A room heater advertised online

MumOfOpal

Hi all

I wanted to ask about an electric mini room heater having seen an ad. about one while streaming music. It claimed to heat a room in a few minutes, & then recycle already warmed air & so be more efficient.

Has anyone bought one & does it do "what it says on the tin" ;-) ?  

They are not cheap, so I don't want to waste money buying one & finding out it's not very efficient after all.

Thanks

Opal's Mum

tim_p

I think you’ve figured it out, judging by your last sentence. 

HumberFlyer

What heater are you referring to ?

QrizB

All direct electric heaters are 100% efficient at turning electricity into heat.

MumOfOpal said:

It claimed to... be more efficient.

It won't be more efficient.

MumOfOpal said:

I don't want to waste money buying one

It will be a waste. Don't buy it.

daveyjp

I've seen similar ads.  All that matters is the wattage of the heater.  The one I saw made all sorts of claims about how brilliant it was as rapidly heating rooms.  It was very low wattage, so would never heat a room of any size quickly.

You can buy branded low wattage heaters for little money.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Russell-Hobbs-RHPH2001-Ceramic-Heater/dp/B07V3FQ69Y/ref=asc_df_B07V3FQ69Y

RAS

And for less than a fiver wholesale.

Gerry1

Daytime electricity is just about the most expensive form of room heating you can have.  Don't buy it, even if it's only 50p.

pseudodox

daveyjp said:

I've seen similar ads.  All that matters is the wattage of the heater.  The one I saw made all sorts of claims about how brilliant it was as rapidly heating rooms.  It was very low wattage, so would never heat a room of any size quickly.

You can buy branded low wattage heaters for little money.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Russell-Hobbs-RHPH2001-Ceramic-Heater/dp/B07V3FQ69Y/ref=asc_df_B07V3FQ69Y

I have one of those.  I had realistic expectations and they were fulfilled.  In my very small study on the coldest corner of the house it does take the chill off the room if I just want to spend 20 minutes in there, but I would not use it for all day heating or expect it to actually heat the room to any degree of comfort for hours on end without costing a fortune.  I plug into a socket a metre from my chair and I can feel enough warmth directed towards me to answer my emails etc without shivering but it is not what I would describe as "heating".

mmmmikey

I've seen those adverts too and to be honest I'm surprised and disappointed that they're legal. A 1kWh fan heater is a 1kWh fan heater is a 1kWh fan heater no matter where you plug it in. At best the energy saving claims are misleading - at worst they're downright dishonest. 

I'm also a bit concerned about the safety aspect. Fan heaters need a good supply of air to reduce fire risk and to be away from combustible materials to be safe. A conventional fan heater with a lead can normally be quite easily located, but one that plugs directly into a socket is more restricted and my concern is that it would be rather too easy to plug them in somewhere inappropriate. I wonder if the ones you see advertised are properly approved to the appropriate safety standards? A CE mark doesn't prove that - anyone can print one.

Gerry1

mmmmikey said:

I wonder if the ones you see advertised are properly approved to the appropriate safety standards? A CE mark doesn't prove that - anyone can print one.

Which?' tests show that electric mini heaters from Amazon, eBay and Wish could pose a risk of electric shocks, burns or even fire.

oldernonethewiser

If you want to watch a breakdown of a couple then Big Clive on youtube has done that.

He gets a bit technical, as he does with most of his videos, but that is his thing.