A question about oil filled radiators

Tweedledum_2

I can't seem to find an answer about this, so I would be grateful for people's opinions. I have two 2.5kw 11-fin oil-filled radiators with three heat settings and adjustable thermostats. I had this notion that it would be cheaper to run them rather than my central heating. So in my two-storey house, I'd have one downstairs in the hall to provide some heat to the downstairs area and one upstairs.

I always close off rooms I don't need to heat. The heat from these wouldn't be as good as central heating but I thought that it would take the edge off the cold and I would also implement other means of keeping warm, like wearing extra warm clothing. So the question is, are these radiators an economical means of heating or not?

Reed_Richards

NOT, probably, but you don't say what sort of central heating you have.  Gas (natural of LPG) NOT.  Oil NOT.  Storage heaters NOT.  Electric boiler, much the same.  

Slinky

The one in your hall would be better sited in a room you use. My childhood home had an oil filled radiator in the hall, supposedly to heat the upstairs with heat rising. Everywhere was flipping freezing.

QrizB

Tweedledum_2 said:

So the question is, are these radiators an economical means of heating or not?

Another vote for NO!

At present mains gas, bulk LPG or oil are all roughly four times cheaper than single-rate mains electricity. Put another way, you could run a 10kW gas boiler for the same price as running one of your 2.5kW electric heaters.

You don't say how big your house is, but my entire 3-bed semi only has 10kW-worth of radiators in the gas central heating system. I could heat my whole house properly for the same cost as running one of your oil-filled rads.

Tweedledum_2

The house is heated with mains gas and is a three-bedroom, two-storey house. 

Reed_Richards

Then NO, you're pushing up your electricity bill by £3 to £4 for every £1 you save on your gas bill.

Mstty

The good news is you have asked this question before winter.

Now get that gas central heating setup efficiently for which there are a number of people here that can help you.

Ectophile

2 times 2.5kW of electric heating will be around £1.65 per hour to run.

You'll likely be better off tweaking the central heating settings to the lowest temperature you can get away with.  Particularly, condensing boilers run more efficiently if you reduce the water flow temperature.

Tweedledum_2

Thank you all for your helpful comments, all of which seem to have reached the same conclusion, that oil-filled radiators aren't an economical choice. My boiler is turned down and I've taken steps to try to use less energy where I can. There is only so much you can do though. 

ArbitraryRandom

One question that I don't think has been asked is if you have thermostatic valves on your individual radiators?

https://www.bestheating.com/info/what-are-thermostatic-radiator-valves/

Because I assume your logic was that 3 oil filled radiators would be heating a smaller total area of your home? 

Thermostatic valves would allow you to adjust the heating in individual rooms (including turning off individual radiators if desired and only heating those areas where you wanted to put oil filled radiators). 

Tweedledum_2

A good point. Yes, I do have them. I tend to only use the main programmer though. I don't heat the upstairs, except for underfloor heating in the bathroom for an hour each morning. Otherwise, the radiators upstairs are turned off.
Downstairs, they are also turned off in unused areas. So they mainly heat the kitchen and living room.