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Fan heaters

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
Are these expensive to run? We have night storage heaters but sometimes its colder than you expect so I want to buy a fan heater for an extra boost. Are the expensive to run? Are oil filled raidiators better, or another type of heater? A fan heater says 2kw, is that how much energy it uses in an hour?

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    kangoo wrote:
    Are these expensive to run? We have night storage heaters but sometimes its colder than you expect so I want to buy a fan heater for an extra boost. Are the expensive to run? Are oil filled raidiators better, or another type of heater? A fan heater says 2kw, is that how much energy it uses in an hour?
    1 Watt is 1 Joule per Second. 2 kw means it uses 2000 Joules of energy per second.

    They are generally pretty expensive to run.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Night storage heaters are a clever idea but rarely work properly in my experience. I was always freezing my norks off come 8pm.

    I would go for oil filled radiators, I have a small portable one which was about £30. Fan heaters really are really drying and I think more expensive. I always worry about them catching on fire too :shocking:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    have you seen those hallogen heaters that turn off as soon as they are tilted? they are a tenner and cost about a penny an hour to run. very warm but very bright!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I only need a fan heater for boosts, our rooms are quite small so it wouldn't be on for very long in the day. how many joules are in a unit? its all so confusing
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    VinylVicky wrote:
    have you seen those hallogen heaters that turn off as soon as they are tilted? they are a tenner and cost about a penny an hour to run. very warm but very bright!

    ah my friend had 1 of those! where can i buy 1?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    kangoo wrote:
    ah my friend had 1 of those! where can i buy 1?
    usually places like market stalls. im toasting by mine right now :D
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    dang, can't think of where to get one round mine. argos are selling for like £30! amazon have lots but i bet postage is a bomb
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    To cut through the technical stuff, yes, fan heaters are very expensive to run.

    Wear a jumper if you're cold.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    A unit is 1kWhr. So 1000 watts over an hour. So if you used it for an hour it'd be 2 units of electricity.

    Compared to a 100W lightbulb being 0.1units for an hour.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Kermit wrote:

    Wear a jumper if you're cold.
    lol you sound like my mum
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I've got two oil radiators that I need to have either side of me in the evenings, and they are only any good when you add a duvet to that equation. Our heating is broken at the moment so it's seriously chilly. Wouldn 't recommend oil heaters at all.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Wear slippers! REally makes a difference.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    It's not a good idea to get too cold. If your room/house is cold and damp it can make you ill. So, even if you have to keep an eye on the bills, you should also make sure you don't let your house affect your health. Tis easier to stay warm than to get warm too.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    block off your draughts.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Kermit wrote:

    Wear a jumper if you're cold.

    Are you kidding? I was wearing 2 jumpers and a blanket last night. There was ice on the INSIDE of the window. Don't think i'm some kind of pansy who wears vest tops in winter and then turns the heating up. I could see my breath
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Thenks for everyones replies! I have slippers, wouldn't be caught without them...sooo warm

    The reason I'm looking for a portable heater is because we've moved in quite recently and are not used to the night storage system. Also the heater in the living room is in a really stupid place so its always blocked by something no matter what we do. Coupled with the fact that we have single glazing and the landlord has blamed us for the mould that's coming in the house and told us to keep the windows open so her stuff doesn't get ruined. SO ITS BLOODY COLD. :(

    *sigh*
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Fuck that, mould is your landlords problem, close the windows. And tell her to sort the heating.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    For comparison, an upright Dyson vacuum cleaner is 1.2KW, an normal iron is about 2KW, a microwave is 1KW, a small cooker is 2.2KW, a kettle is about 2.2KW, an electric shower is around 8KW and your fan heater would be 2-3KW depending on what model you bought. So generally, you'd be looking at the equivalent of having your cooker on, probably for about the same length of time, if it's just for a top up. I think I'm right in comparing it like this, but maybe someone else can confirm.

    But those flat panel heaters are around 500-600W and they cost about the same amount. But a fan heater will probably heat a room up more quickly. Imo though, a convection heater would be better for a quick boost, since they are pretty much the same as a fan heater, just less noisy.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I have me a halogen heater from poundstretcher, £12, there is a smaller one for £7 but I was greedy :D Thanks vicky for your suggestion

    Stuff was going mouldy in the spare room so a guy came round to look at it. He said it was condensation because we were sleeping in there. I told him the room is hardly used. Then he told the landlady that its because we are drying stuff inside. She said its our fault. There is a lot of condensation in the bedroom in the mornings, i try and keep the window open but its SO COLD:(

    I also bought two pairs of gloves, two ear muffs and a wooly hat. Fuck you winter I'm ready, WHOOPAH!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Gaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh carried the bastard back from town, was very awkward. Just ripped the packaging off, so excited for being warm! THERE IS A PIECE MISSING

    I hate my life

    *cries*
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    kangoo wrote:
    Gaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh carried the bastard back from town, was very awkward. Just ripped the packaging off, so excited for being warm! THERE IS A PIECE MISSING

    I hate my life

    *cries*
    bugger!

    take it back and get 2 little ones instead, you can have one on either side of the room
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    oh, i didn't think of that!! I found the missing piece, was tucked under one of the flaps at the bottom of the box (when it should have been in the plastic bag with its friends)

    ah well not to worry. at least i have heat! and my ear muffs are uber cool, although i seem to have a small head so they're a little too big :(
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Were you wearing 2 jumpers under the blanket in bed?

    If so don't, by all means layer up the duvet and the blanket but don't wear extra clothes in bed as you won't be any warmer, and in fact may be colder (the physics is a little confusing but it works).

    Also don't forget to close the curtains as soon as it starts to get dark, that'll help keep the heat in.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I tell you, get a hot water bottle.

    They are amazing. I'm sitting here with one in my lap now and it's wonderful:-)

    I had it in bed with me the other night and when I emptied it the other morning, the water was still warm - after about 12 hours!

    Back to basics...
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    we used to have a meter in my flat that took the old 50ps. we would be putting 50p in over say 3/4 hours with fan heter (and some other stuff)

    they are expensive.
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