Halogen heater vs central heating

monstermuncher

I work from home, I'm on a pre payment meter (rented property and hoping to move soon, so not worth changing) and I try to have the heating on as little as possible. I am very frequently cold!

I had a look at the money before and after putting my heating on for an hour, and it costs around 40p. The gas fire costs about the same.

I often work from bed because it's warmer under the duvet, but it can feel a bit like being the grandfather from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

I've seen a halogen heater offer on Groupon for £11.

http://www.groupon.co.uk/deals/national-deal/james-russell/3454965?nlp=&CID=UK_CRM_1_0_0_51&a=1664

My electric is consistently cheaper than my gas (about £20pm cheaper and I'm much more careful with keeping gas costs down than electric)

Is it likely to be cheaper to run? The blurb says it's supposed to use less energy, but then has no information about how much energy that actually is!

HappyMJ

You need to add £4.95 delivery to that to make £15.95. It's cheaper on Amazon with free delivery.

One electric heater running will be cheaper than running the gas central heating but you will only have one warm bit in the house rather than the whole house. Cold toilet, cold kitchen, cold bedroom and so on.

It has information on the wattage it's either 400W, 800W or 1200W. At 12p/kWh that'll be about 5p,10p or 15p per hour depending on which setting you have the heater on.

victor2

I'm home alone most weekdays and rather than have the central heating on on a cold day, I use a 2KW fan heater in the room I'm mostly in. It does mean the rest of the house is cold, but I can be comfortable in one room and it costs less than heating the entire house. Heater is thermostatically controlled, so uses very little electricity once the room is up to temperature.

jalexa

monstermuncher wrote: »

I often work from bed because it's warmer under the duvet,

I agree with HappyMJ's analysis however while halogen heaters are useful as an occasional replacement for an open fire it will not be effective if you are under the duvet:) because it works by direct radiation.

If you do "desk work" my advice would be a small oil-filled radiator under the desk. Much safer than a halogen heater.

monstermuncher

Thanks everyone!

Not bothered about the rest of the flat being cold, I live alone and when I'm working I just stay in one room anyway.

Confused about the direct radiation thing though, I don't really understand the concept of that!

(also checking out amazon, thank you!)

jalexa

monstermuncher wrote: »

Confused about the direct radiation thing though, I don't really understand the concept of that!

Radiant heaters work by heating the object they hit (you if you are in front of the heater). The other heater types work (mainly) by heating the air first. So the "best" heater depends on what type of heat you want.

*Chattie*

I can't stand the bright light from a halogen heater, would rather use a convection heater.

penrhyn

monstermuncher wrote: »

I work from home, I'm on a pre payment meter (rented property and hoping to move soon, so not worth changing) and I try to have the heating on as little as possible. I am very frequently cold!

I had a look at the money before and after putting my heating on for an hour, and it costs around 40p. The gas fire costs about the same.

I often work from bed because it's warmer under the duvet, but it can feel a bit like being the grandfather from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

I've seen a halogen heater offer on Groupon for £11.

http://www.groupon.co.uk/deals/national-deal/james-russell/3454965?nlp=&CID=UK_CRM_1_0_0_51&a=1664

My electric is consistently cheaper than my gas (about £20pm cheaper and I'm much more careful with keeping gas costs down than electric)

Is it likely to be cheaper to run? The blurb says it's supposed to use less energy, but then has no information about how much energy that actually is!

The advert states its 1200 watts, you can set it to run at 400, 800, 0r 1200. At 1200 watts you'll be using 1.2 units of electricity every hour, what that cost you depends on what you pay for your electricity.

macman

A halogen heater will cost the same to run as any other electric heater of the same rating, it is no more or no less efficient.

shamrock_girl

I have been thinking of using one of those halogen heaters, but didn't get round to it and as this winter has seemed "milder" than last two, I thought I'd be ok. I was wrong, moved into current private rented property in May and it has gas central heating(2 bed property)The radiators don't seem to like being turned down, so if they are on, have to be on full. Two of the downstairs radiators are not like the usual ones, don't have an on/off button and can't be turned down and don't throw out as much heat as the others. The house was recently completely renovated from an office building and there's loads of insulation/new fittings, but because it's attached to a listed premises the sash windows have had to be kept, so I think much of heat is going out through there. I am disabled and not working currently, but try to mostly have the heating on a couple of hours in the morning and evening, with odd bursts on top of that. December and January were relatively mild so i didn't think I used it as much as previous years, but then how many increases have there been, last August, gas alone went up 16%! I was really shocked to find my latest gas bill is £207!!!

I have thankfully found out about the warm front scheme and have been informed I will receive this to my electric account by late March. But I sit in the cold a lot and sit with a fleece throw/blanket over me, in the hope that this would mean a lower bill? Does anyone suggest I still try a halogen heater, they are supposed to be about 5p an hour to run and electric is somewhat "cheaper" now than gas? I am with British Gas currently, don't want to change yet as I had major problems getting this place off business rates and I may be relocating area/house in next few months. Any suggestions gratefully received, thank you.

HappyMJ

shamrock_girl wrote: »

I have been thinking of using one of those halogen heaters, but didn't get round to it and as this winter has seemed "milder" than last two, I thought I'd be ok. I was wrong, moved into current private rented property in May and it has gas central heating(2 bed property)The radiators don't seem to like being turned down, so if they are on, have to be on full. Two of the downstairs radiators are not like the usual ones, don't have an on/off button and can't be turned down and don't throw out as much heat as the others. The house was recently completely renovated from an office building and there's loads of insulation/new fittings, but because it's attached to a listed premises the sash windows have had to be kept, so I think much of heat is going out through there. I am disabled and not working currently, but try to mostly have the heating on a couple of hours in the morning and evening, with odd bursts on top of that. December and January were relatively mild so i didn't think I used it as much as previous years, but then how many increases have there been, last August, gas alone went up 16%! I was really shocked to find my latest gas bill is £207!!!

I have thankfully found out about the warm front scheme and have been informed I will receive this to my electric account by late March. But I sit in the cold a lot and sit with a fleece throw/blanket over me, in the hope that this would mean a lower bill? Does anyone suggest I still try a halogen heater, they are supposed to be about 5p an hour to run and electric is somewhat "cheaper" now than gas? I am with British Gas currently, don't want to change yet as I had major problems getting this place off business rates and I may be relocating area/house in next few months. Any suggestions gratefully received, thank you.

From 5p an hour. 400W will not put out enough heat to really feel warm. 1200W will be better at around 15p. I use a 2000W electric convector heater and that keeps one room warm. However, my unit rate is 15p/kWh due to being on an E7 tariff and costs 30p an hour to run.