Electric heater recommendations

Ectophile

Convector heaters are at the cheap end of the market.  They are a box with air vents top and bottom, and a heating element in the middle.

Cheap, basic, and 100% efficient like all other electric heaters.  Very often, you will find exactly the same heater sold under different brand names.

Reddleman79

I use an old oil filled dimplex radiator. It has a thermostat and it easily moved around on its caster wheels.

Emmia

flashg67 said:

What about infrared heater - cost a bit more but heat the objects in the room, not the air - I have couple which work well for me

This might be just me, but infrared heating makes me feel quite ill. Lots of yoga studios use it (especially I find for hot yoga) and I have to actively ask what type of heating is used. 

Infrared is also not suitable for pregnant women and people with certain health conditions, like circulatory problems - do proceed with caution if you opt for this "solution".

WIAWSNB

Hi Laura.
Pretty much covered by others.
My personal preference would be for an oil-filled radiator, as they hold a more stable temp level, and also provide a welcome amount of radiated heat, as well as 'convecting' to heat the whole room.
So if your mum has it set a few feet away, she'll also have some of the direct warmth sensation she currently has with her coal fire. And they are pretty safe, not becoming scaldingly hot to touch.
Get one with a built in thermostat, like the one mentioned above. Screwfix has a 2kW jobbie for only £44, as an example. 
If 2kW isn't enough - what size is her sitting room, and what age the house? - then I'd suggest getting two of them, and not just one larger fellow. I know that 13A sockets should be good for up to around 3kW, but in practice you will find many sockets/plugtops will become warm with a continuousish high draw. Play safe, and have 2 x 2kW in completely separate sockets in the room, and they'll also likely heat the room better (one on each side of her!) Obviously make sure they are set appropriately so they work in combination to heat the overall room - they have adjustable output levels, as well as thermostats. If you set them up for her, and trial them properly - for an adequately long time, and using a room thermometer - you may be able to mark the thermostat dials for a good level to aim for, and your mum then just needs to 'tweak' around this.
Oil-filled take longer to get to temp, so allow them time to do so when setting them up for the room. Once at temp, they tend to maintain the room temp better than most rads.
('Normal' convection heaters are much cheaper, but heat a narrow column of air that rises straight up and circulates around the room - they work, but don't give that nice additional radiated part. Also, their top grills tend to become pretty hot - too much so to touch. They also tend to 'smell' as they burn off any dust on their elements, giving a musty smell. I don't like them...)
Yes, avoid these miniature 'miracle' heaters - an utter con, and often unsafe.
Yes, absolutely, get a heated chair cover - they are amazing. And a nice warm fleecy throw in top - no need for that to be leccy.
Finally, I'd ditch the coal 🔥, and - yes - stick a 'sheep' up t'flue to cut heat loss. These shouldn't fully seal the flue, which is good as it keeps it, and the room, partially ventilated, which is important. By not paying for messy and ineffectual coal, your mil shouldn't be much worse off - if at all.

WIAWSNB

Emmia said:

flashg67 said:

What about infrared heater - cost a bit more but heat the objects in the room, not the air - I have couple which work well for me

This might be just me, but infrared heating makes me feel quite ill. Lots of yoga studios use it (especially I find for hot yoga) and I have to actively ask what type of heating is used. 

Infrared is also not suitable for pregnant women and people with certain health conditions, like circulatory problems - do proceed with caution if you opt for this "solution".

I think they are too directional, so heat (often too much) the side facing you, whilst leaving the rest of you chilly. I presume that's why they aren't suitable for many folk.
You can pick up small and cheap 'halogen' - and normal glass 'bar' - type heaters, but again they are too directional and focused. However, some give a 'warming' orange glow, which might have a psychological 'benefit' if your mil misses her visible coal fire; she'll be bathed in 'orange'! At typically 400W per bar, they aren't costly to run, and will contribute that heat to the room, but (a) the elements tend to burn out very quickly, (b) the heat is very focused and your mum mustn't be tempted to pull it closer to her, and (c) they are often not very stable. I would not recommend them.

WIAWSNB

A cheap basic laptop, set to a YouTube 'coal fire' clip, and sat on her hearth might also be fun!
But - heat the body (chair, and throw, and socks, and mittens) and use oil-filled.
Oh, and you can buy remote control plug-in switches and timers to turn the rads on and off.

Emmia

WIAWSNB said:

Emmia said:

flashg67 said:

What about infrared heater - cost a bit more but heat the objects in the room, not the air - I have couple which work well for me

This might be just me, but infrared heating makes me feel quite ill. Lots of yoga studios use it (especially I find for hot yoga) and I have to actively ask what type of heating is used. 

Infrared is also not suitable for pregnant women and people with certain health conditions, like circulatory problems - do proceed with caution if you opt for this "solution".

I think they are too directional, so heat (often too much) the side facing you, whilst leaving the rest of you chilly. I presume that's why they aren't suitable for many folk.
You can pick up small and cheap 'halogen' - and normal glass 'bar' - type heaters, but again they are too directional and focused. However, some give a 'warming' orange glow, which might have a psychological 'benefit' if your mil misses her visible coal fire; she'll be bathed in 'orange'! At typically 400W per bar, they aren't costly to run, and will contribute that heat to the room, but (a) the elements tend to burn out very quickly, (b) the heat is very focused and your mum mustn't be tempted to pull it closer to her, and (c) they are often not very stable. I would not recommend them.

As I understand it, infrared heating can raise your core temperature to dangerous levels - it's not about cold or hot sides. In yoga studios the heaters are often positioned in several places around the room so that everyone will be "heated" 

I think (for me) it is getting overly hot in my core is what causes the issue - it's fine for the first 10 - 15 minutes of the class, but I quickly feel beyond that I have some sort of heat stroke and I want to actively vomit. Leaving the room where the class is taking place removes the symptoms fairly quickly - but you can't keep entering and leaving a class, so I just don't go.

I'm fit and active. if someone is less mobile (and has this as the only heating source) then overheating via these things could be a serious problem.

Bigphil1474

OP, oil filled radiators are safer. They basically use electricity to heat the oil that heats the room. A fan heater or similar could end up burning the house down. Very easy to drop something in front of it which catches fire. Our workplace banned them years ago, and we are only allowed oil filled radiators (if the central heating fails).

WIAWSNB

Bigphil1474 said:

OP, oil filled radiators are safer. They basically use electricity to heat the oil that heats the room. A fan heater or similar could end up burning the house down. Very easy to drop something in front of it which catches fire. Our workplace banned them years ago, and we are only allowed oil filled radiators (if the central heating fails).

I'd forgotten about fan heaters. Hellish things. Noisy, draughty (not ergonomic), and smelly.