'Plug in' heating

[Dicky Knee]

Hi All,

We live in a 3 storey Edwardian house which we rent. The main living area is a double glazed conservatory at the rear which gets morning sun. It is fitted with under floor heating which has been turned off because the plumber thinks it is leaking. The floor is chipboard with ceramic tiles over and it has never been able to heatthe room anyway despite the house having 2 new boilers and me having a combined gas electricity bill at the thick end of £5000 a year!

So I need to heat the room so my kids don't have to watch TV in their ski jackets.

Putting aside the fact that the landlord really should make the heating work what are my options for heating the room? There isn't a gas outlet so it has to be electric.

Thanks in advance,

Dicky

[Hoofy]

Those oil-filled radiators seem pretty handy. The heat isn't instant (takes a few minutes to warm up unlike electric convector radiators) but when the thermostat switches off, the rad stays warm beyond the switch off as the oil cools down.

This kind of thing: http://amzn.to/1aYj2wC

(I have an old one I bought in 1995 that I swear by so these modern ones can only be better!)

[Mave]

Any conservatory is going to be hard to year- I'd be looking at ways to improve the insulation (curtains, rugs, draft proofing) as much as adding heating.

[smifffymoto]

Can you get Zibro paraffin heaters in the UK.We use them when we can't be bothered to light the wood burners when we get in late from a day out etc.The good thing with them is its instant heat.

[herewego]

The conservatory will have doors that can be closed so you can live in the house without having the heat being lost through the conservatory. I believe this is a building regulation requirement. Conservatories are not for living in although you can do if you don't mind the cold, but you shouldn't expect to heat it to the same temperature as a proper room.

[Dicky Knee]

Thanks for the suggestions so far.

I can't do much to cover the windows or roof as the landlord wants curtains made and installed by a pro which I'm not going to pay for. The conservatory is open to the kitchen so can't really be closed off. We do have rugs down which help.

Are the oil filled rads reasonably efficient? Would a couple of fan heaters bankrupt me in running costs?

[Hoofy]

Dicky Knee said:

Are the oil filled rads reasonably efficient? Would a couple of fan heaters bankrupt me in running costs?

As I say, with things like fan heaters, when you turn them off (or the thermostat kicks in), the heat stops instantly and in your room the heat will disappear quite quickly. With an oil heater, the oil will remain hot and give off heat after the radiator is switched off (manually or via the thermostat).

[Dicky Knee]

Right. Off to the fixer of screws then.

[NH1]

Hoofy said:

Dicky Knee said:

Are the oil filled rads reasonably efficient? Would a couple of fan heaters bankrupt me in running costs?

As I say, with things like fan heaters, when you turn them off (or the thermostat kicks in), the heat stops instantly and in your room the heat will disappear quite quickly. With an oil heater, the oil will remain hot and give off heat after the radiator is switched off (manually or via the thermostat).

But they also take longer to heat up.

[Mave]

Might be worth finding an on line calculator just to see how many kw you'll need to jeep it warm and estimate your fuel costs for the winter - could easily add a few hundred pound a month if you're not careful...

[SystemParanoia]

I have x2 1kw oil heaters, theyre fantastic.. ive had them for years and years

[Hoofy]

NH1 said:

Hoofy said:

Dicky Knee said:

Are the oil filled rads reasonably efficient? Would a couple of fan heaters bankrupt me in running costs?

As I say, with things like fan heaters, when you turn them off (or the thermostat kicks in), the heat stops instantly and in your room the heat will disappear quite quickly. With an oil heater, the oil will remain hot and give off heat after the radiator is switched off (manually or via the thermostat).

But they also take longer to heat up.

Yep. No worse than a normal radiator, though.

[gazapc]

Dicky Knee said:

Are the oil filled rads reasonably efficient? Would a couple of fan heaters bankrupt me in running costs?

All electrical heating has a 100% efficiency so to put out 1kWh of heat into a room with some £500 fancy oil filled radiatiors claiming to be efficient and a £10 fan heater from Asda will cost exactly the same. Don't believe any of the hype the manufacturers spout about 'efficient' electric heating heating, it doesn't exist (heat pumps excluded), heating a house with standard rate electric is pretty much the most expensive way to heat a house.

[herewego]

Dicky Knee said:

Thanks for the suggestions so far.

I can't do much to cover the windows or roof as the landlord wants curtains made and installed by a pro which I'm not going to pay for. The conservatory is open to the kitchen so can't really be closed off. We do have rugs down which help.

Are the oil filled rads reasonably efficient? Would a couple of fan heaters bankrupt me in running costs?

Using oil filled will heat air gently which will rise to the roof and be lost through the glass. Fan heaters will at least move the air around but either way won't be very comfortable.
The landlord should not be renting out a property with a conservatory as a living area. I think the planning and building regulation people would have something to say about it.

[SystemParanoia]

My oil heaters were £20 from argos.

My parents have some old bottle gas heaters. Used to love those things.. especially when you took too long to start it and got a massive wooof of flame lol. no idea what they cost to run though

[herewego]

SystemParanoia said:

My oil heaters were £20 from argos.

My parents have some old bottle gas heaters. Used to love those things.. especially when you took too long to start it and got a massive wooof of flame lol. no idea what they cost to run though

About the same as electricity.