Electric Portable Oil Filled Radiators - advice pls

waterwatereverywhere

Hi,

We have an elderly relative who only has electric (no gas) and is looking for an economical and warm form of additional heating. He has underfloor heating which is virtually useless.

He is considering the portable oil filled radiators you can buy at Argos e g. Delonghi.

Pls can anyone say whether these give out good heat and if they are economical or would you suggest something else.

It is a small two room home and he was going to buy one for each room.

Do these need to be refilled with oil over time?

Is it better to choose a brand, i.e. Delonghi or are the Argos own brand ones okay?

There are several different KW sizes available from 0.5KW to 2.5KW - what is the difference with these and which would be best to opt for?

Do they have good reliability/longevity?

Many thx in advance for any general advice for these.

Cardew

Firstly, you must appreciate that electric heating is expensive and there is no economical heater.


The kW rating determines how much heat they produce - a 2kW produces twice as much as a 1kW heater but costs twice as much to run.*


They never need refilling and normally last many years as there is little to go wrong with them.


* there is no advantage in getting a heater with a lower rating(except smaller physical size) as they have a thermostat fitted which will switch off the power when the desired temperature in the room is reached.


I would get 2kW heaters, but ensure it has a thermostat.

matelodave

As Cardew says, they aren't all that economical as electric heating is the most expensive. That said, if you decide to get one then make sure it's big enough to do the job. A 500w one won't deliver enough heat to keep the room warm and will be on virtually all of the time and he'll still be cold., whereas a 2kw should produce enough heat to keep the room warm and the thermostat should then regulate the temperature (depending on the size of the room and how draughty it is).
The radiator should be capable of producing about 100w per square metre - so a 10' x10' room would need a minimum 1kw rad but it would be on most of the time and would struggle to heat the room when it's everso cold whereas a 2kw unit should keep you nice an warm and only be on for half the time so the running costs aught to be about the same.

waterwatereverywhere

Hello

Just a quick message to say many thanks for the helpful replies. I will now start to search for the best deal for one of these and look for a 2kw one with a thermostat, as recommended.

We know that electric heating is expensive but unfortunately there is no gas supply to the property, so no other option.

Thanks again.

bland_porn

We've got a DeLonghi Dragon in the front room and it's pretty good. It's one of the older models (without a fancy digital display) and had a timer/slider and thermostat.

The newer models are about £120 brand new but I'd recommend an older model as it's no problem and kicks out plenty heat.

Basically I think the DeLonghi models are a good buy. Hope this helps.