Heating on all day in house vs electric heater in single room switched on when needed

steve237

Hi all,

I work from home all day approx half the week. My question is, what would be cheaper in energy costs:

a) heating on all day, throuhgout the house, on around 20 degrees

b) heating off (or very low) and switch on a small electric fan heater for a blast of warm air every 30-60 mins to warm up the home office I work from

or c) heating on all day but all hermostatic valves on radiators turned off in every room but office and heating on to keep my home office warm (this option would be annoying as I'd be constantly turning radiators on and off every day)

Any idea what method will save me most on energy costs?

FYI, I switched to EDF Fixed till 2014.

Thanks all for any advice!

Cardew

Option C is cheapest

Presumably you woulkd have you bedroom radiators off during the day anyway.

MillicentBystander

Option C for me (pain in the !!! though). My other advice would be to try and get off that 2014 fix and get on the Fixed Saver 2 instead. But I'm sure others would disagree

steve237

Cardew wrote: »

Option C is cheapest

Presumably you woulkd have you bedroom radiators off during the day anyway.

I must confess that I tend to keep all the radiators/towel warmers on between half and full at all times. We have an 18 month old baby and there never seems to be enough ours in the day, but if this will save money (will the boiler not have to work as hard/use less gas if upstairs rads are turned off?) then I guess this is the way to go.

steve237

MillicentBystander wrote: »

Option C for me (pain in the !!! though). My other advice would be to try and get off that 2014 fix and get on the Fixed Saver 2 instead. But I'm sure others would disagree

I think I'm tied in now aren't I? I suppose there's an exit fee. What company is offering the Fixed Saver 2 and is there a lot of difference in cost? When does it run to? Is it as fixed deal?

macman

'C' may be the cheapest, but a pain to turn the TRV's on and off twice a day.
I'd probably opt for an thermostatic oil-filled electric rad to warm the office-much quieter. Could be connected via a timer if required.

Pincher

MillicentBystander wrote: »

Option C for me (pain in the !!! though). My other advice would be to try and get off that 2014 fix and get on the Fixed Saver 2 instead. But I'm sure others would disagree

Only if he has a special relationship with EDF managers.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/utilities/2011/09/edf-pulls-cheapest-energy-fix

Maybe Cardew can give him tips on chat up lines.

steve237

macman wrote: »

'C' may be the cheapest, but a pain to turn the TRV's on and off twice a day.
I'd probably 'pt for an thermostatic oil filled electric rad to warm the office-much quieter. Could be connected via a timer if required.

That sounds like really good advice. Thanks.

I put 'thermostatic oil filled electric radiator' into ebay and got 13 results. Are all these suitable? Any bargains stand out?

If I buy one of these, then I can leave all home radiators alone and just have them come on an hour before getting up and an hour before everyone gets home from work. This should make a substantial saving over the winter, surely?)

MillicentBystander

No, no, no, no. You need one of those reasonably priced Dyson Hots. It's amazing and only £270.....

macman

This is the kind of thing. Different ratings are available, as are some with built in timers.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/DeLonghi-Dragon-TRD0820T-Filled-Radiator/dp/B0006HIYD2/ref=sr_1_4?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1321621156&sr=1-4
I'm not recommending this specific model, just a random search result.

MillicentBystander

steve237 wrote: »

That sounds like really good advice. Thanks.

I put 'thermostatic oil filled electric radiator' into ebay and got 13 results. Are all these suitable? Any bargains stand out?

If I buy one of these, then I can leave all home radiators alone and just have them come on an hour before getting up and an hour before everyone gets home from work. This should make a substantial saving over the winter, surely?)

Lidl often have these for sale at really good prices. And a 3 year warranty included. The last one we got also had an integrated (small, 500 watt)) fan heater which was handy if we needed a quick boost in the morning.

Edit: Here you go:



http://www.lidl.co.uk/cps/rde/xchg/SID-5A47E73C-9B00E6B1/lidl_uk/hs.xsl/index_25277.htm?offerdate=&ERR=noservice