Reply With QuoteI’m thinking about an oil radiator, apparently they are very efficient.
We have resisted using the central heating so far this Autumn, I've been toying with the idea of trying to cut costs with a space heater? There seems to be untold products advertised on the net, can anyone point me towards a device that's fit for purpose please?
I’m thinking about an oil radiator, apparently they are very efficient.
Yes, 100% efficient. 2kW in, 2kW out.Originally Posted by Watchmanuk4
Air-Air inverters are x5 or so efficient. 1KW in 5KW heat out - you pay for pumping the inverter liquid and that extracts energy from the outside air with some compression involved, not to heat the air direct.
Any space heater can only be 100% efficient. The trick is to have decent heat retention like the ones with cast iron cores or oil filled are popular. I’d get one with a decent thermostat and timer so it comes on when you want.
“ Ford... you're turning into a penguin. Stop it.” HHGTTG
I don't know the answers to these questions ...
How much does it cost to run central heating for an hour, vs. electric heater?
Can something more efficient be done with clever adjustment of TRVs? I assume the ROI on 'smart' TRVs is rather long. Similarly 'smart' thermostats.
Reducing the flow temperature of a combi boiler is a popular recommendation currently, and seems to be OK to do ( https://www.vaillant.co.uk/homeowner...er_temperature ). Any dissenting voices?
We have two BandQ 1500 Watt heaters - about £20 each IIRC. The new ones seem to be 2000w - just turn it down.
We turn them on at bedtime setting 1 (750w) low thermostat setting in december to february or thereabouts.
They keep the upstairs temp just so that the windows don't mist up in the wintertime and yes if it is very cold they do come on during the night. When they are on they cost me (or did ) about 18pph.
B
https://www.diy.com/departments/colo.../198829_BQ.prd
My gas boiler is 30000 - 40000 btu/hr which is 8 kwh - 11.7 kwh.
Find the BTU rating of the boiler do the conversion from the numbers on mine and do the maths.
Lemon squeezy
B
Expensive and NOISY.
i read somewhere an average house cost £1 per hour for Gas central heating
Is your boiler for a small property? I have a 30kW (100,000 BTU) combi boiler for my average sized house. The boiler has automatic modulation, so how do I tell how much gas it's using at any perticular time?
Anyway, assuming the boiler's going at full chat: 1kWh of gas costs me 10.3 pence, so that's 30 x .10 = £3 per hour (for heating the whole house)? Compare to electricity at 35 pence per kWh, so that's 35-70 pence per hour to heat a single room. So I guess it makes sense to use an oil filled rad to heat a single area when you're the only person in the property (as I am currently), but have the central heating on when everyone else is home?
If bedroom very cold, electric blankets are a cheap option.
Believe they’re a lot safer than the one my Granny used. (She also had a paraffin heater in the hall.)
Although electric space heaters are never cheaper or more efficient than a gas boiler, I think you hit the nail on the head... In that you can limit it to the heating of one room say at night when you'll be stationary in a single room for ~8 hours!
In this instance it would make sense
Or even 8h daytime if you are still WFH - heat just the one room rather than the house?
“ Ford... you're turning into a penguin. Stop it.” HHGTTG
We have a couple of oil filled rads, use one for keeping the motorhome at above freezing in winter. Then bought the other from B&Q for £30 to use while we've been having reno's done and traders running in and out all day. Hardly worth having the heating on with open doors.
However, Mrs Smith loves researching stuff on web and She found the Heat Geeks on youtube. We now keep the heating set at a constant 17-19 all day and night and water temps set at a lower level plus no cold spots in the (largish) house.
We recommend having a look at the advice offered from these guys.
https://www.youtube.com/c/HeatGeek
Then form your own opinion based on your specific needs.
They do overspecify these days don't they :-)
We are in a 4 bedroom detached of a fair size but no open plan stuff - it is rooms and low ceilings.
Our other place was high ceilings but I ran the 50000 Btu/hr on low settings for ages with good results. The new purchasers went ape with the bills in the first year after the sale ( I had provided them with 20 quarters bills history) i called in and found that they were running the boiler on full throttle 7am-9pm.
We run ours presently on demand for heat - no thermostatic control.
I have installed a high capacity pump on our present boiler which runs well.
I did some tests on heat loss per hour per room and figured that the convectors were the only way If I was working in the office and the rest of the house was empty or during the overnight period. Like you electric costs about 34p per hour so gas at the lower rate is a no brainer for use if you can lower the CH Boiler to make it a frequent but less costly option than the electric method.
B
It makes no sense, like the rest of this thread.
A gas CH system with decent insulation, thermostatic valves and some sense with the usage will always be cheaper that some of the stuff that is being discussed.
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
Which is kind of what I put in my contribution. It's worth doing a bit of research.
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