Cheapest way to warm a room wfh

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I work from home in an office which has a radiator that doesn’t kick out enough heat for me. The boiler is new and I can’t put in a radiator that is much wider and I don’t want to add a second as the pipes would have to be on display.

The room has patio doors into the garden and curtains which I can draw when it is dark.

But I’m cold. I want some type of heater that isn’t going to cost a fortune. I wear heat holder socks, thermals and wrist warmers but my fingertips go numb and I have to be able to type.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Oh yes, that's the cure for all ills 🙄. I have a dog I take out 7+ times a day as she won't toilet in the garden - a mix of an hour long walk and 10-20mins for the rest. I'm still fucking freezing when sitting still in a cold room. As would anyone be.

FFS.

Halogen heater. This type https://www.amazon.co.uk/HALOGEN-INSTANT-COMPACT-SETTINGS-DURABLE/dp/B0BDMF8F1Q/ref=asc_df_B0BDMF8F1Q/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=659045935808&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=12436703676561731411&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9045699&hvtargid=pla-2196448930458&psc=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIsfffnKe7gQMVA-7tCh3r9wxyEAQYAyABEgJCRfD_BwE

hot water bottle against your back.
heated throw

I've got a Halogen heater that's very cheap to run. Last winter I had to do "heat the room" so we had that and an electric blanket. Both very effective. Also wrist warmers.

Heated throw, thermals, good socks. If you do have raynards then there are tablets to take that help. I take them just through the winter. I do have an electric heater as well but not sure how cheap it really is to run.

Merino base layers

How to heat the room has been covered. In times of less expensive energy I find a bogstandard fan heater works as well as anything. In current times hot water bottles and heated throws are very cheap. I like the idea of heated footpad.

What are you wearing? I find sheekpskin ankle boots are really important. With them I wear wool tights, thermal vest, merino wool dress, cashmere cardigan, and fleece jacket with cashmere scarf. (Cashmere def warmer than other wools).

I can't recall why but I am fairly sure this is a really bad idea - I have a vague recollection of seeing a news article about it being touted last winter but has some safety risks associated with it.

You can get heated desk pads from Amazon. I love mine keeps my fingers warm when working at my desk.

Well some terracotta contains heavy metals, doesn't it? So I can't imagine heating it up in an enclosed space would be a good idea.

Wrist warmers. And my nan swore by a candle under a terracotta plant pot, but I can't vouch for it.
Ooodie. One of those hot water bottles you wear around you. Heated throw.
I've just started wfh and our house is freezing at the best of times. Winter will not be fun.

Don't use a DIY terracotta pot heater - it's a fire hazard!

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-derbyshire-63880157

Oodie and sheepskin boots make working at home in Winter without putting the heating on during the day possible most of the time.

Thanks everyone lots of great ideas.

My radiator is full height.
If I’m on a call I walk about - this week I’ve averaged about 8000 steps just around the house before my evening exercise. But it varies.

I use an oodie with a good but it feels wrong at work 😂. Plus I do zoom calls so have to remove for that.

I am going to try some of your suggestions thank you.

@TheFormidableMrsC what halogen heater do you have that is cheap to run?

An oil-filled radiator is cheap to run and great for background warmth.

I invested in a good quality pair of wool slippers and some wrist warmers.

My next buy will be a wool jacket (a smart one so fine for online meetings etc.)

And I've put thick lined curtains up in my office so that I can keep the cold out properly overnight.

I used to have a little electric oil rad which was fab, but got expensive last year. Switched to heated throw, perfect. Toasty warm, cheap, and still need to be smart for video calls so does the job there too.

Hard to believe someone has actually suggested using a candle to heat the room. Quite apart from the fire risk, burning candles release a lot of pollutants into the air. Total madness!

FFS right back at you.

I gave a piece of advice. Neither you or the OP have to take it, nor does anyone else on this thread. Lots of the advice on here may or may not suit individuals, that's up to them to choose.

Wind your neck in and let people decide if advice suits them.

What flooring do you have? There's one room in our house that has no insulation under the floor (an old extension, put on before we lived here and before building regs needed lots of insulation) and its freezing. Carpets / rugs help.

Thick fluffy socks, sheepskin boots, thermal vests. I've just bought a fleecy long length zip up cardigan to live in this winter.

I really rate a heated throw and I have a heated mat to sit on, both were from Lidl last year.

My home office gets cold too, the sun is only on it at 8am.

So as a manager, you genuinely tell your staff to do this? Wow. Moving about for ten minutes several hours ago isn't going to keep someone warm all day. Add in disabilities, caring responsibilities, actually doing some work etc and your advice is even more bone.

(Poor) people just need to move more, no need to put the heating on? Sounds like a Tory policy from Winter 2022.

You could get a vertical radiator installed in place of the existing one. If you don't want to run the central heating the oil filled electric radiators will keep you warmer for longer than an electric fan heater, but electricity is quite expensive at the moment compared to gas.

I tell them they are free to, and gave a generous budget for WFH, plus a small budget for personalising their work environment. And in fact, I was one who insisted that the heating was on all day for staff in the office because cold staff aren't happy staff.

I mean, nice try on trying to deflect from the fact that you acted like a dick, but I'd also recommend the alternative of, as already suggested, winding your neck in rather than inventing reasons to get aggy at me.

Does the radiator get properly hot? We had a room that never seemed to get very warm and the radiators weren't balanced properly so that room wasn't getting its fair share of the hot water iyswim. Just a thought.

Otherwise a halogen heater is a good shout, although I found the light from it a bit annoying.

I bought a 0.25kwh desk top heater. It won't hear a big room but it's a quite effective in heating you. I can't have it on full power

Where is your desk in the room? Your thermal comfort is affected by the radiant temperature of your surroundings eg an outside wall or window, the radiator. If you are sitting next to an outside wall or the patio doors, you may feel colder as the wall/glass is colder than the air temperature and you are sensing that, IYSWIM? An extreme example is when the sun goes behind a cloud - the air temperature doesn't drop but you feel a huge change in temperature because you no longer feel the sun's radiant heat. A room at 20C in the winter often feels less warm than the same room in summer at 20C.

Also check for draughts, as that will have the same effect of making you feel cold (especially under doors). Warm air rises and the air movement from convection can also make you feel colder. Don't forget your thermostat is not at floor level so if you set it at 20C, it may well be a bit colder at ground level. Make sure you keep your feet warm and wear slippers otherwise you will be "feeling" the lower temperature at ground level.

I'm not sure if I have explained that very well and it doesn't directly answer your question but it might help you improve your thermal comfort.