Electric Radiators

[anonymousbird]

Does anyone have any experience/ recommendations? Not storage heaters, but more conventional programmable radiators that are hard wired into the electricity on their own circuit as opposed to plug in ones.

We've found some we like, but seem expensive, perhaps they all are.

Any tips gratefully received.

remember that the ads selling super-dooper efficient German radiators are lies. All electric radiators have the same efficiency.

cost to run per hour = your unit rate multiplied by the rating of the radiator. So a 3kw radiator will cost you three units an hour. You won't be paying less than 13p a unit now.

are you living in a flat that has electricity but no gas?

I second special - check the running costs! Electricity is expensive!

Thanks for the replies.

I have no choice, it has to be electric and the storage heaters in the property are knackered, and very expensive to replace (and almost impossible to control or programme properly!). So, we figured, if we have to outlay the money whatever, we might as well get something decent and controllable but was unsure of other pitfalls/difficulties encountered with them.

I am not expecting them to be cheap to run, but really wondering around ease of use etc.

I will have one 2 kw rad, one 1.5 and three or four small (approx 0.75) ones.

I also have an open fire, so hoping that on the cold nights, the 2kw one in the largest part of the house will not be on so much.

are you living in a flat that has electricity but no gas?

I'm interested in this too. We don't have gas and are renovating an old stone house. The finished rooms have new double glazed windows and good wall and roof insulation. We have a pellet stove in the downstairs area but the bedrooms will need to be electric.

I want something I can programme. I accept that they won't be cheap to run. I just want to know are the ones at £ 300 any better than the ones at £150?

this is a 2kW electric heater from Dimplex. It costs about £250

this is another 2kW heater. It costs £24.99

They both give out exactly the same amount of heat and use exactly the same amount of electricity and cost exactly the same amount to run.

That's the way electric heaters work.

If you are hoping to use the same power outlets as your existing storage heaters, you may need some rewiring, because they are probably controlled by a timeswitch that only turns on during off-peak hours.

Oil-filled radiators are somewhat safer and give a somewhat more even room temperature. It is an advantage to have any heater fixed to the wall so it can't fall over.

Beachcomber - exactly our query, does spending more "get" you more as it were? And I know whatever we choose won't be cheap, but there is no other service or power to the property. We need wall mounted for sure, plus looking at the slimmer ones as space is at a premium.

won't be cheap to run (or buy by the looks!).

Good point re checking for time switch. All the old storage heaters ran on a separate circuit which we would use to run the new heaters, so I will talk to my electrician about that. Thank you for the tip.

Storage heaters don't have much to go wrong, and can be programmed to keep you warm if you have the correct two rate tariffs. ( experience). Are you sure about this?

Storage heaters are really effective in some situations. Just because they look bulky and ancient doesn't mean they are no good. They are much cheaper to run because of economy seven tariffs. You can't use those for your normal electric radiator.

Yes, we are sure and I understand what you are saying.however, the heaters that are there are basically done for (over 40 years old) and replacements for them are more expensive than electric radiators. I won't bore you with the details, but the way the property is used means it needs almost instant heat for (sometimes very) short periods at short notice. If the property were permanently occupied in the usual way, and we could plan for correct use of overnight storage etc then I would consider it again.

Bills are an issue, however, the convenience of being able to switch it on at any time of the day or night for immediate output outweighs the cost in this instance.

I've been looking into this recently... Pigletjohn is right that they use the same amount of electricity when they're on, but if you have one with a thermostat, then you're not necessarily using it all the time as it heats up to the desired temp then it will stop heating until it cools down/tops up again. Probably only a few pence extra in your pocket, but worth mentioning all the same. They're all expensive if you want one that is wall mounted, with thermostat and looks vaguely ok... have just ordered a Cointra but not set it up yet.