Electric blankets

redbuzzard

When our heating broke down a couple of weeks ago, just as the properly cold weather came in, my wife and I agreed that the most luxurious thing we had ever bought was 45 years ago when we got a thermostatically controlled electric underblanket.  Our first house had no heating other than the gas fire in the sitting room, but the completely unheated bedroom was no problem after that.

Absolutely, unreservedly recommended.

Grandad2b

Some people prefer hot water bottles - i get that but if you're looking for energy savings then I think an electric blanket is probably the better option:
Hot water bottle manufacturers recommend filling 2/3 full which for a 2 litre bottle is 1.33 litres.
If we assume the average water temperature in your main is 10 degrees you're heating 1.33 litres by 90 degrees. 
The energy required is amount of water x temperature rise x specific heat capacity of water.
That's 1.33 x 90 x 4200 which is about 503kJ.

A typical double electric blanket might be 130W. 1 kWh = 3600kJ
So, to run an electric blanket for an hour uses 3600 x 0.13 kJ which is 468kJ

Of course, you've got to take other factors into account - the cost of the blanket, the area heated by the blanket opposed to the water bottle, the chance of leaving the blanket on longer than you meant, the cost of replacing the bottle every two years... I'm sure you can think of others. And, of course, if you boil your water in a stove top kettle on the gas the cost will be much lower.

RobM99

Nooo! Don't put boiling water into a hot water bottle! Risking scalding!

I boil a litre, add ½ litre tap-water to the kettle and use that. 

chris1973

Electric Blankets are great for avoiding having to run any heating overnight, or for where you can't tolerate a heavy high tog duvet and cost around as much as a old fashioned filament light bulb to run, so are easily one the cheapest forms of personal heating.

 I suffer from a dermatitis type condition on my legs which gets irritated by heat and causes a rash, so I can't use an Electric Blanket above 2 or 3 or I end up in itchy hell for the rest of the week, but that setting is still plenty warm enough.

I would advise that anybody who may have a skin condition which might be triggered or worsened by heat to get a Blanket which has a full range 1 - 10 type temperature control, as these are more accurate to control for comfort and avoid irritation than the fixed Low / Med / High style.

Dreamland are the 'Harrods" of Electric Blankets pricewise, but they sell a range of Blankets with an intelliheat system, which actually adjusts the blanket to changes in your bodyheat. The system works very well for keeping you at the correct temperature, if you can afford the outlay.

badger09

Grandad2b said:

Some people prefer hot water bottles - i get that but if you're looking for energy savings then I think an electric blanket is probably the better option:
Hot water bottle manufacturers recommend filling 2/3 full which for a 2 litre bottle is 1.33 litres.
If we assume the average water temperature in your main is 10 degrees you're heating 1.33 litres by 90 degrees. 
The energy required is amount of water x temperature rise x specific heat capacity of water.
That's 1.33 x 90 x 4200 which is about 503kJ.

A typical double electric blanket might be 130W. 1 kWh = 3600kJ
So, to run an electric blanket for an hour uses 3600 x 0.13 kJ which is 468kJ

Of course, you've got to take other factors into account - the cost of the blanket, the area heated by the blanket opposed to the water bottle, the chance of leaving the blanket on longer than you meant, the cost of replacing the bottle every two years... I'm sure you can think of others. And, of course, if you boil your water in a stove top kettle on the gas the cost will be much lower.

I’m considering an electric blanket but so far am happy with my hot wallet bottle in a furry cover. Before the weather turned really cold, it cost 3p to fill. Now it’s gone up to 5p due to ambient water temperature. 

BUT the big advantage for me is that it retains heat so well. It’s very warm through the night & still noticeably warm 11 hours later. Very useful when one has to make several trips to a cold bathroom during the night😊 

Spoonie_Turtle

RobM99 said:

Nooo! Don't put boiling water into a hot water bottle! Risking scalding!

I boil a litre, add ½ litre tap-water to the kettle and use that. 

I turn the kettle off before it boils.  Maybe your way would be more consistent 🤔

RobM99

Spoonie_Turtle said:

RobM99 said:

Nooo! Don't put boiling water into a hot water bottle! Risking scalding!

I boil a litre, add ½ litre tap-water to the kettle and use that. 

I turn the kettle off before it boils.  Maybe your way would be more consistent 🤔

Certainly safer in my view. I'd rather be a tad cool than  burnt!

snake147

We put our electric blanket on every night for 60-90 mins then turn it off/remove it when we go to bed.  We have a decent duvet so we are then warm all night.

I think ours is 120w and we have it on full power. Can’t go wrong at under 10p a night.

FreeBear

Grandad2b said: Of course, you've got to take other factors into account - the cost of the blanket, the area heated by the blanket opposed to the water bottle, the chance of leaving the blanket on longer than you meant,

The Sanitas ones that Lidl were selling come equipped with a timer function so that you can run it for 1, 3, 6, or 12 hours. After 4 hours on heat setting 5 or 6, it automatically drops down to 4. And at a max power consumption of 60W, it isn't going to break the bank.

Consumerist

We only use the electric blanket for about 20 mins before we turn in to take the chill off the mattress and warm the bedding. Once in bed the duvet keeps us super warm all night. The total electricity cost is pennies per week. Well worth it.