*Thermostatic fan heaters dont cost anywhere near that I am pricing against the Best Buy table in the review - so yes they do. Some (e.g. the latest Dyson) cost considerably more.
*there is no saving Of course there is an initial saving if you install fan heaters instead of central heating. One costs around £420 and the other around £4,200. The question is how long before you burn up the cash you saved.
As far as I know this is why most small flats have electric central heating - the up front cost of installation is lower and a reasonable percentage of the whole build cost..
> The whole topic does raise the question of what is the question to be
Bizzare, then, that they specifically didn't follow the second part of this methodology in their latest tests. The long term running costs are far more significant than the one off cost to bring a room up to a set temperature.
I had a couple of cheap ones - as in 20 quid from Argos. They needed to be taken apart twice a year (security screws too) and cleaned out.
Eventually, I left it a bit too long, the fluff built up on one area of teh element that ran red hot, produced a localise jet of superheated air which melted a hole right through the front grill and pert of the top casing allowing finger contact with the live element.
The only one that was any good was an office move giveaway - a fully metal cased Honeywell with top intake grill and no bottom (where the floor fluff is). When I checked how much to buy two of those, I recal they were not cheap, certainly in the >£50 region. At that point, realising that CH was a few years off (having started a proper job again during fixing the house) I researched oil rads and found the DeLonghis were highly rated and affordable.
They will be useful in the shed/workshop I might build one day and I trust them enough to come on with timers so the house is warm in the morning and when we get back from work and I don;t have nightmares about the kids piling toys around the base, though I do train them to try to keep the area clear.
It does produce a lot of water vapour, it's true. Doesn't really bother me, I don't use it every day.
Interesting point about the oil filled, it might be cheaper than I thought. I think mine goes up to 3KW though, which is close to the £1 per hour of the glass fire, and I might be able to get the glass fire cost down by buying the biofuel from alternate sources or in bulk.
I need both 'switches' on to heat the room effectively, and I think that's 3KW mode. I've lost the book for the (deLonghi) thing though, so I can't be sure. The glass fire puts out about 3KW, but does so instantly.
I have a three bed semi - albeit a Victorian one - and the answer to that is not long. Other thing is of course fan heaters add nothing to the property value - unlike gas central heating.
Do they happen to mention those halagen heaters like these
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seem effective when standing by them but are they any better than 'normal' electric bar heaters at heating rooms ?
is it that trival ? My parents use a 2 bar electric fire which is still working after 15+ years and no one needs to come around to check i'ts not belching out CO. How often do they recommend gas heaters are inspected and at what cost.
It's a difficult one and measuring safety/savings I'm not sure how you draw up a scale.
2 years ago I considered one of those (DeLonghi) for my bedroom, but on checking argos it had such a bad writeup that I didn't buy one, it was the one with remote sensing that didn;t seem to work. I then brought a cheap =A320 convention heater from B&Q. The themostat/stwich melted about a month later and as I took it back I noticed a recall notice on a pillar next to the till, so got a full refund even though I didn;t have the reciept .
Do they happen to do any that you can remotely control from an iPhone/ iPod now that would be worth considering ;-)
Lets apply some approx numbers CH =A34000 install, =A31000pa to run Fan heaters about zero to install, 3x the price per kWh so =A33000pa to run. TCO per 25yr system life: Gas CH =A329,000 Fan heaters: =A375,000 There is clearly no saving.
Probably will not change the conclusion but this analysis ignores:
Gas central heating requires annual service - and the boiler is unlikely to last 25 years, and will probably require expensive repairs. If a fan heater packs in a new one can be bought from a "value range"
The strain on the electric distribution of sustained large load from multiple fan heaters.
If you heated just 1 room in the house, you could do it reasonably cheaply with electricity. The problem is the rest of the house tends to have pipework in it which will freeze and furnishings which can suffer re damp, condensation, temperature.
Electricity Peak - 1kWhr is 11p. Electrcity E7 Night - 1kWhr is 4.9p. Gas 90% efficiency - 1kWhr is 4.2p.
Standing charge for electricity circa =A3140/yr, Gas circa =A3130/yr. So having the gas meter removed saves you =A3130, because running a single gas fire for a winter can often be =A3150 on gas and =A3130 on standing charge making the 4.2p per kWhr actually 8p per kWhr AND that gets worse when you consider the inefficiency of the gas fire (73%) and the increased air changes per hour an open flued device both requires and generates depending on the chimney draw (so nearer 12p pre kWhr in reality).
Living in the house just in the evening for 2hrs. This is were peak-only electric heating can work out ok, but you still need something to stop pipes freezing (a water dump valve cycling on a timer every 15mins for 1 min on both "once-hot" and cold could prevent freezing). It is here you need background heating which brings in low capital cost storage heaters.
That in turn brings in the reality for the dumb-ass article, probably aimed at someone coming home at 7pm at night to a 2010 build which has so much insulation a well ignited fart will heat them for several hours. Many 2010 flats are heated by panel convectors without much difficulty, perhaps a storage heater in the living area. The average solid brick house conversely needs a DIY-Shed load of insulation adding before you could even think of doing it.
Fan heaters create broad warmth quickly, oil filled radiators create local warm close to you. There is an argument for both depending on the size of the room.
Insulate and yes you can heat with a candle. Stupid article.
Interestingly I am sure electric heating has had prices increases far beyond inflation over the past decade as higher insulation levels have made electric viable. That is to say copying the fleet car market where the private retail buyer subsidises deep discounts to the bulk trade buyer.
Just noticed a 2kW creda panel heater is =A3190 at Screwfix - thin steel pressing, probably aluminium cased element re lower temperature re dust burn, timer. Far too close to a storage heater considering the payback on 11p v 4.5p per kWhr. Quite eye watering price gouging in fact, even =A370 would be steep for what are pretty simplistic miserable designs(!).
With 2011 insulation they are probably =A3500-600/yr all-in, that is to say the insulation levels are so high (equivalent to 67.5mm Celotex on a wall?).
Bear in mind to offset that many apartments have high monthly maintenance fees, you can fire the apartment management company and appoint your own with residents running it. This is particularly true for "converted apartments" which hide the massive future maintenance costs re roof, classic ironwork staircases and general building upkeep.
Just because it is an "simple classic apartment" does not mean you have not just signed up to Country House in terms of black hole. This is not France which generally does things better re restricting mortgages to 1/3rd salary IIRC.
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