Plinth heaters in the kitchen?

[Thistledew]

Do you have them, and if so, would you recommend them?

Electric or wet?

Can they be the sole source of heat?

If you have an electric system, is the fan noise intrusive compared to eg a fridge?

Our kitchen is reasonably large - about 8x4m, but the ceilings are quite low.

Any views greatly appreciated.

Yes they're alright if they're necessary
Electric is cheaper to install but 4 times more to run
Yes they can be the sole source especially if well insulated
We have the water based one and it has a fan on it the same as the electric one. It's not that quiet but you get used to it.
The other thing is they get totally cake with dust inside a you have to dismantle to clean, really bad design not to have a filter.

We have an electric one, it’s quiet, but I never use it except occasionally for a five minute blast because I’m terrified about how expensive it might be.

I've got one. Used it about twice in ten years, but they do work well and also a dust trap. Mine is electric.

I have one in my kitchen
It’s nice but now I have GCH I never use it
Occasionally my dog flicks it on - maybe he’s cold 😂

We have two in our kitchen, and I love them! They are wet and come on with the central heating. One of them is under the sink and really warms your feet up when washing up. Together they are too hot so generally we only have one on at a time.
Agree re dust trap though!

I have one that I switch on when it’s really cold for a few minutes as the kitchen gets really hot quickly. Most of the year it’s off though, the kitchen is at the sunny side of the house and usually warm as I cook a lot.

It’s noisy but used as a quick fix to the cold rather than an essential everyday heat source.

We had one (electric) in our previous home and I loved it. No idea about the running cost. It wasn't used frequently as the kitchen didn't generally get too cold but was brilliant for warming it up in 10-15 minutes when needed. Our kitchen was a similar size to yours OP.

I had one installed, just for the bit of kitchen where one stands to get the coffee sorted first thing in the morning. I went for it when we had to cut underfloor heating from the budget. But we never ever use it. I don't think i would recommend it. It's not a noise issue, just that it's easier to just put on socks or tolerate the cold floor.

I'd rather have my plinth under cupboards, thank you. Slippers & Extra jumper!

Thanks for the views - seems to be a mixed bag in terms of them being great and useless!

We are contemplating them for a renovation of a kitchen in a old house- the sole source of heating in the kitchen is currently an oil-fired Rayburn. We want to move away from oil so are looking to go electric, and will be installing a large bank of solar panels and probably a wind turbine too, which will take off some of the cost of running an electric system.

I have one at the French door end of the kitchen - radiator at the other end of the kitchen diner.
I put it on once in 25 years. Too noisy and sounded as if it was using lots of electricity (I am aeare that is ridiculous).
Now it is a dust trap and if I had the energy I would have it removed.

We have had to rule out underfloor heating for various reasons, not least that it would destroy the beautiful pamment tile floor. Putting in a radiator would be a bit of a compromise as we would lose unit space. We are considering replacing the Rayburn with an Everhot Range, but think it would struggle to heat the whole room.

We need some form of heating as the room is north facing and exposed to winter winds.

No. Kitchens tend to be warm anyway. I wouldn't bother.