New house, no heating!

[SorenLorensonsInvisibleFriend]

Just bought a gorgeous 1930s house, which needs quite a lot of love (and money). It's beautiful but has no double glazing, no insulation, no heating at all and an old boiler that will also need replacing...!

Does anyone have a recommendation for oil filled radiators (or the like) that we can put in for now to stop us all having dragon breath (thanks, Bing Bunny) while we're cleaning and preparing to move in that won't cost us the earth?

I am making some assumptions here -

1. I assume that the boiler is either totally non working or only for hot water and not connected to any radiators.
2. I assume you don’t have a working fire place/stove or one that could be cleaned/chimney swept and be safe to use.

If so, then you are left with portable gas heaters, which give off fumes (smelly), carbon monoxide (deadly) and water vapour (which you might find a problem with when decorating) and are a fire risk. I’ve always found them awkward to light too. On the plus side they do belt out heat.

or (and my preference) oil filled electric radiators. They are a dry heat, can be easily moved, don’t give of fumes or fatal gases, give out a lot of heat, easy to switch on/off and don’t require bottles to lugged about or stored (which has its own dangers) and give off a decent amount of heat. Electric does have its own dangers - but on balance probably safer than a gas heater on wheels. Electric radiators are easily stored and can be flogged on Facebook.

I suspect that costs are pretty much the same, given how much even small gas bottles are and I think you have to pay an additional deposit on your first bottle (that may have changed or not).

so on balance I would opt for oil filled plug in radiators. But I am assuming you do have a decent, safe electric supply.

I should add nothing is going to be ‘cheap’ given the lack of insulation/double glazing and normal household furnishings.

No advice on heaters but i'm buying a house with an old boiler and have been told that you can apply for a free boiler (they also replace pipework and can look to see if you need cavity wall and loft insulation) via some sort of government scheme. Just thought I'd pop this on here so you know. It's going to save me so much money!
They are coming out to do a survey on mine as soon as I get the keys

We did the same a few years ago. If it's for just doing DIY I'd go for a ceramic heater, which can make a room warm in a few mins, while an oil filled radiator can take ages. Oil filled radiators are a good solution for when you're finally in the house.

Also draught proofing, cheap film based secondary glazing are surprisingly effective. But get the loft insulated and potentially cavity wall insulation ASAP.

@Cactusspike is it this scheme? https://www.gov.uk/apply-boiler-upgrade-scheme

looks like a good option if anyone is eligible. There was a thread (last week??) about this and heat pumps. Interesting to read. And typically I can’t find it.

Yes it was I think. You have to be eligible but there are different categories to pick from.
The people I've spoken to have been very helpful and think I might be eligible as I am paid child benefit, as I guess most people with children are (unless over a certain salary)

Half our house has no central heating. We use oil-filled electric heaters on a timer. Got the current ones off Amazon. I would go for cheap and cheerful, as they all seem to die after a couple of years, however much you paid for them.

Oil filled radiators are just storage heaters by another name. It's quite funny how people seem to thing oil filled radiators are great but storage heaters are not.

All electrical heaters are pretty much 100% efficient. If you don't have kids I would buy some convection heaters because they are cheaper (they wouldn't react well to someone spilling stuff down them) and you will get exactly the same heat output for your money. think about whether it might be worth running the heating on an E7 tariff.

I would recommend checking out the loft insulation. If it is neglected then putting new rolls in is dirt cheap and improves the warmth in a house considerably.

Re the windows, if you don't care what they look like you can tape polythene sheets over them to make temporary secondary glazing. Their are kits you can buy to do this.

Heated throws can be bought cheaply and keep you warm on the sofa and you can also use them to warm beds up

Finally I would run a dehumidifier to dry the place out. This will mean it will feel a lot better at lower temperatures and you will get less mould/dampness.

Speaking as someone who has had both, storage heaters are in no way the same as oil-filled radiators. The huge downside of storage heaters is that, once they run out of stored heat, you are stuck until they charge again overnight. So, in cold weather, your choice is to be permanently quite cold or alternately toasty then freezing.

We have one of these:

https://www.electricradiatorsdirect.co.uk/technotherm-ks-tdi-high-heat-retention-radiator/

The ceramic core means it keeps its heat for a good while, saving on electricity.

We also have a Dragon 4 oil filled radiator which is great at heating up a room quickly, ours is still going strong after 8 years.

https://www.delonghi.com/en-gb/search?text=Dragon+4&searchType=PRODUCT&hasLoadMore=false

The top one requires feet ordered separately.

There's nothing stopping you using storage heaters during the day.

They just cost more.

All electric heating is exactly the same and is 100% efficient. The only difference is that there is a lag on how the energy is delivered to help you take advantage of cheaper electricity prices with a storage heater.

With an oil filled radiator, there is also a lag on how the energy is delivered. What this is designed to take advantage of I don't know.

I have both convection and oil filled radiators. I use the convection, because generally I want a room I am in to heat up quickly when I turn it on. The convection is also lightweight and easy to carry from room to room whereas the oil filled radiator is not really luggable it's too heavy. The convection was a lot cheaper than the oil filled radiator but I see on the web they are now pretty similar. My guess is disposing of the oil filled radiator is more of a pain, as the oil would have to be drained. The convection is probably a bit less safe, because if you dropped fluid on it it would go down the vents. It also has vents for idiots to poke stuff into. The efficiency of both is identical.

You misunderstand. Of course, you can both charge and use storage heaters at any time of day. However, once the stored charge is expended, you do not have heat from them until they have recharged. The clue is in the name.

This is brilliant; thank you all so much for your advice. I can often be heard saying that I've bought things based on recommendations of the good women of Mumsnet (my Janelle coat, air fryer, a certain dehumidifier to name a few) and you've seen me right again. All hail the nest of (resourceful, savvy, capable DIYer) vipers.

Any more tips and hints, do keep letting me know! So much to learn, this is our first ever home of our own (with two children) and it will be a long and hopefully lovely journey.

It would make more sense just to install the new boiler & central heating system (& insulation) before you move in. Where will you store the heaters once you don’t need them any more?

Oil-filled radiators are much of a muchness so as said upthread, just get cheap ones. They are probably the most convenient, cheapest and safest option.

We do very much want a new boiler and central heating system before we move in. This will be more thousands of pounds on top of having just paid for the house, the solicitors, having a failed MOT on our car today, and Christmas and life with two children. We can't have everything instantly and are prepared to be patient. This is why I needed help and advice.

Luckily, we have a few weeks before my tenancy is up so we have wiggle room, but in order for us to be in the house and working on it in the meantime we need some kind of heat as it's currently close to freezing (dragon breath), any paint wouldn't dry (had the carpets cleaned today and it will apparently take a few days for them to dry completely with blowers on).

I'm feeling really heartened by all the useful and brilliant suggestions - especially the polythene covering for windows in the meantime (did I mention, no curtains in places and thin ones is others!?), quick and easy insulation in the roof and oil filled radiators and dehumidifier to dry things out and warm things up. It will feel so much more like home as we get to work!

Good luck, OP. For any windows that you don't need, cardboard is fantastic insulation (though obviously not ideal if you want to see through them!).

I have a pair of delonghi 2.5kw oil filled rads. I've had them for about 8 years now. We bought them for a renovation and we use them in an outbuilding now. They've been reliable and are fairly economical to run. They warm the room up v quickly. Just make sure you get the right kW size for what you need. Too small and it'll be useless.

(edit -typo)

We bought our oil filled radiator from B&Q. It's very efficient and not expensive to run.

Is the old boiler not working at all?

especially the polythene covering for windows in the meantime

I use this on my bedroom window which needs replacing at some point (there's a gap in the sealant somewhere). It is very effective.
https://www.diy.com/departments/diall-clear-window-film-l-4m-w-1-5m/1802835_BQ.prd

Just a warning... We heated our house in winter with electric heaters because we needed to dry it out whilst living in it and renovating and ended up with a over a thousand pound electric bill for a month of usage so be cautious about leaving them on.

Thank you for the warning - being hit by a massive bill is one of my greatest fears at the moment!

I've bought the b&q window wrap, thank you! Wish me luck 🤞🏻

The aged boiler is an immersion that the surveyor recommended replacing at earliest convenience, fiancé is keen to try it out and I plan to be watching through my fingers when this happens.

Still absolutely in love with the house though 🥰

We bought two small oil filled radiators from Morrisons, based on above advice saying there's not too much difference between cheap ones, they've done well in taking some of the chill out of the air in the few hours they've been on. Have been by in the late afternoon/evening yesterday and today and it feels a little less abandoned and cold!

Next stop is loft insulation - there is precisely zero up there! Interesting to see...!