Economical ways to heat a room?

Adamc

Hi all 

What are the most economical means of heating an individual room? Are there any recommended devices? What specs should I look out for when buying something like a portable heater? My initial thoughts are something electrical which will be expensive to run for the output but open to any suggestions. 

Thanks 

macman

Any  electric heater, of whatever kind, is 100% efficient and will cost the same to run per kWh of heat output.. 
In general, single rate electricity is the most expensive way to heat a house, about 350% more than mains gas.
It would help if you said what heating you already have installed?

Alnat1

Invite a dozen mates round, close the curtains, close the door. Room will be around 20C in around 30 minutes.

YORKSHIRELASS

There are so many variables, if you are thinking about an electric heater then you need to know your electric cost per kwh (mine is 32p) and the power of the heater.  So for me a 1000kw heater will cost me 32p per hour to run on full.  A fan heater gives a quick blast of heat and something like an oil heater takes longer to warm up and will give more of a steady background heat.  It depends on your insulation and the size of the room too.

Generally an electric heater costs much more than central heating, unless maybe if you used a fan heater just to give a blast of heat every so often with the door of the room closed.  If you are going to get an electric heater I would get a powerful one with a thermostat to give you more control.

Could you consider heated throws as an alternative?  The cost of these is much lower than any type of room heating.

lohr500

+1 for an electric throw or throws. Cosy and warm for a fraction of the running cost of an electric heater.

anniecave

Warm clothes also helps....  https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/heat-the-human-not-the-home-save-energy/

Petriix

macman said:

Any  electric heater, of whatever kind, is 100% efficient and will cost the same to run per kWh of heat output.. 
In general, single rate electricity is the most expensive way to heat a house, about 350% more than mains gas.
It would help if you said what heating you already have installed?

This is objectively untrue. A split air to air heat pump typically achieves a COP of 4, which means that you get out 4kWh of heat for every 1kWh of electricity used.

The cheapest way to heat a room is buy burning free wood. Friction and wearing plenty of warm clothes also works, but you pay for the calories you eat. 

[Deleted User]

As well as a gazillion different types of electrical heater, gas cabinet heaters have improved considerably in recent years (both in terms of safety and controllability) and are also a possibility in some circumstances, but the room needs to be large and well ventilated. For me that works out as a cost effective option for my open plan kitchen/dining area, with bottled gas working out at 26p/kWh vs. 47p/kWh for E7 peak rate electricity. But your circumstances might be completely different.

If you want a more focused answer, perhaps you could post a bit more information. How big is the room, how well ventilated, what is it used for and for how long each day, etc.

Adamc

macman said:

Any  electric heater, of whatever kind, is 100% efficient and will cost the same to run per kWh of heat output.. 
In general, single rate electricity is the most expensive way to heat a house, about 350% more than mains gas.
It would help if you said what heating you already have installed?

Gas combi boiler. 

daveyjp

Combi boiler with wireless thermostat you can move to the room you want to heat.

facade

Petriix said:

macman said:

Any  electric heater, of whatever kind, is 100% efficient and will cost the same to run per kWh of heat output.. 
In general, single rate electricity is the most expensive way to heat a house, about 350% more than mains gas.
It would help if you said what heating you already have installed?

This is objectively untrue. A split air to air heat pump typically achieves a COP of 4, which means that you get out 4kWh of heat for every 1kWh of electricity used.

The cheapest way to heat a room is buy burning free wood. Friction and wearing plenty of warm clothes also works, but you pay for the calories you eat. 

Which is why it is uneconomic to fit a heat pump system if the gas central heating doesn't need replacement.

It uses 1/4 the energy, but energy costs 3.5x as much, so overall a 12.5% saving on the energy bill.

It will take longer to recoup the cost than the lifetime of the heatpump- unless there is a very hefty grant towards the cost.

However, the OP is asking about heating a single room, in which case any portable electric heater is 100% efficient (well, 99.99 something if we account for a small amount of heating in the ring main outside the room)

My choice would be a fan heater with a thermostat.