calculating the cost of a convector heater

jetplane

Hi Im hoping someone can help me with how to calculate the cost of using our convector heater. It is 1700 - 2000 watt and has 3 settings, the third one being a fan heater. We bought this to keep in our extention which is rarely used, the room has a radiator but is always cold due to flat roof etc.

We currently have a guest staying in this room indefinately and they are using the convector heater for long periods. It has a thermostat and is currently being used on the first setting, keeping the room at 18 -21 degrees. Without this heater the room drops to 15 during the day and 12 degrees at night.

I know I sound mean but last night I couldn't sleep for worrying about our electric bill. Our tariff is fixed until next year so I'm thinking it will not be until then that I find out.

I have looked online but have confused myself as the calculations refer to using it constantly and that the thermostat will switch it off. I have looked on the forums where the consensus seems to be that they use a huge amount of electric. Other than saying to the person keep it off for 24hours (and freeze your bits off) so that I can check my meter I don't know what to do.

I have thought of turning it off when they go out and back on when they're due in but this might not be cost effective. And I look like a demented scrooge. They are having a difficult enough time as it is without finding me sniping across the floor to turn the switch off :rotfl:

Thanks in anticipation.

Cardew

That really is a 'how long is a piece of string question'.

The maximum setting of 2,000 watts is 2kWh per hour so if the thermostat didn't cut in, that would cost about 20p to 22p an hour(depending on what you pay for Tier 2 electricity)..

Having it on a low setting or a high setting might not make any difference to the running cost. i.e. on a 1kW setting it might run continuously(costing 10p/11p an hour). If that is sufficient to keep the room at the desired temperature, having it at 2kW would mean it would only run 50% of the time and cost the same.

However, how much heat is required, and hence cost, depends on several unknown factors. Desired temperature, size of room, insulation etc.

Richie-from-the-Boro

jetplane wrote: »

Hi Im hoping someone can help me with how to calculate the cost of using our convector heater. It is 1700 - 2000 watt and has 3 settings, the third one being a fan heater. We bought this to keep in our extension which is rarely used, the room has a radiator but is always cold due to flat roof etc.

We currently have a guest staying in this room indefinitely and they are using the convector heater for long periods. It has a thermostat and is currently being used on the first setting, keeping the room at 18 -21 degrees. Without this heater the room drops to 15 during the day and 12 degrees at night.

I know I sound mean but last night I couldn't sleep for worrying about our electric bill. Our tariff is fixed until next year so I'm thinking it will not be until then that I find out.

If you have a 1.7kW heater at 10p per kWh running for a month [740 hours ] will cost in excess of £100pm.

I have looked online but have confused myself as the calculations refer to using it constantly and that the thermostat will switch it off. I have looked on the forums where the consensus seems to be that they use a huge amount of electric. Other than saying to the person keep it off for 24hours (and freeze your bits off) so that I can check my meter I don't know what to do.

I have thought of turning it off when they go out and back on when they're due in but this might not be cost effective. And I look like a demented scrooge. They are having a difficult enough time as it is without finding me sniping across the floor to turn the switch off :rotfl:

Thanks in anticipation.

If you tell the group the kWh price you pay, someone will work it out for you .. .. meanwhile .. ..

- if you have a 1.7kW [7.391 Amps] heater
- running for [740 hours] a month
- that's 1264.8kWh at 10p per kWh
- it will cost over £126.48 per month

Now the cycling of the thermostat, I've no idea, if however the uninsulated room / extension has a radiator which is permanently cold I can only assume the hoped for benefit of the thermostat will be very very small and the electric heater at the 1.7 setting will be semi-permanently at that setting.

Anyone's guess.

jetplane

Thank you I know I can not have a definitive answer but you have both explained it in much more simple terms than I could find online. I know there are too many variables and I have no idea how often the thermostat clicks in as I'm not in the room.

We pay 8.96p per kwh so I need to estimate the hours that it is running. I didn't dawn on me that 1kw may run twice as long as 2kw.

I do know that when it is on my electric meter light flashes faster. I don't know where these estimates online of 1p a minute come from.

HappyMJ

1p a minute? Who estimated that? Can you link to that site? That's nearly impossible. The closest I can get is using using Ebico's E7 day rate of 17.777p per unit (https://www.ebico.org.uk/products-and-prices/equipower-prices?regid=11) and a 3kw heater set on maximum but you wouldn't want to be on that tariff using peak rate electric heating too much.

[Deleted User]

Hi,

jetplane wrote: »

I don't know where these estimates online of 1p a minute come from.

1p a minute seems cheap, but that's 60p an hour, which is about 6/7 kwh at your price, not cheap.

Cardew

I suspect the OP means these adverts for heaters which say 'heat your room for 1p an hour with this super efficient heater'. (the minute being a mistake!)

Neil_Jones

The halogen heaters are almost always flogged off on major shopping outlets as being cheap to run and tend to attract claims of costing peanuts to run. Which might be true only if you use it on the lowest setting and switch it off for most of the hour

HappyMJ

Neil_Jones wrote: »

The halogen heaters are almost always flogged off on major shopping outlets as being cheap to run and tend to attract claims of costing peanuts to run. Which might be true only if you use it on the lowest setting and switch it off for most of the hour

Yes they are cheap to run on the one bar setting @ 350W they also have 700W or 1050W settings. 350W will keep one person moderately warm and on the right 10p per unit tariff that's only 3.5p per hour. Useless for a family home or if you feel the cold and occasionally move from the space in front of the heater.

jetplane

This is the first chance I've had to check back in. Cardew is correct I meant per hour and it must have been an advert. oops I was too tired not enough sleep worrying about my leccy bill.

macman

Why don't you just check your meter with it switched on for a hour and everything else switched off? That will tell you exactly what it's costing. You don't have to wait for any bills.