Which type of plug-in heater is the cheapest to run?

[BlockedPoster]

I need to buy a couple of plug-in heaters - I can swallow the cost of shelling out for them, but which is the cheapest to run? No sense in buying a cheap heater that costs me a fortune in electricity. So, which is cheapest to run, assuming all are 2kw heaters:

1. convection?

2. fan?

3. oil filled?

4. water filled?

And what are halogen heaters and are they any good? The reviews I've read indicate they heat whatever's directly in front of them only, and they tip over a lot, thus can be a fire hazard.

The alternative to plug-in heaters is a new boiler and central heating system. Several grand too much for our measley budget at the moment.

Calor gas/LPG are out for logistical reasons involving animals, small children, storage and clumsy partners. Especially clumsy partners.

Any tips for keeping our breath invisible indoors welcomed!

They are all quite expensive to run, but I think oil filled radiators are the best at heating a whole room and the most similar to having gch if you get decent sized ones, as the good ones come with timers and thermostats so will maintain a room at a comfortable temp. Fairly safe and portable as well. Fan heaters eat money and are only good for a quick blast to quickly take the chill off a room (eg before bed time or whatever ) imo. We used oil filled rads a lot when our house was being renovated and I still use one now and again in the kitchen. (I vaguely remember a thread on money saving expert about this and I think the oil filleds came off best.)

Thanks - I thought that about fan heaters. I figured they're running a) a heating element and b) a motor.

I suppose an oil filled radiator retains and thus radiates heat even after it's switched off.

Though I expect no good for hanging your smalls on to dry, like a conventional radiator....

I bought a couple in John Lewis a few weeks ago. I really wanted cool looking black fan heaters with flashing lights but the assistant told me that oil filled heaters are much cheaper to run so that's what I bought.

I have one under my desk as Itype. They don't look v ery nice and take a while to heat up but for background heat in bedrooms/studies etc they are pretty good.

Actually we dried our small on them too..I'm sure you're not supposed to but it was hard to resist! And yes, they do retain heat much longer as they cool down.

Brill - I think that's one decision made! Interesting about the knicker-drying.

Anyone know about halogen heaters, out of interest? I have failed to google much. But I think they sound expensive.

Right - Peter Jones here I come! Or, to be sensible, Tesco online.

Thank you!

We have got Dimplex OFRC mobile radiators. They're not like oil radiators but rather, a metal pipe inside heats up and the heat is directed through fins. They're better than the awful panel heaters we used to have and far cheaper to run. They don't take long to heat up the kitchen or the hall way.

My advice is to go for 1.5kw or 2kw. Anything more is too costly to run in terms of these heaters and they're very light to move since most of them have wheels on them. Only downside is that you can't use them to dry clothing on, but then I use a rack near the heaters and the clothing dries in the room air.

Slight false ecomony. 2kw will cost the same regardless of type. Your electric bill is based upon the amount of Kw you use. It all depends what you want to use it for; permanent or temporary heating. For example. I have a halogen heater in the garage which gives immediate heating once I turn it on. Same as the fan heaters. As soon as you turn them off; no heating. If you want to heat a room permanently then an oil heater is better. It takes a few hours to warm up, but then retains the heat, topping up occasionally once the room reaches the required temperature. Hope this helps

not sure what has revived this zombie, but a kilowatt is a kilowatt.

cost per hour is the kw of the heater times the unit cost of your electricity.

that's it.

drying clothes indoors pumps loads of water into the house. Drying clothes outside works in winter as long as it is breezy enough to dry the pavement.