One Room Heating Option! Please Advise..

PeterUK1989

Hello,

I have made the decision to stop gas completely I have moved into a council flat and it takes a lot of effort for this heating system to heat the whole flat to just 20 Degrees Celcius.

By Stop gas I mean disconnect the service eliminating the Gas Service charge.

For washing up I won't be using boiler to get hot water as I will use the shower. over the bath + non slip matt for showers over bath.

Sorry for lengthy intro to my question....

So my best option for heating just one room?

I have been using a halogen heater which doesn't seem to be heating the room very well just the direction it faces is warm.

I was advised that If i make the choice to do things this way an electric oil filled radiator is the best option as they now come with 24 hour/digital programmers and are much safer.

My issues and worries are, if I leave a radiator on for my dog, and i go to the shop taking 30 minutes is it a danger to him?

Can you make suggestions on what are Safe and Economical Electric Radiators?


Thank you for your time and advice in advance...

Peter

PeterUK1989

Thank you 404error I understand that gas is generally cheaper, but I am living alone, with doggy, so I only need to heat one room, it has quite big rooms and the heating system is not meeting the temperature on the thermostat and my housing agency won't do anything about it cause they can get away with all that, lol.

Am I wrong in thinking its cheaper to heat one room with electric, than heat the whole flat with combi boiler central heating with the 3 old standard single radiators. I also get the service charge that Eon Charge for using their prepayment service.

Sharon87

How does the shower get hot water if no gas? I take it it's heated by electric then? Just pointing out, in case it's an oversight.

I did see that the Dyson fans move heat round the room well, but for £250 or so they are a lot of money!

opinions4u

Thick socks.

Jumper.

Woolly hat.

thatsean

Electricity is very rarely (never) a cheaper option, as pointed out, you'll be heating water with electricity -and what are you doing to heat the other rooms? As it's not getting warmer for a few months now you need to ensure that the rooms stay dry as well as a reasonable temp.

Dyson hot, or another decent fan heater isn't a bad notion - but I'd urge you to do some sums before you do this.

Also, are there any pipes in the rooms that you are not planning to heat, best to check with your letting agent who is going to pay for the damage of burst pipes.

psychic_teabag

Can you just turn off the radiators in the other rooms ? Or just turn down the other radiators if they have thermostatic valves.

If the thermostat is in the wrong room, I think you can get detachable thermostats where the sensor can be separated from the wired connection, and communicates using radio or something.

Can you reduce it below 20C ? I think I have it set to 17.5 (which does border on the uncomfortable sometimes) but acceptable temperature is very much a subjective thing.

thatsean

psychic makes a good point that I totally missed! 20c isnt a requirement, my flat is heated to 18. And if you have theromstatic valves, set them to the frost guard setting - would you landlord be willing to fund this?

HappyMJ

PeterUK1989 wrote: »

Thank you 404error I understand that gas is generally cheaper, but I am living alone, with doggy, so I only need to heat one room, it has quite big rooms and the heating system is not meeting the temperature on the thermostat and my housing agency won't do anything about it cause they can get away with all that, lol.

Am I wrong in thinking its cheaper to heat one room with electric, than heat the whole flat with combi boiler central heating with the 3 old standard single radiators. I also get the service charge that Eon Charge for using their prepayment service.

Before getting rid of the gas completely consider switching your prepayment meter over to a supplier such as Ebico who do not charge a standing charge. If you use no gas it will cost nothing. Although Ebico does have a high unit rate it can be worthwhile for occasional use.

Healthy dogs are fine in almost any temperature. They'll wrap themselves up under a blanket or in a dog bed if very cold.

You could also consider an electric blanket which is a very cheap way of staying warm.

silvercar

Sharon87 wrote: »

How does the shower get hot water if no gas? I take it it's heated by electric then? Just pointing out, in case it's an oversight.

This is really important!

Also if the property becomes damp because you have not been heating rooms at all, you could find yourself liable for the costs of treating the damp.

Hominu

I've always been told that to keep a house in a good condition, you should keep the inside temperature of the house at or above 12 degrees C. If pipes have been drained, boiler turned off and drained, etc, then you could go lower.

Dogs will also be fine at 12°c, but I'd probably set the thermostat to about 15.

silvercar

You have posted on the banking board, whereas you may get more responses on the gas & electric board. There is a thread running on there already about heating just one room economically that may be of interest:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4273531