oil fill rad

northernstar007

can anyone advise
i'm on edf and on there sunday saver getting between 8-12hrs free electric on a sunday
now ive seen on tesco site there offering a 2kw oil filled rad for £48/ screwfix 2.5kw same price
i was thinking of getting this and only using it on a sunday with the free electric as winter is around the corner and would save me turning the heating sys on
i'm mainly in the sitting room all the time so would warm up the room nicely 
anyone got any info if i should or not

WiserMiser

Will you definitely qualify for 8-12hrs free electricity, or are there targets you may miss?

How many Sundays does it last for?

Looks like it may not be cost effective.

Let's assume you get 8 hours for four Saturdays, you turn the wick up to maximum so that the thermostat never turns it off.

That's a total of 64kWh. At 25p/kWh you'd have spent £48 to save £16.  ☹️

2kW may not even be sufficient to heat one medium/large room, let alone the rest of the property, so you may still need to use the normal system, especially if the weather doesn't stay as mild as it has been recently.

northernstar007

as i said ive been hitting 8-12hrs think once the full 16hrs
not sure how long these sunday savers will last as i'm new on edf
1 of these rads would do my living room and maybe 1 upstairs in the bedroom
just a thought being on free electric on a sunday

WiserMiser

Did you spot the Pig in a Poke / Elephant Trap?  (Sorry, couldn't resist mixing my metaphors...)

"This Free Electricity will be available during specified periods on Sundays and we will communicate these periods to you."

If you jump through all the hoops and get 8 hours each Sunday, what are the chances they'll be 10am - 6pm, the times when you least need heating?

northernstar007

my free hrs have always been 8am starts 

WiserMiser

northernstar007 said:

my free hrs have always been 8am starts 

Proves my point.

3pm - 11pm would be better: may start getting a bit chilly after 3pm, and after 11pm you'll probably be going to bed.

Mostly a Mirage !

RavingMad

If you shop around you can get one a lot cheaper. There's a website posting bargains and they appear quite a bit. There's one for £30 currently 

I have 4 that I've had for a long time,way before free electricity was a thing, and I use them whenever Octopus Agile is playing nice and gives us low, or even negative, half hour slots. Coupled with Tapo smart switches, I can program them to come on whenever I want

You leave a radiator in the lounge with the door open for 8 hours and most of the house will benefit to some extent 

Most things in life don't have a return on investment. These radiators might take a few years to make good on the initial outlay but you've got them and you'll be smiling when you're getting heat for free

QrizB

I agree that the concept is a good one, but the economics might need some thought.

We've got an oil filled radiator that we bought for non-moneysaving reasons. It gets switched on for Octopus's free electricity sessions, but I'm not expecting it to ever pay for itself through those.

vic_sf49

If you can stand the noise, or can put it out of earshot, and are home so it's not left unattended, I'd go for the 2kw fan heater @ £9.99 (Screwfix).

I do the same, with 1 x decades old fan heater, 2 x oil rad I got free off fb. 

Swipe

vic_sf49 said:

If you can stand the noise, or can put it out of earshot, and are home so it's not left unattended, I'd go for the 2kw fan heater @ £9.99 (Screwfix).

I do the same, with 1 x decades old fan heater, 2 x oil rad I got free off fb. 

Also, they could consider the Screwfix 2KW convector heater currently on sale for £21.99 if they don't like fan noise.

vic_sf49

Swipe said:

vic_sf49 said:

If you can stand the noise, or can put it out of earshot, and are home so it's not left unattended, I'd go for the 2kw fan heater @ £9.99 (Screwfix).

I do the same, with 1 x decades old fan heater, 2 x oil rad I got free off fb. 

Also, they could consider the Screwfix 2KW convector heater currently on sale for £21.99 if they don't like fan noise.

Ooh, I didn't know that type of heater existed, so thanks @Swipe. Good to keep in the back of mind, for the future.