJ wrote: »

What is the timer on the heating currently set to? If it's on for around 3 hours in the morning and up to around 6 hours in the evening then just having it on all day won't make much difference and will be much cheaper than using an electric heater.

Not sure. But thanks, I'll check that out!

I would of thought i'd have it on for around 8 hours during the day additional. You would think somehow I could find out how much this is going to cost exactly compared to an Oil Radiator.

rogerblack

lawero wrote: »

Not sure. But thanks, I'll check that out!

I would of thought i'd have it on for around 8 hours during the day additional. You would think somehow I could find out how much this is going to cost exactly compared to an Oil Radiator.

You can!
But it's really, really annoying.
A proper thermal model of your home would be needed, counting air leaks, internal air movement, internal insulation (between rooms), efficiency of the boiler at low load running only one rad, ...

In practice.
Measure gas consumption for a day, or a week.
Measure consumption doing it the other way for a week.
A electricity meter - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-PLUG-ENERGY-MONITOR-BNIB-/190583143804?pt=UK_BOI_Electrical_Test_Measurement_Equipment_ET&hash=item2c5fa3fd7c - for example (no connection to seller) will let you accurately track how much power the heater is using.

The gas meter will usually read to 1/10th of a m^3 (a m^3 is about 11kWh), so you don't have great resolution, but averaging over several days should be usefully accurate.
Of course, they need to be 'similar' days - if it's blowing a force 48 gale, and is -27C, then you're not going to get an accurate comparison.

chris1973

First of all you need to find out how much heat is required to adequately heat the room, before you choose a suitable heater for it.

Putting a 1.5KW radiator (for example) as a sole form of heat in a room which requires 3KW of heat 'input' to raise the temperature within it enough to make it comfortable for all day use, means its never really going to warm up enough to feel warm, and that the thermosat on it will never switch off, ultimately meaning its going to be running, and consuming electricity almost constantly.

To give you an idea of running cost, you need to decide what rating of heater you are going to be buying and more importantly know exactly how much you currently pay for a unit of Electricity, nobody can accurately answer your question and do the math, until you post this information.