Cheapest way to heat one room

macman

I don't know of any oil-filled rads with a 500W rating, the majority are 2kW or higher..

grannytwice

i was wondering about buying a halogen heater for the same purpose just to heat one room so i dont need to have the central heating on all the time they seem reaonably priced just wondered how efficient and cheap to run it would be.

macman

A halogen heater is no more and no less efficient than any other electric heater-they are all 100% efficient. Some people say that halogen heating is more 'directional', so it feels warmer, but that doesn't make it any cheaper. So just buy the cheapest you can find.
The running cost per hour will be your unit kWh electricity rate x the kW rating of the heater. So for example a 2kW heater will cost 24p per hour (running full on) if you pay 12p per kWh.

HappyMJ

macman wrote: »

I don't know of any oil-filled rads with a 500W rating, the majority are 2kW or higher..

Really. I have a 400W one for the bathroom http://www.amazon.co.uk/DeLonghi-HLP400-Filled-Super-Heater/dp/B0000C6YW8 and an 800W for the bedroom. http://www.amazon.co.uk/DeLonghi-Bambino-TRN0808M-Filled-Radiator/dp/B0000BVBHI

macman

Maybe, but the majority are intended for living rooms and seem to be around 2kW.

samasama

Actually the one I have is a 600watt and yes I think it gives out a lot of heat, if you're used to central heating perhaps it wouldn't. I suppose "belting out heat" is relative - I don't put the heating on until it drops below 15º and at that point the heat is noticeable. The heater warms a 10'x12' room to about 18º in about 40mins. My old convector heater was a 2kw and I had to use it far more and yet the rooms were never warm.

I've no idea whether my electricity monitor is accurate, I assumed it was approximately so. When the heater is 'on' it shows at 6p per hour, that's not an hourly average based on it clicking 'on'/'off'.
The heaters can't be that expensive though, my bill only rises by about £20 a month in winter when I use the heaters.

HappyMJ

samasama wrote: »

Actually the one I have is a 600watt and yes I think it gives out a lot of heat, if you're used to central heating perhaps it wouldn't. I suppose "belting out heat" is relative - I don't put the heating on until it drops below 15º and at that point the heat is noticeable. The heater warms a 10'x12' room to about 18º in about 40mins. My old convector heater was a 2kw and I had to use it far more and yet the rooms were never warm.

I've no idea whether my electricity monitor is accurate, I assumed it was approximately so. When the heater is 'on' it shows at 6p per hour, that's not an hourly average based on it clicking 'on'/'off'.
The heaters can't be that expensive though, my bill only rises by about £20 a month in winter when I use the heaters.

What has the unit rate on the energy monitor been set to? The default setting may only be 10p per unit. When reading the energy monitor you really should just read the kWh reading and then look at your bill for your unit rate and multiply the two together. However, £20 a month extra actually on your bill is pretty good. It would imply you use your heater for about 12 hours per day on it's maximum setting and occasionally cycling on/off but some extra electric usage would also be used for the gas central heating pump as well so maybe not the full 12 hours.

samasama

I've set it to the rate from my electricity deal, the only other 'extra' in winter is once a week using the tumble dryer for an hour to dry towels.

I'd love to have gas central heating, but the only other heating I have is solid fuel and I only light the fires for a few hours each evening to keep costs down.

HappyMJ

samasama wrote: »

I've set it to the rate from my electricity deal, the only other 'extra' in winter is once a week using the tumble dryer for an hour to dry towels.

I'd love to have gas central heating, but the only other heating I have is solid fuel and I only light the fires for a few hours each evening to keep costs down.

I'd be using the solid fuel fire getting free fuel from somewhere if possible. If you pay for it what is the cost and type of your fuel and what type of fireplace do you have?

samasama

HappyMJ wrote: »

I'd be using the solid fuel fire getting free fuel from somewhere if possible. If you pay for it what is the cost and type of your fuel and what type of fireplace do you have?

Free fuel would be great, but it's as rare as hen's teeth! In an area with no mains gas, you're lucky if you see a branch on the ground more than 5 mins after it falls!!! Plus anything falling on farm land belongs to the farmer, all of whom use it for their own fires anyway! Plenty of small bits to use for kindling though. (one local guy bought a small chainsaw and when the wind's up he sets off on the hunt for fallen branches! he beat me to a big branch that was 2mins from my front door a couple of weeks back ... probably just as well as I'd have been there for hours with my handsaw LOL)


I've got a stove with a back boiler that heats upstairs, plus another open fire.

Coal is almost £10 for a 25kg bag - that lasts about a week when it's really cold

Seasoned hardwood is about £150 for 1.5m³ - that probably lasts me about 6 weeks

I recycle old wooden furniture if I can get any, plus I'm one of a lucky few to have handshake deals with a couple of local carpenters so I get the odd dumpy bag of offcuts for £15.

(sorry OP - a bit off-topic!)