Electric Heaters

[TheGreatWave]

My MIL is currently in hospital and thoughts have now turned to discharge. She is fairly unwell so if she was to come home then she would need to be nursed in bed. (The alternative is a care facility.)

A bed would therefore need to be provided downstairs or she would need to remain upstairs. She lives in a mid terrace house, however does not have central heating and her heating source is an old style gas fire in each of the two downstairs rooms. The rest of the house is heated with plug in electric convector heaters as required. (The relevance of her being mid terrace is whilst it does get cold the neighbouring properties do provide an element of insulation)

Obviously we could look at installing GCH but this would be a total install including locating a boiler somewhere, alternative is some sort of electric heating. Does anyone know the best to look at, free standing, wall fixed, oil filled etc.

Thank you.

I favour oil-filled as I believe them to be safer.

They get no hotter than a teapot, so unlikely to cause a burn if you touch them, or to start a fire if a curtain blows against them or clothing falls o them.

They also give a more even heat to the room.

I favour one on each side, to heat the room more evenly.

All electric heaters are 100% efficient. They turn 1 watt of electrical energy into 1 watt of heat energy. Paying extra for magic does not change this fact.

Thanks Piglet. I think she previously had oil filled but we can get some more.

This way at least we could get something in her bedroom that is a bit better to use.

depending on age of house, insulation and draughts, a downstairs room might need around 2 to 2.5kW to heat it.

Look for one with a 1/2/3 power setting as well as a temperature dial. The lowest setting that keeps the room warm will give the most even heat. Too much power will tend to go too hot, then turn itself off for a while, rather than giving an even heat.

The kitchen, bathroom and other rooms used intermittently would benefit from a powerful fan heater to warm them quickly. If there is a pet in the house it will also need reasonable warmth and a deep bed or box, preferably raised somewhat off the floor.

I sometimes get heaters in the summer sale at Wickes, but December is the worst time to buy heaters as there are no price reductions, and supply may be short. Supermarkets sometimes get them in, but will be sold out the morning after a frosty night.

You could also use two lower-powered heaters, one each side (or end) of the room to prevent draughts. Invalids often like the room to be surprisingly warm, especially as they may take time to wash and dress. Buy a large dial wall thermometer so you can easily keep an eye on it.

Yes to oil filled electric heaters.

If you're considering one of the downstairs rooms as a bedroom, be aware of the danger of carbon monoxide poisoning. Have the gas fires had safety checks this year?

Hi, sorry for the delay. I had noticed the lack of offers, plus stock, but we would find something. At first she is unlikely to really be needing to use the kitchen and hopefully by the time she does it will be getting to be a little warmer.

The hope is that she will get upstairs for bed, sleeping downstairs will be very much a last resort. Gas fires are serviced, currently a co detector, but if she was downstairs I would look into one of the ones that detect from the lowest levels.

The thought of coming home has apparently spurred her on a bit, so hopefully will pick up from now.

We installed a (reconditioned) stair lift for my mum as she was struggling with the stairs. It cost about £800 and she loves it!

Wouu Uk of this be an option?

Just fitted some wall mounted electric oil filled radiators in an office that were sleek and well designed and came with individual 7 day timers , they worked out about £450 each fitted and the company sized them all for the situation

If you google Zehnder I am sure they will help supply and then an electrician to fit , ours fitted 8 in a day quite happily

We put an air source heat pump in when we built our annexe as we didn't want to connect it to our house boiler. It's very good - we have a heater that blows out warm air but in reverse it's excellent in the summer as it can also work as an air conditioner.

I refer everyone to Piglet John's post above about not paying extra for magic electric heaters.

past experience is that he (if it is a he) gets believed due to masculine user name. I do not as I am assumed to be female. But 'he' is right.

@murbblurb

you can self-identify

Thank you all. To add to the complication she now has hospital- acquired covid after a newly transferred patient tested positive.

However the local council are apparently offering grants for those that don't have central heating so I am going to look into it. We may need to apply for attendance allowance to be sure of her eligibility but it sounds like it might be a good idea.

I am sorry to hear that - at least with hospital acquired covid she will be closely monitored and action can be taken if she does get ill.

definitely go for all the help you can get and DON'T let her be discharged until she has somewhere safe and suitable to go. There will be a lot of pressure for that. There are care teams with suitable PPE.

(today I identify as ...dunno really, WTF does that mean?)