Cheapest way to heat one room

[Luluthecat]

Im WFH and have a number of health conditions that means the cold makes me feel alot worse and increases my joint pain.

I can work under a heated blanket with a laptop but it’s not great for my hands and back and I also often need two screens . Trying to work with the heated blanket wrapped round doesn't help enough and is cumbersome. Heated gilet i dont think will be sufficient.

I probably shouldn’t be working as im so unwell but as i need the money I need the cheapest way to heat my study probably to around 22 degrees.

Look up terracotta pot DIY heater. I haven't tried it but apparently it really works

Could you put the electric blanket on your chair and then sit on it? You could then use a less bulky blanket on your lap. I don't have any health conditions but do feel the cold and it does make me achey if I get cold (I realise that it's not the same thing) I use a hot water bottle on my lower back, big fleece blanket folded twice on my lap, 2 pairs of socks and slipper, vest, long sleeve top, jumper and then a fake oodie on top. I always find that if I don't let myself get cold in the first place then it's easier. Once I get cold I really struggle to warm back no matter what I do.

I don't know about cost effective portable heaters but you could use thermal curtains and draught excluders in the room your in to try and keep the heat in.

Electric probably if you are trying to heat one room. At the end of the day it doesn't really matter what type they all put out energy. It is probably preferable to get one with different power settings so you can turn it up/down.

Suggestions :

i) Find the smallest room possible, with the minimum number of windows. Minimum of outer wall expanse.

ii) Make sure it is well insulated to keep the heat in. Get the windows well insulated and with thick curtains. If you don't have double glazing you can tape polythene sheets (I did at uni) but that is a bit hard core. Make sure the gaps around the door are well insulated.

ii) Make sure there are no gaps in the window frame for heat to leak out.

iii) Put the heater in the middle of the room if you can, not close to one of the walls.

Finally have you tried fingerless gloves. I used to have to do keyboard work outside and they are helpful. I think you can get heated ones.

Oh yes and this may sound a bit crazy, but when I was at uni I had a small kettle in my room. When you are really cold hot drinks can help, and when you use the kettle the heat from the kettle goes into the room rather than in the kitchen !

I use fingerless gloves when I'm working and that helps
These ones were from Amazon

Fleece lined leggings are also brilliant

those infrared panel heaters are meant to be super cost efficient to run. might be worth getting a small one depending on room size?

also get an oodie!! Or similar knock off.

oh and those cellular blinds from ikea to keep the heat in at the windows. (or you can do the bubble wrap window thing to keep the hot air in the windows)

Thanks for suggestions already wearing those gloves and fleece lined leggings. Will give the terracotta pot a miss massive fire hazard in a study. Double glazed windows so not much heat lost in the room.

Halogen heater is cheap to run. I have one in my office. sit it close by and you will be nice and cosy

Electric oil radiators are far cheaper than other electric heaters. I have a small one and on full setting it’s about 25p an hour (convection ones are about 60p). Once it’s up to temp it will switch off. I keep it under the desk so my bottom half is warm and the heat rises. Don’t dismiss the heated gilet, mine is fab and heats for 5-6 hrs - really toasty (I use it for kids sports outside in the winter).

I’d second electric oil filled radiator with draught excluder by door, oodie type thing and fluffy socks. You could look at places like go outdoors for thermal layers including tights to go under jeans.

Snuggle safe heat add are fantastic (for guinea pigs) they are more effective than hot water bottles and stay warm for hours

If you want to sit on a blanket, you need to buy one designed for that. Most throws have warnings not to sit on them - the wires aren’t particularly robust and aren’t designed to take weight.

I agree with the oodie - I have one and it’s great.

I have a curved infra red panel. It's lovely for sitting at a desk as it makes the heat wrap around you. I have a metal plate in one wrist and it is horribly painful if I get too cold and this has really helped. It was about £120 from Amazon, it's 300w so cheap to run, equivalent to a tiny oil radiator but feels much warmer. It's a bit like sitting in the sunshine on a cold day.

The point about sunshine is also a good one.

If you can find a room that gets the sun directly in the morning it will heat up a lot faster.

I'm working in a SE facing room at the moment. The sun is streaming in and its really starting to get very warm.

Use solar power as heating for free !

I have a v cold office in a north facing extension (was great in the heatwave).

This tiny oil filled radiator under the desk helps a lot & is not too expensive to run. I can blast the room then turn it off if dressed warm. I feel the cold more on my legs so in really cold weather I also like leg warmers (arms of an old jumper will do)

www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B01LY67Y9C?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

here is the link - it’s 800w ph so costs me 20p/hour to run (your costs would depend on your individual tariff)

Don't get a halogen heater, they're a fire hazard if used indoors. Offices I've worked in have banned both halogen and convector heaters. An oil-filled radiator is better as it's less hazardous.

There's no such thing as an 'efficient' electric heater - they all just turn electricity into heat. The higher the setting in kWh, the more electricity they'll use and therefore cost more.

I suggest getting a 2kWh oil-filled radiator that has multiple settings. Find out your electricity cost per kWh and you can work out how much the heater will cost to run, eg for each hour of 2kWh use at 50p per kWh, it will cost £1. That's assuming the heater is on 2kWh for the whole hour - over the course of the day you can either turn it down or it will automatically switch off for a while when it reaches a certain temperature.