Help guys, need a good electric heater solution for a office

[kilo_4que]

Right guys, I have tried a few different heaters and to be honest they do squat all. I have two large rooms, one upstairs and one downstairs, both of which need heating.

I tried small fan heaters, but they were useless, just about got heat from them when I stand next to them.

Then I tried one of those thin oil filled heaters, again hardly any heat unless you are physically touching them

Then last but least not I used some big chuncky oil filled heaters with a thermostat and all that palava. The heaters in question were Delonghi which I was assuming are supposed to be good.

Here is a photo of one identicle to mine
http://img.epinions.com/images/opti...eatersDeLonghi_Dragon_051221_M-resized200.jpg

Basically you got the feeling the are i.e. around 3 meter square was no loner freezing yet not warm even after hours of the heater being on. It was was on full power etc but you didnt get a lot of heat unless your standing next to it with your hand above, only then you get some heat rising.

I put two of these in a 5x5m area and was diassapointed.

Likewise guys, what would you recommend thats good.

Thanks

 

[il78]

It sounds like your quite nesh...I have the same heater in my daughters room as her room has to be kept at a certain temperature and I've never had any concerns.

Have you tried the standard wall/floor convector heater?

There are always halogen / infrared heaters but these are more a direct heat (ie, you have them facing you and you feel the warmth, not ideal to heater a room).

Ceramic fan heater, passed a few of these into an office I've worked in and they seem happy with them..

 

[JACKC]

Get some wall mounted convector heaters with inbuilt timers, can be heating up before you get there. Very good, I had them in my old house, drank the electric though.

 

[ColJack]

your first concern should be insulation if you're not keeping heat in an office environment..

they are usually stiflingly hot because of all the IT equipment..

radiant heating works well if you switch it on an hour or so before you get there.. it doesn't just heat you, it heats any solid object, so walls, floors, desks etc..

what kind of cash are we looking at spending here?

is there a space for a more "industrial" heating solution?

 

[kilo_4que]

Hi guys thanks for the replies. il78 im normally one of those that can work throught cold without too much of an issue but there has been several people commenting on it as being an issue when I have employees working here. It doesnt really bother me personally but does so considering several people have also mentioned the place being freezing even though the heaters have been on for several hours.

The problem however may be that the over size of the rooms is approx 15x5 meter. could this be a reason?

Regarding cash, im willing to spend a little more than that average rate the delonghi ones are goin for so long as they do the job and dont drip dry my pockets lol

Finally, it was a silly misjudgement on my part when doing my place up that I assumed having mobile electric heaters would do the trick likewise didnt get central heating put in as I wanted to keep a minimalistic look as the place is a design studio. A bit buggered now.

Further to fuel the problems, the computers I have are all mac and dont generate much heat.

I do however have insulation but of course that will do the trick once the place absorbs some heat at least

 

[nozspark]

What type of ceiling do you have??

My local wholesalers have radiant panel heaters in a suspended 'T' bar ceiling in the counter area and they are quite effective.

 

[ColJack]

false ceiling?

anywhere to "hide" a couple of units about 36Lx18Hx24D? ( inches )

they are electric heater units that blow hot air through 4 inch ducts, 4 to a unit about 4KW.... the plus side is that if installed right they can be used to provide fresh air in the summer..
let me know and I'll see if I can get some prices..

you might also consider some glass partitions to compartmentalise the space a bit..

 

[ColJack]

you might also want to think about air conditioning units, they can be used as heat pumps warming the place up in the winter..

they'll thank you for it if we have a hot summer..

 

[Click-Sure]

Definately air con is the way to go, very efficient electric heating and you get the bonus of cooling in the summer.

 

[ColJack]

it's fine but you need access to an outside wall... or flat roof..

 

[Click-Sure]

that isn't already covered in everyone elses AC units...

 

[kilo_4que]

Right, some fantastic ideas there guys.

A few problems, first and foremost the downstairs floor is all drylined including the ceiling.

The upper floor is, dot and dabbed walls skimmed over with a flase ceiling.

Problem is the ceilings were planned out with particular lighting in mind i.e. recessed lights that take two energy saver bulbs, i.e. are not very small and take up the whole ceiling likewise wont be able to fix anything to the ceiling.

Regarding glass partitions, you hit the nail on the head for a final feature of mine, but i am assuming it is expensive. My initial concept for the building including a glass partition to separate the upstairs office from the print production area and downstairs separating the design studio from the reception area.

I am really getting paranoid now as I can think of any solutions. I cant really have any installs as everything is in, done and ready. I really didnt think it would have been this much of a problem

 

[Click-Sure]

What about wall mounted AC units, if you can get them on a suitable outside wall you can have the condensing unit on the other side of the wall, keeping the pipework down to a minimum, meaning the unit doesn't have to work so hard.

 

[kilo_4que]

Lol i think i may have forgotten to mention that junkies walk around outside, so anything that looks pinchable, theyll take

That aside, isnt there an alternative (easier solution)? Like any mobile heaters that actually work. Ironic as im sitting next to the delonghi heater as we speak and its been on for 3 hours, Im sitting approx 3 inches away and can feel squat all.

 

[electronicsuk]

The largest mobile heater you can run off a 13A socket would be a 3kW jobbie. If you have a large open space then you will either need large heaters that require their own dedicated supply running from a suitable distribution board, or a number of smaller heaters. Even then, you won't be able to run many without overloading the ring final.

Air con really is the only sensible way to go, anything else will cost a fortune to run. LG's ArtCool range might interest you for a designer office space, and your installer can put cages round the external condensor units if you ask.

I get the impression that you are dismissing anything that requires installation work, but it seems that mobile heaters just aren't going to cut it.