Electric Radiators - Best Option....?

Malachite

Hi

We have just moved into an old terraced cottage that only has a wood burner currently for heating and is not on the gas main.
We also have a young family so, while the wood burner is a great feature, we would love the ability to have some "controlled" heat available to us.
Space is of a premium so having free standing radiators and heaters is not an option.
We are therefore assuming that wall mounted, thermostatically controlled radiators are our best bet.
I see there are an awful lot of posts regarding the whole 100% efficiency "buy a £20 heater from Aldi" argument but all I want to know is the best value for money wall rads to buy and if there is any truth in what they are filled with.
Ideally we would like the fastest ones to heat up or ones that can stay on constantly without me having to sell a kidney to pay the bill.

Thanks in advance.

Nada666

I don't understand - if space is of a premium why would that exclude free-standing heaters???

Smiley_Dan

The "best" option depends on a lot of variables, but I think you should consider lowering your heat demand by making sure as little energy as possible leaves the house.

That means draught proofing and lots of insulation.

Once you lower the amount of energy leaving the property, new possibilities open up and it makes any choice cheaper.

Take a look at http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/Insulation

Malachite

With floor space and storage space a premium, I would prefer to have radiators fixed to the wall so we aren't always tripping over them and then struggling to store them in the warmer seasons.
2 small children and a dog also means I don't really want extra things clogging up the floor space, let alone the trailing cables.

I appreciate that insulating the house will save money etc but that wasn't really the answer I was after.
Basically, we need electric radiators and I just don't want to get taken for a mug, splashing out on over-hyped gadgets that I don't need.

For example, is £250 - £300 a reasonable price to pay for an electric radiator to heat a 4m x 4m lounge?

Richie-from-the-Boro

Wall mounted panel heaters, cheepo's @ £60 ish - middle range £100 ish - top end £150 ish. Any thermostatic controlled with timer will do. If you think you need 2kW always buy [30% more capability] 3kW. x2 is always better than 1.

Smiley_Dan

Malachite wrote: »

For example, is £250 - £300 a reasonable price to pay for an electric radiator to heat a 4m x 4m lounge?

It depends on the heat loss from the room what the kW rating of the radiator should be.

You could use http://www.cityplumbing.co.uk/heatLossCalculator

Also there's nothing wrong with a bit of empiricism i.e. using the above buy a cheap rad from Argos or wherever to make sure it fits the bill.

I'm a bit mystified by:

I appreciate that insulating the house will save money etc but that wasn't really the answer I was after.

If you knew the answers you were after, why ask? If you just want to buy an electrical radiator regardless of whether it's a good idea, just use Google to compare price by kW.

macman

By ruling out storage heaters and E7, you are effectively tripling your heating and hot water costs.
Electric heaters running on a single rate tariff are the most expensive way to heat any property.
But, if you must, since since they are all the same efficiency, buy the cheapest you can-you'll need the savings to help offset the bills.

Cardew

We don't know if the OP is buying or renting??


To be fair, if floor space is at a premium, Storage heaters as pretty big.


If the OP wants wall mounted heaters to overcome the floor space limitation, then he should buy the cheapest that have looks he finds acceptable. It would appear that the OP might have got the message that regardless of the price, and with what ingredient they are filled/coated, they will all output the same amount of heat for the same running cost.

Ideally we would like the fastest ones to heat up or ones that can stay on constantly without me having to sell a kidney to pay the bill.

Not possible!

Malachite

We have bought the house but only plan on staying for 3 or 4 years so don't want to invest in heat pumps etc.
We plan on using the wood burner most evenings but wife gets cold easily so just want a way to have rooms warm when we get up and get home from work. Only need 2 bedrooms and living room. Bathroom not got any outside walls so hoping that will be ok!
I just wanted to know if wall mounted rads was best way to go and if the sort of prices I am seeing of £250 to £350 depending on size, are to be expected?
And should I avoid infrared panels if I want to warm a room rather than an individual....?

Cardew

Malachite wrote: »

I just wanted to know if wall mounted rads was best way to go and if the sort of prices I am seeing of £250 to £350 depending on size, are to be expected?

Here are 484 panel heaters from £40 upwards.


http://www.amazon.co.uk/b?node=11712381


As stated a few thousand times, you will get the same heat output, for the same cost of electricity, from all of them.


On the other hand we can put you in touch with salesmen who will visit, measure the heat loss from your room, and sell you 'special heaters' filled and coated with exotic ingredients for about £2,000 each.


If they like you, they will call their sales manager who will offer you a discount of 10% or more for an immediate sale.

CrazyRed

Thanks to my local Council taking an incredible 17 days (!) to decide to replace my (broken down) boiler, I've had to go out and buy some heaters to stop my ill wife becoming too cold.

They were something like this (I bought them from CEF) http://www.cef.co.uk/catalogue/products/52624-2kw-wall-mount-convector-heater

and are wall mountable or free-standing (both options supplied in the box with them). The ones I have are fitted with a thermostat and timer, plus a small fan inside them to provide a "turbo" function for fast warm up of the room.

My front room is 4 x 3.5m, and one of these, on "only" 1250W per has proven more than adequate to keep the room toasty warm, and the Boss happy!

(I suspect, on 2KW mode, these would get the room seriously hot seriously quickly)

£18 + VAT each.

HTH