Need a cost effective method of heating one room

Relentless81

Relentless81

Relentless81

Soldato
Joined
18 May 2010
Posts
12,832
Hi,

On the cooler days over the last month my wife has been using a cheap electric fan heater in the dining room where her desk is, if it wasn't for the cheap electric fan heater she would be heating the whole house with the central heating. Meanwhile I'm wearing shorts :rolleyes:

Our energy usage appears to have jumped up by around £20 which seems crazy for this time of year and the only thing it can be is that fan heater.

What's the best thing to do here -

Smart TRV on the Dining Room radiator? Not sure how this works we already have Hive but its a single Zone based off the thermostat in the Hall or would we need another thermostat for this?

I'm probably overcomplicating with the above and should just get a cost efficient heater for the dining room, if so any recommendations please?

Thanks
 
ODuffer said:
Mining PC ;)
Click to expand...

That was my immediate thought.... though a small 600W oil radiator would probably be better and make sure the doors and windows etc are closed.
Set temp to ~20C and it will kick on and off now and then.

Fan heaters aren't great as people tend to point them at themselves and so feel cold the moment they switch it off.
 
Terminal_Boy said:
What’s the ambient temperature in the room she’s using?
Click to expand...

Depends on the outside temperature. It has a hard floor and is the coolest room in the house but I wouldn't class it as uncomfortable and requiring a heat source at this time of year.

ODuffer said:
Mining PC ;)
Click to expand...

No thanks, not interested in mining.

decto said:
That was my immediate thought.... though a small 600W oil radiator would probably be better and make sure the doors and windows etc are closed.
Set temp to ~20C and it will kick on and off now and then.

Fan heaters aren't great as people tend to point them at themselves and so feel cold the moment they switch it off.
Click to expand...

There is a knock through to the lounge so this might be difficult does this mean I'll need a bigger heater? Also the door from dining room to patio needs replacing (Being replaced next year) will this combination of open space and not great large door mean I would need higher wattage?

Thanks
 
Doesn't sound ideal. Concrete floors can soak up a lot heat. For the winter if you have to use that room, you might have to get a bunch of rugs but they'll only do so much.

Was going to suggest a door closer in case she is someone who doesn't close doors after them even when cold, but since there's a knock through to the lounge you'll get less benefit in closing the other door.

The crazy thing is that in UK (certainly in England) it doesn't actually get cold enough even in winter to need space heating IF only houses were properly built and insulated.
 
An electric heater that can be set to a temperature so it turns itself off otherwise they tend to get left on as you feel nice and cosy. Doesn't really matter what type in terms of cost, fan will give you instant heat while an oil radiator will take longer to heat up but keep the heat for a while after it turns off.

Best thing would be to find out why the room is cold and correct it. Trying to heat a leaky room will always be expensive and asking your wife to not use the central heating in winter will likely cost you a lot more than the energy bill :p

Edit: something that may help is an extra large mouse mat on the desk. That made working at my desk far more comfortable than the cold wooden surface.
 
Nothing I can do about the door at the moment unfortunately. I think I'll go with an oil heater from Amazon and see how affective it is, can always send it back then if its no good.

The mouse mat is a good idea thanks
 
Have you /has your Mrs tried an electric heated blanket whilst at her desk? They're quite cheap to run and keep the body warm.
 
can't you turn down/off the radiators in the rest of the house so that central heating is only on for that room? That would be the most cost-effective solution, right?

Also, any scope to move her desk to a different room? Small, carpeted room would be far better for her than a large one with a known-faulty door :D
 
I had the same issue when I boarded our loft and turned it into an office during covid. I ended up buying an oil filled radiator from Vonhaus:

https://www.vonhaus.com/vh_en/7-fin-1500w-oil-filled-radiator-black

It works a treat and has 3 wattage settings and a temperature control gauge.

I went for an oil filled radiator as it stops heating when up to temperature and doesn't blow air directly at you, so you can have really quite close to you.
 
Whats the issue with the door, is it really drafty? Are you using it much?
If its draft and your not using it much I would get one of these (handy for decorating as well as thats the main point) and put it over the door, very easy to tape on and remove as and when necessary

https://www.amazon.co.uk/True-Produ...49&hvtargid=pla-420321682253&psc=1&th=1&psc=1

I echo the thoughts on fan heaters, people overheat their skin temperature so it feels cold when they leave that bubble.
Oil heaters are ok, they arent perfect, at the end of the day the cost is dictated by the energy usage and an oil heater working hard will use just as much as a smaller fan heater.

If this is a long term thing and you have someone who feels the cold working from home then basing them in the coldest room may not be the best plan ;)

For starters in most houses its warmer as you go up, any possibility to use a bedroom or something upstairs?

Screens or laptop?

Maybe a dressing table that she can work at and then also use for other things?
 
Women feel the cold more than men.... Get her a sex change operation. Fund it by claiming discrimination against her identified gender, or something.
Failing that, have her Google how to mine and she can buy herself a mining PC. That will pay for itself soon enough and thereafter all her heating is paid for, all without you having to give two ticks about it.
 
Echoing the other suggestions for a room change.

No matter what you try, heating up a large room will always be expensive to get to temp and expensive to maintain temperature.

The obvious is wearing a thick pair of socks with some decent slippers. A dressing gown / blanket. A hot water bottle / warm drinks. She needs to be able to tell you which part is getting cold. I tend to find using the laptop that it's normally my hands from the keyboard mouse that get cold - only during the winter though.

If she's still cold in August with the above then i'd consider ringing 999*.

*i jest, but that's a big problem to be that cold in the summer months.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom