Heaters

[flatley]

Hello,

I'm new here (first post!) so hope this is the right forum.

What I'm looking for is a room heater that's effective, portable, and, most importantly, very easy to use. This is for my mother who, unfortunately is suffering from dementia on top of never having been very good with "technology" in the first place.

What she needs is something with a simple on/off up/down type control; all the ones I've seen so far would be far too complex - even if they'd look a piece of cake to most.

Ideally, an electrical oil-free appliance would be best and it needs to heat two to three rooms from a central location.

Many thanks.

oil-filled radiators have no accessible red-hot element, so are much safer and don't cause fires. Fan heaters and panel convectors are dangerous if e.g. cloth falls on top or they are put close to a curtain.

I am sure you will need several, one per room. You can get various powers. A small 400W is the weakest, and will keep a small bedroom frost free, but no more. A 1500W will keep a typical room warm.

The smaller ones have an on/off switch. Larger ones have a high/medium/low switch.

They all have thermostats these days. Avoid ones with built-in timers.

can I ask a related question, PJ, maybe OP would like to know too!
What would you use in a cold bathroom with only a towel rail and a single-glazed window? No sockets there of course.

How is the towel rail heated?

Is there a hot water cylinder nearby?

Does the house have a boiler?

If you look at the adjacent rooms, is there an electric socket on a wall which backs onto the bathroom?

How old is the house and what are the floors made of, and have they been covered with anything that you are reluctant to take up?

it's gas CH with a bolier. No sockets on the reverse on bathroom wall - but one in the adjacent hall - but would been a longer than usual cord on small electric heaters, and I thought it wasn't safe to use them near water?
I know about underfloor heating but don't really want to do it - would prefer something portable to turn on in the mornings as it's cold, but don't really need heating all day, so wanted a minimum of cost involved.

edwardian flat btw

if you mean the towel rail is heated by the CH boiler, then the rail can be replaced with a radiator. Towel rails give out very little heat, especially when they are encased in a thick insulating layer of towels.

Get as big a radiator as will fit, preferably a double, but be sure to have a TRV (thermostatic radiator valve) fitted so that it does not overheat the bathroom once it has reached your chosen temperature.

You can put an ordinary towel rail, or some towel rings, on the wall as high as you can reach above the radiator. If the ceiling is well insulated there will be a layer of warm air high in the room.

If there is a hot water cylinder nearby there is something extra you could do.

The question about the floor was to find out if pipes or cables would be difficult to lay under the floor.

I was not going to suggest a long flex.

thank you PJ! (what would MN property be without you )
There is no water cylinder. I can live without heating the towels - it's a well ventilated bathroom. I didn't realise that towel racks (large ones) are not effective - they feel very hot to touch! obviously somehow it's not the same as a radiator (Ionly dry one towel at a time on it, and none on it most of the time) - I wonder how is that explained.

towel rails and radiators (despite the name) mostly heat by convection, by warming the air which is in contact with the hot surface. Radiators have much greater surface area than rails, and fins increase it.

ah ok! thank you - I was fooled by the large number of rails on the rack.