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Original poster

How do i heat one room all day cheaply?

131 replies

ssd · 01/10/2021 18:45

Ds is studying at home, hes cold during the day. We're in Scotland. I put the heating on yesterday but it heats all the house including radiators that are broken and I can't turn them down.
So is it cheaper to buy him a wee heater for his room alone? Rather than turn the house heating on all day?

OP posts:
BoredZelda · 01/10/2021 21:26

Those wee fan heaters cost an arm n a leg to run believe it or not

15 pence per hour, and that assumes they are running constantly which, if you have one with a thermostat, it doesn’t.

Cost to run a 24kW boiler (average size for a 3 bed house) for an hour is about 90p.

So, cheaper to have a fan heater in one room than heating the whole house.

However, I tried this in my wee office and I find the noise really distracting, and the warm air isn’t good, very dry. Worth trying but doesn’t work for me. I’ve resorted to having the heating on.

Hooplawho · 01/10/2021 21:28

Layers and hot water bottles might do the trick - one to rest his feet on and one on his back, and then a brisk walk at lunchtime to get the blood flowing. We do have a little electric heater which I use sometimes (just one of the £20 ones) which heats a small room nicely but does cost more than the hot water bottles so might be worth trying those first?

Hullbilly · 01/10/2021 21:28

We've bought an oil filled radiator for WFH. Argos or AO.COM have them.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

Home improvement
cricketmum84 · 01/10/2021 21:38

We have a little electric heater that we use during the day if we are only using one room. Much cheaper than having all radiators on.

Leftbutcameback · 01/10/2021 21:40

Also, it they like hot drinks, a large insulated mug or a flask that they can sip and don't need to go to a cold room elsewhere to make a tea!

Leftbutcameback · 01/10/2021 21:41

Also when you say your radiators are broken do you mean the thermostatic valves on them? All of ours had snapped off as well and I bought a pack of 3 for £15. Just screwed them on.

RampantIvy · 01/10/2021 21:44

I suspect that oil filled radiator sales will go through the roof this winter.

SoftSheen · 01/10/2021 21:48

I use a lakeland heated clothes airer to heat my office ( single room sized). Low cost and with the door closed it is warm (sometimes even too hot)

^^This! Then you can dry washing at the same time. We haven't got the heating on yet, and most of our house is a little cool. The room with the heated clothes airer in it is toasty warm though! And (claims to be) only 6p an hour to run.

Availableforbaking · 01/10/2021 21:50

I have a heated airer & dry clothes while I work, kills 2 birds with one stone!

LifeInAHamsterWheel · 01/10/2021 21:52

We use a dehumidifier to dry our laundry and like the heated airers it keeps the room toasty! And it's cheap to run 👍🏻

likeacandleinthewind · 01/10/2021 21:52

Hmm, I use an oil filled radiator in my study, but I had hive installed last year and I remembered that I bought a pack of three hive thermostatic radiator valves last year.

I must find them and install one, then I can control the heating in my study from my phone and isolate it from the rest of the house.

Hive cost £200 installed and is meant to pay for itself within 12-18 months.

PolkadotsAndMoonbeams · 01/10/2021 21:53

You can also put a couple of clippy hangers on a fleece blanket and hang it from the top of your doorframe — really helpful if you have draughts coming in.

MrsPelligrinoPetrichor · 01/10/2021 21:55

Electric convector heaters are good and not too expensive. Make sure it has a thermostat.

FinallyHere · 01/10/2021 21:57

Get the radiators fixed a la PigletJohn's suggestions.

Consider thermostatic radiator valves on the radiators. Much better investment than using electricity to heat the house.

yomellamoHelly · 01/10/2021 21:58

Last year I found an electric throw kept me toasty

hapagirl · 01/10/2021 22:03

I have an oil filled radiator I put under my desk. The heat hits the top of the desk and spreads. I also put my feet on the radiator, if my feet are warm the rest of me often is. The added bonus is the cat also sleeps on the desk because she knows it's warm so I have company! I'm liking the idea of a heated throw. We have a Victorian, drafty, single glazed house in Scotland and would be a complete waste to heat the whole house just for me while everyone else is at school / work.

SweetBabyCheeses99 · 01/10/2021 22:07

The cheapest long term solution would be to get the thermostatic valves on your radiators fixed so that you can turn them off individually.

Minniem2020 · 01/10/2021 22:07

I'd also say an oil filled radiator or like a pp said, how about a heated airer then it's also doing the job of drying your clothes too.

OakPine · 01/10/2021 22:08

Hi OP. Waving to you from Edinburgh //

My student flat here was very cold, with no central heating. I'm currently in a very cold Victorian house which no amount of heating seems to warm up.
There are two things, get your body warm and get the air warm:
Wear layers. I used to wear leggings under jeans, and double up on t-shirts under jumpers. Wear socks and indoor shoes/slippers. Wear fingerless gloves, and a hat. Don't bother buying special insulated type versions of these. Just wear more clothes. A heated blanket if you can get one will be good.
But as someone earlier pointed out, insulating your body is not enough if the air is cold.
Ideally get the central heating on in one room. Or buy an oil filled radiator. If you can't afford that (and this I know is somewhat extreme) then work in the kitchen, keep the doors closed, and periodically switch on all 4 burners on the hob for a minute to warm up the air. I know that this is extreme, and it may not be safe enough for your son to do, but this is what I did when I had no money for a new heater.

Garriet · 01/10/2021 22:08

@WTFCanIDoAboutThis

I've just invested in an electric throw for when I'm WFH as my little office is freezing and I don't want to turn the heating on. My friend swears by them and avoids turning the heating on for most of the winter.
Second this. I have an electric throw, about 3p an hour to run, I just wrap it around me when I’m working at home and a bit chilly.
Wriggleon · 01/10/2021 22:16

Another one who uses the heated clothes drier to also heat up the home office, think its about 6p an hour ( and you get your clothes dry too)

RoseMartha · 01/10/2021 22:20

When wfh in winter I usually wear lots of layers and sit at my desk with a hot water bottle at my back and a blanket on my knees and keep drinking hot drinks even hot water will do. And only put heating on as a last resort.

TiddleTaddleTat · 01/10/2021 22:23

I like the suggestion of an electric throw, which I understand are cheap to run. But the cheapest ones I can find are about £45 which is quite an outlay for something meant to be money saving... am I missing a trick here?

Coogee · 01/10/2021 22:26

Yes, electric fan heaters cost a bomb to run. Oil filled radiators are meant to be one of the cheapest forms of space heating to run if that's a possibility.

An oil filled electric heater is not too expensive to run. Don't get a fan heater

All electric heaters, regardless of type, are 100% efficient and will cost the same to run for a given heat output.

M0rT · 01/10/2021 22:28

I have an electric throw, it was a present but I know Aldi and Lidl usually do them at this time of year so you could keep an eye out.
Its gotten colder here in the evenings and I don't want to turn the heat on yet.
So I open all the doors upstairs and the heated airer heats it all.
So I think I'll be moving that beside my desk this winter.
Mine is an Aldi one that was €35, so probably less in £'s.