Recommend me some heaters that are...

[Phooey]

...safe to leave on 24 hours.

Hi, in need of some heaters for the warehouse. These would be positioned in the office area - approx 800sq ft, standard ceiling height. At present i just have a couple of 2or3kw wall heaters, and at the end of every day i turn these off. Problem is though, when i return in the morning, the place is freeeeezing, and these heaters don't really distribute the heat properly.

So, my thinking is, buy 3 or 4 oil-filled rads (the ones you plug into an electric socket), and if safe? leave them on permanently, this i hope should maintain a comfortable temperature. I'm not looking to turn the place into an oven, just take the bite out of the air

Can anyone see any potential hazards with this idea?

Thanks

[voicey]

Why not get some timers fitted to the exisitng heaters?

[ColinM50]

What voicey said. B&Q have got an offer on timers atr the moment. Two quid each. Gotta be worth a go? Set 'em to come on an hour or so before work start time and off a couple of hours before you go home and for four quid, problem solved.

[andy43]

Have you thought about renting out a corner of your warehouse to some illegals? Their combined body heat will keep the chill off even in the coldest nights. No electricity required other than a low energy bulb.

[herewego]

Check the power rating of your heaters then check the rating of the timers before you buy, some are not designed for the power consumption of a heater, though plenty are. Heating the office overnight is just wasteful.

[ShadownINja]

You can get oil-filled radiators that have timers and thermostats. If it's purely for comfort, then set the timer to an hour before the office opens.

[caziques]

Work out how much the heaters are going to cost over the next couple of years - and consider a heat pump.

Something like a Mitsubishi SRK71ZEA will put out about 8kW, and consume about 2kW. Much better for the environment than oil column heaters.

Should cost under two thousand installed

[Phooey]

Point taken about the timers. I think i will buy 3or4 of these - http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/0... - they seem to get good reviews.

Last year i bought an extra couple of heaters, these - http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/4... - problem was though, that when i plugged them into a twin wall socket, the cable and trunking used to get quite warm too. I was told 6kw was too much load for a twin wall socket.

Thanks for your advice

[herewego]

Have you checked the roof of the office, maybe it could benefit from a foot of insulation which costs nothing to run.

[herewego]

Phooey said:

Point taken about the timers. I think i will buy 3or4 of these - http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/0... - they seem to get good reviews.

Last year i bought an extra couple of heaters, these - http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/4... - problem was though, that when i plugged them into a twin wall socket, the cable and trunking used to get quite warm too. I was told 6kw was too much load for a twin wall socket.

Thanks for your advice

You may be better with something that hangs on the wall for safety and for easier cleaning of the floor.

[Phooey]

The roof has insulation - not sure it has enough though - so another good point.

Thanks