I have just bought an oil filled radiator. I dont have gas central heating, I have economy 7 storage heaters, but there isnt one in my bedroom and it has been sooooooo cold recently that I thought I would invest in one. Its on wheels so can easily be moved about to other rooms if necessary.
What I would like to know is how economical they are. I did ask about before buying it but most people I know have central heating. I thought that it would be much cheaper to run than halogen or convector heaters but wondered if you knew.
It does have a timer on it but I will probably just put it on as and when its needed.
I have two: one in the kitchen and one in the bedroom.
I've been told that they are much more economical than heating the whole house/flat/apt.
I keep the house at ca. 52 degrees Fahrenheit at night and ca. 60-62 degrees in the day. I keep the electric, oil-filled radiator in the kitchen set so that I am comfortable. Sometimes that's 60 and sometimes I need it as high as 68. If it gets below freezing at night, I leave the kitchen one on and set it at ca. 54, to make sure the water pipes don't freeze. I open the cupboards under the sink, to make sure.
The one in the bedroom is turned off in the daytime, and I set it at 61-63 at night, depending on how cold it is outside.
I use a very small electric heater, with a fan in it, in the bathroom. I heat up the room before I start the bath water, and leave it on while I'm in the tub.
I have ca. 700 square feet, and my electric/natural gas bill is usually $80-100 each month. If I'm ultra-frugal, I can get it much lower in the warmer months. Last month, my bill was higher, because I tested using the furnace set at 64 in the day, and leaving an electric towel warmer on most of the time in the bathroom. Well, those comforts made the bill go up considerably. We did have a serious cold spell, so that is a large factor, too.
I wear several layers, wear sturdy houseshoes, lined with wool, which have solid soles. I also wear a fleece jacket, and a wool scarf, in the house.
My parents have a house with excellent insulation, double windows, etc. They don't need as much heating and cooling as I do, because their house is of a much better quality of construction.
I have found that the oil filled rads are much more economical to run than the 'blow' type heaters. We have one on wheels that we use as a back up in parts of the house that are harder to heat or at times when our Rayburn is not lit for example some days in Spring or if we have been out for ages.
So for example, I will set it up in the bathroom - on its lowest setting and leave it for a couple of hours and that does the job fine, and also I have used it in my daughter's room on a timer for a couple of hours again on its lowest setting in the mornings.
A couple of hours at a low setting and the room is warm, in contrast the blow heater needs to be on for at least an hour at a high setting to achieve the same results. I can't give you consumption differences but I do know when I walk past the electric meter it is barely spinning for the rad, but turn on the blower and it positively whizzes around!
2010 is my year of projects - 365 days and 365 projects.
I have one in my little radio room and one of the benefits is you get a very "even" temperature with them.
I find all other electric heaters, especially the convector heaters, to be "up and down" ... either chilly and warming up or too hot and cooling down, very seldom just right, especially when in a small room.
Mine has 3 heat settings which I think is 1, 1.5 & 2Kw, so if left on 1 it will use a unit of electricity every hour when going non-stop.
So it really depends what you have the thermostat set at, the room size and the outside temperature.
Tony
Disclaimer: I almost certainly haven't a clue what I'm talking about.
