Electric heater efficiency - Before anyone asks ;)

Andy_WSM

amtrakuk wrote: »

Just come across this youtube video with a good explaination as to why heat pumps aren't that good in very cold weather;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgBWCGUUH_U

The video is 3 years old (older refrigeration gases) and it's a back to back "window ratler" which aren't efficient on a good day. Newer heatpumps use different gas and have large condensor coils, which are less prone to freezing.

amtrakuk

Its something that was its Achilles heal. A contender for Gas for sure if they can only get rid of the big box that sits outside

polymaff

amtrakuk wrote: »

[snipped wall of words]

Either way a 1kW spot heater OR a 1kW Radiant bar heater will still consume the same amount of electricity per hour.

Accepted - but barely relevant, as previously explained.

amtrakuk

polymaff wrote: »

Accepted - but barely relevant, as previously explained.

so your saying there is a more efficient electric heater?

Smiley_Dan

amtrakuk wrote: »

Either way a 1kW spot heater OR a 1kW Radiant bar heater will still consume the same amount of electricity per hour.

Errrr... will it? A 1kW convecting electric radiator will turn off at least once over that period because of its thermostat. How often do IR heaters switch off, and how can you be sure the thermostat works in the same way?

amtrakuk

I'd have thought you'd turned off the IR heater if you had been sat in front of it for an hour

The halogen heaters I tried and the bathroom bar heater I have don't have thermostats. I found I got too hot if you were sat in front of it for longer than about 10 minutes.

Smiley_Dan

Right. So they use different amounts of electricity per hour then.

amtrakuk

But if its not using electricity then its not producing heat, simple as that.

If you have a thermostat working with the heater then it will room the room to the set temp and keep it there. If you don't then you'll find a very stuffy and hot room and I'd have though would have shut the heating off manually.

Smiley_Dan

The point is that heaters are used not to use electricity any more than cars are used to burn petrol. The actual goal is a level or comfort (removing subjective uses of the term). Radiant and convecting heaters work in different ways, achieving comfort in different ways, so the amount of electricity they use will differ, regardless of their power rating.

polymaff

amtrakuk wrote: »

so your saying there is a more efficient electric heater?

In terms of comfort achieved versus energy consumed - yes. Or, to put it another way, the same degree of comfort may be achieved at a lower cost per unit time.

There are a lot of variables, but I doubt that anyone would be able to dispute that in most scenarios an oil-filled electric radiator will achieve the same degree of comfort as a radiant fire at lower cost per unit time.