Best electric heater to warm a room (sensible and practical)

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I have read many many articles that try to `Educate me` that all electric heaters are 100% efficient, so it doesn't matter which one you buy, Really?
It is not very helpful when obvious factors are overlooked, such as, heat rises and can warm upper part of room, leaving cold air nearer the floor, without circulation, and also take Oil heaters, why would you want to heat say 1 gallon of oil before feeling the warmth that would have been there at the start? Why not warm up 50 gallons of oil and come back tomorrow? At least your room should stay warm for a day or two. Or take Infra Red heaters, ever burnt your legs while your back is freezing?
No, surely someone can recommend sensible practical ways of comfortably heating rooms electrically.
It is silly to say that all methods are equal in comfort terms! Perhaps the fan in a fan heater is a good idea after all, given the extra cost of running the fan will probably pay dividends?............ Matt.
 
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How big is the room, how high the ceiling and how is it constructed and insulated?
 
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If they are giving £100 off every rad in the sale, how much are they to start with?? :eek:
 
What is best depends on what you are trying to do. There is no magic bullet.

Heating can be broadly divided into air heating and radiant heating. Radiant heating tends to warm surfaces rather than air, this is useful in a draughty environment or an environment with very high ceilings where air heating gets expensive but it tends to lead to the "hot back cold front" discomfort.

"radiators" despite their name are mostly air heaters, the radiant heat is a small proportion of the output.

With air heaters the main choice is really a compromise between bulk, time to heat the room and safety, once things get up to final temperature the end result will be very similar.

Yes hot air does rise, for this reason you want air heaters to be low down to give a uniform overall temperature
 
won't you even tell us if you have in mind a room that is heated for short periods or for long?

It is silly to say that all methods are equal in comfort terms!
I have never heard that said.

However it is true that a low cost heater is as effective as an expensive one.

Foe example an expensive convector is exactly equal in efficiency to a cheap convector.
 
the TLC ad says "One 400w heater will heat an average 6m sq room."

which is certainly untrue.

However it might heat a well insulated 6 sq m room, which is not at all the same thing.
 
Yes. Indeed re room size. I think they have the area confused

Small bedrooms, hallways, and a canal boat have the owners reporting good things.
But for the size, price and running costs not a bad little option
 
Three types of heating convection, radiation and heat pump I will forget heat pump as too expensive.

Radiation heaters heat the body not the air used in garages with many air changes but hard to control basic it's on or off there is no control.

So convector heaters are the norm. If you need to switch on 1 hour before required and it carries on producing heat 1 hour after being switched off then if you want heat for 1 hour then it's 50% efficient. But same heater used for 3 hours is 75% efficient and use it 24/7 then 100% efficient.

So the quicker it heats up and cools down the higher the efficiency. Also if it gives out a mixture of convected and radiated heat the efficiency can rise as you don't need to switch on so long before required.

Likely the bar fire is the most efficient as in minutes you feel the heat but just as the suns rays can get through your window into the house so can a fire with red hot bars send heat out of the house. And as soon as it switches off you feel cold.

So there is a trade off using a oil filled radiator will give a constant output even though switching on and off so the room is more comfortable.

So in the home likely oil filled radiator is the best option as heat output is content it does no stop giving heat even when switched off but in your church then bar heaters on the wall will be the best as doors left open and time in the church is short.
 
The noise of fan heaters is a factor in many cases.

Paying more for better controls, so that you don't waste energy heating more than you wanted or at times you didn't want, can be economically worthwhile.
 
Do bear in mind that electricity is one of the most expensive forms of enery available. Approx 3 times the cost of gas.
 

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