How do I work out how much things cost to run?

Bexm

Hello

I'm really sorry if this question has been asked before or if I'm just being silly, but I am tying to work out how much a heater wil cost to run.

In the Argos cataloge there is an 800watt oil filled heater.
Our electric costs 12.13p per unit for the first 182 in day rate.

Ids 1 unit 1Kw?

If it is can I just work it out like for like, eg if my heater is 800watt and my electric costs 10p a unit, does that mean that my heater will cost 8p an hr to run or is it totally more complicated?

Thanks for your advice!

Bex

Lorian

yes, the units are Kw/H

Bexm

So does that mean I can calculate it as above? or is there some difference in there?

Cardew

It will cost 80% of whatever you pay for a unit of electricity - as said above a unit is a kWh.

However you can't just consider the price of the first units in a quarter(known as Tier 1) Most people will use those high priced units in a quarter regardless - on lights and appliances. So a better comparison is to take the tier 2 cheaper price for a kWh.

It is possible that the oil filled radiator will have a variable temperature using a thermostat and that will switch the heater on and off as the room reaches temperature. However bear in mind that 800watts will not provide much heat, enough to take the chill off a room.

Bexm

Thanks for the info Cardew!

We have been using a 500watt oiled filled mini thing, which actually kicked out a quite lot of heat considering its size, but we were borrowing it and had to give it back,
We are only using it to complement our storage heater but now have to decide which one to buy as our house isn't quite warm enough on its own.

I just want to make sure if we buy a bigger wattage one I know how much it is going to cost!