Electric radiator recommendations

[SunnyUpNorth]

We are buying a flat in a property that doesn’t have mains gas and I don’t think ever will. We have gone through the options and I think the best one is going to be replacing the existing night storage heaters with new style electric radiators.

Does anyone have any they would/n’t recommend? I’ve heard Rointe are quite good but haven’t heard of any others. Also how much are they roughly to buy and install? It’s a two bedroom small flat.

an interesting fact about electric heaters is that they are all equally efficient. A £15 heater from Aldi gives out as much heat as a £500 heater from Magicrads, for the same amount of electricity.

Buying an expensive brand will give you a warm glow of pride, but no actual extra heat.

Advertising from certain vendors tries to obscure this simple fact with mumbo-jumbo about "German design" and "Italian aluminium"

THanks piglet, I’ve seen your comments to the same effect on other threads. But are any brands more reliable, or have people had good/bad installation or customer service experience with a particular company?

people seem to lie Dimplex (they are made by the same conglomerate that turns out several other brands pitched at different price points)

Night storage electricity will cost about half as much as peak rate, so is a saving. It is annoying if you are out at work all day though, as it warms your empty home. Depending on your age and health it can be useful if you need to keep the home warm all day, with additional small bedroom heaters at night, and you may be able to heat a large hot-water cylinder economically overnight.

"like Dimplex"

not "lie Dimplex"

We recently replaced a storage heater with a modern design, oil filled electric radiator. It is fully programmable and uses the original electric point from the storage heater, so fitting was cheap, but must be done by qualified electrician.

It was £340, and the Electrician assures me that it’s extremely efficient. It also looks fantastic.
I can’t remember the make, but if this is of interest I can let you know.

@ImPreCis that would be useful, thank you. So you can just turn it on and off as and when you need it like a normal radiator? Also does it make a funny noise when warming up? We have a plug in oil filled radiator and it makes a gurgling, trickling water sound when it’s heating up!

In Dec 17 i bought a swan oil filled one with timer, I used it almost every very cold day for about 3hours in one room whilst heating was not on - only me at home so no point. However my electricity bill for dec/jan/feb Doubled!! To £300 for the quarter. I stopped using it so whatever one you get check the consumption rate 😬

We had a Haverland electric radiator in our son's room (the only non centrally heated room in the house). It was brilliant. Programmable and with a thermostat. His room was always just the right temperature. It looked good too. Wouldn't hesitate to get another one. To answer your other question to a previous poster - it didn't make a noise either. I know what you mean about the gurgling etc - that's super annoying!

DS has just moved into a newly renovated rented flat with no gas. It has ATC oil filled electric heaters which are incredibly versatile and efficient. No gurgling.
You can pre-programme each one with hour by hour settings, have maximum heat, eco or frost. I feared his electric bills would be huge having all electric but they are actually very low.
No idea what they cost as it's rented.

That’s great, thanks both, I will look up those brands.

Any actual cost ideas???

You can pay whatever you want. £15 or £500. Or something in between. You choose.

They all give out exactly the same amount of heat per kWh of electicity they use.

Most will have a thermostat. Some have integral timers, though you can buy a separate timer if you want. Night storage systems usually incorporate a timer.

I got one recently from Amazon. Around £80, programmable (think different temp setting for different hour of the day/night for different days of the week) as well as a simple on/off switch. Depending on setting only comes on when temp goes below what you set it as and has an “open window” detection. LOVE it! It’s been really good, super easy to install and move and you can get some stylish looking ones, too. This is my one Devola Electric Panel Heater 2kW - LOT 20 Compliant & Energy Efficient. Digital 24 Hr 7 Day Timer With Thermostat, Wall Mounted Heater, www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01MRP8OLG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_HganDbACKJYQ5?tag=mumsnetforu03-21

An electric radiator/ towel rail for the bathroom is a great idea. Ours was about £50 and we installed it ourselves. Not an eyesore and low consumption.
Originally I wanted to avoid heat going straight out of the window above the original radiator (which is now sealed off) but it also gives us cosy towels and PJs after a shower. Aaah!

Something like this.