Oil filled rad vs infrared panels

dearlouise

I want to heat an outbuilding that has been converted into a room, like an office/den type room... My research on the best way to heat it is proving hard.

It has electricity and I've read lots on oil filled radiators being the best, but then also infrared panel heaters being the best. Both have some good reviews on amazon.

But which is better?

Which don't have any research on either of these types...

dearlouise

The room used to have a damp problem which has been fixed, but there is a worry of it coming back. Information found on the green age website:

Cold walls tend to cool the warm air created by conventional central heating and can cause condensation, whereas infrared heating is designed to heat the walls first (physical objects) – once the objects are warmed up the will radiate the heat back into the whole room. The fact the walls are heated and mean they will stay dry, reducing condensation and the build-up of mould.

Suggests infrared might be a good thing?

matelodave

An infra-red heater is a posh name for a flat panel radiator - don't be taken in by the sales bullsh"t and excessive pricing.

A 1kw heater whether it be flat panel, "infra-red", oil filled, convector, or even fan heater will produce 1kw of heat it's just the way it gets around the room that's subtly different.

A fan heater will blow it straight up your trouser legs or skirt and you'll feel warm quite quickly but they aren't all that good for warming the fabric of the building.
A radiator (flat panel, oil filled or even infra-red) will slowly heat the room - the closer you stand to it the warmer you'll feel. A convector is designed to circulate warm air around the room

A lot depends on what you are trying to achieve - do you want a quick warm up for an hour or so or do you want the room to stay warm and toasty all day.
If it's a quick warm up then a fan heater under the desk will do.

If you want the room warm all day then any of the other sorts will do the job assuming that they are big enough to offset the heat loss from the room. What size is the room and what's it made of (walls, floor ceiling(roof) windows (double or single glazed).

Work on the assumption that you'll need about 100-150watts a square metre to adequately warm the room, so a 3mx3m room will need at least 1.2-1.5kw (more if it's solid walls, concrete floors, minimal insulation in the ceiling/loft) anything much bigger would benefit from two radiators at one each end of the room to help distribute the heat better. Make sure they are thermostatically controlled to help reduce costs.