Which electric heater?

funnymonkey

Good evening.
I don't have gas so only electric heating is possible.
Can anyone advise which type of heater is best panel/ storage/etc

Thank you

Ectophile

If you want to cut electricity bills, the cheapest options are either storage heaters or a heat pump.  The former run on cheap rate E7 electricity, the latter use magic (or physics) to deliver about 2 to 4 times as much heat output as the electricity they use.

Other than that, all electric heaters give you one kWh of heat for every unit of electricity they use.  Even the really fancy (and expensive) German ones you see advertised in magazines.

nofoollikeold

1. Depends on:
1a. Whether you have, or have access to, a cheap rate electricity tariff such as Economy 7.
1b. Your pattern of usage.  E.g. out at work all day, at home all day.
1c. What rooms you are talking about.  
2. All electric heaters, no matter how much salesmen exaggerate, are close to 100% efficient.  For every kW/H of electricity you put in, you get the amount of heat out.  
3. Storage heaters use cheap rate electricity (if you have the tariff) to heat up "bricks" overnight and release the heat during the day.  Modern ones are pretty good at regulating heat (electricity) in and heat out.  
4. Ordinary convector (panel) heaters heat up reasonably quickly when turned on, and cool down fairly quickly when turned off.  They use normal rate electricity.
5. Oil filled electric radiators are pretty much the same as convectors, but slower to heat up and slower to cool down.
6. Fan heaters are also much like convector heaters, but with a fan in them they can heat up an area quite quickly.  Tend to be be noisier though, particularly as they age.
7. Ceramic panel radiators I regard as snake oil.  All sorts of pseudo scientific claims made for them, but you can't get any more heat out than you put electricity in.  
8. Convectors, fan heaters are cheap to buy, but relatively expensive to run.  Very simple and flexible.
9. Oil filled electric radiators are more expensive than convectors, and again relatively expensive to run.  
10. Ceramic radiators are ridiculously expensive to buy, and as expensive as any on day rates to run.
11. Storage radiators are quite expensive to buy, but if used a lot can offset this by using lower rate electricity (again, provided you have it).  They are quite suitable for sitting rooms, and bedrooms if you need to keep them heated at night.  Not so good for rooms getting occasional use.

funnymonkey

Thank you for  your replies, I have brand new Elnur storage heaters and I'm on economy 7 and since being fitted they have doubled my bills since instillation, hence my original question as I'm looking at alternatives. I'm on fixed rate tariff so its not the recent increase in energy costs.  

GDB2222

funnymonkey said:

Thank you for  your replies, I have brand new Elnur storage heaters and I'm on economy 7 and since being fitted they have doubled my bills since instillation, hence my original question as I'm looking at alternatives. I'm on fixed rate tariff so its not the recent increase in energy costs.  

That’s very odd. Which particular model do you have?

Also, are you in or out during the day, and how do you have them set?

How much of your doubled electricity bill is on the cheaper tariff?

funnymonkey

I have 2 Elnur Gabardon HHR heaters. Set up according to the instructions.
I'm at home 3 days a week and the other days the heaters come on first thing in the morning for an hour and then offpeak until 4pm until 10pm
Wondering if setting the offpeak mode at 18 degrees as per instructions is what's costing me so much

Le_Kirk

I would question your timings for off-peak.  Do you know exactly when your E7 meter switches over?  4pm to 10pm does not sound right.  You should be able to interrogate your meter (Smart or dumb) to find the actual switching times.  Mine is 00.45 to 07.45 (one hour later in BST).

danrv

funnymonkey said:

I'm at home 3 days a week and the other days the heaters come on first thing in the morning for an hour and then offpeak until 4pm until 10pm

Make sure you’re using the heat stored in the bricks and not the boost element which uses expensive day rate. If on Economy 7, they should charge around midnight to 7.00am and provide cheap rate heat for most of the day.
If the heaters have two isolation switches to the side, they will automatically charge during off peak hours.
If only one, the charge times need to be programmed exactly to match the cheap rate time period.

getmore4less

When did you have them installed?

What was there before?

Have the comfort levels improved.

Ebe_Scrooge

I'm with @Le_Kirk on this one - I'd be checking the timer settings.  The bottom line - as others have said - is that all "conventional" electric heaters are 100% efficient and will cost the same to run, in terms of electricity in vs heat out (leaving aside the heat pump options, which can work well but you're looking at a very big initial investment).  For a "conventional" setup, the only way to reduce costs (aside from insulating the premises) is to make use of cheaper off-peak electricity if you possibly can.  The heaters still consume the same amount of electricity to generate the same amount of heat, it's just that the electricity costs less.