Need heating advice

[Propwash]

Electricity bills are going through the roof here in Britain, and as my current wall-mounted radiator in the living room is a big ancient power-hungry thing I'm shopping around for a smaller more efficient electric radiator.
Thankfully it's only a smallish room and should be easy to heat.
I've surfed the net and see a lot of them are "oil-filled", are they better than dry ones?
Any advice on the whole subject would be welcome, thanks.

 

[ban1985]

If you can still buy petrol or gas bottles at a reasonable price, I would look for an emergency solution with petrol or gas stove.
I don't know how your power grid is, but this winter a lot of people will want to heat with electric stoves and that could tear the whole power grid into blackout.
If Uncle Putin is provoked by the EU even more and has plans to start World War 3, energy in the form of electricity will also be scarce, you have an electric stove but without electricity it will never run again.

 

[JimCosta]

I have used the oil filled electric heaters.
I really liked them in our camper because the gas heater was shot. They are reliable and safe. They have no moving parts, just a heating element.

I suspect the oil holds the heat longer thus is more energy efficient and/or produces more heat.
They are worth the money.

With them you might seal off a room and heat it with one.

 

[Arcticdude]

Can you put in a wood stove? Is firewood or pressed logs available in your area? We heat strictly with wood, but we also have a propane furnace for a backup.

 

[GaRp58]

I've surfed the net and see a lot of them are "oil-filled", are they better than dry ones?

We have the oil filled ones in Germany and they eat lots of juice too. They take longer to heat the oil but do stay warm a bit longer after turning them off since the oil maintains the heat longer than air...not the best choice in my opinion...the only thing you cannot have problems with in the "future" is somebody NOT turning off (your electricity, gas or oil) is firewood. Get the right stove, access to some wooded land and start learning to build yourself a rocket stove for cooking and a rocket heater for heating your home or at least part of it.

 

[Carolina Mud Dog]

These work great:


I bought one to heat my kitchen because the room stays cool in the Winter.....You can also set the temp on these to what you want.....

 

[DrHenley]

The only kind of electric heaters that aren't obscenely inefficient are heat pumps. And those are only for temperate climates. Electric resistance heaters, whether they are oil filled, dry, or whatever, turn KWs directly into BTUs/hour. You are never going to get more energy out in the form of heat than you put in in the form of electricity. Ever.
To get 10,0000 BTU/hr of heat energy from electric resistance, you will need a minimum of 2.93 KW. Compare that to a 10,000 BTU/hr air conditioner that only requires 1.2 KW at most.
In other words, an air conditioner is over twice as efficient as an electric resistance heater in terms of BTUs per KW Hour.

 

[rainingcatzanddogs]

I would second a wood stove if you have the wood available to keep it going. It is my understanding that in many parts of Europe right now there has been a run on firewood, making it hard to get.

Another option would be a wood fired boiler...but, they are more expensive at the outset to buy than a wood stove. Indoor Wood Boilers for Sale - Home Heating | Tarm Biomass
The grade school I went to, had one of these and because it was steam driven, it kept the whole two story building warm without the overly dry air that comes with other forms of heating.

 

[Helen Back]

Whatever you can do, always be aware of gases from the source. More importantly, think about how to insulate the room to keep every bit of heat in it. Windows and doors lose the most heat, so think about insulating the window, and the gap at the bottom of the door in the room you choose. Wool blankets. Paper is an excellent insulator, just make sure it is a safe distance from heat sources.

 

[MNwr786]

This is going to be a disaster for those who try to close off parts of the house to try and save energy (I made this mistake once). The walls will get cold in those areas and condensation will have those rooms covered in black mold within the year. You gotta keep the whole place warm (above the dew point)!

 

[Arcticdude]

Wood heat makes sense IF you can cut your own wood, or pick up scraps from a local sawmill. In many places firewood can cost $300 or more per cord. If you can cut your own its only the cost of fuel to run your chainsaw and for hauling it home.
We have several thousand acres of timber surrounding our home so firewood is "free" for us.

 

[Arcticdude]

.

 

[grayghost668]

Propane is the way to go,,, unless you don't mind the mess that goes along with wood heat

 

[GaRp58]

We are collecting dry corncobs, pinecones and dry sunflower heads from out garden and the surrounding fields within a few miles of the house. Free heat and good for starting a cold wood stove. Nobody can turn off my heat. All paper and cardboard we get from shopping is also used for starting from a cold stove. Nothing is wasted, first lesson of survival. Heat only when needed, save when able and dress warm or snuggle closer...live free, Gary

 

[GeorgiaPeachie]

We are collecting dry corncobs, pinecones and dry sunflower heads from out garden and the surrounding fields within a few miles of the house. Free heat and good for starting a cold wood stove. Nobody can turn off my heat. All paper and cardboard we get from shopping is also used for starting from a cold stove. Nothing is wasted, first lesson of survival. Heat only when needed, save when able and dress warm or snuggle closer...live free, Gary

How are your kids in Germany doing Gary? Praying they have a wood stove and sufficient wood.

 

[Propwash]

Thanks for the replies doods and gals, I'm still processing them but am tending towards a "dry" (ie non-oil filled) electric radiator at the moment because i can't see what advantages an oil-filled one would have.
And as i see it, an oil one would take longer to begin heating the room because it'd have to heat the oil first.
Luckily I live in a small 3rd-floor flat which heats up quickly, but I might get some expanded polystyrene ceiling tiles so heat doesn't escape through the ceiling.
In fact most homes ceilings are too high anyway which means we're wasting cash and energy heating the empty space 3 feet above our heads, so I might try to get some really thick tiles i(f they make them), to fill up most of that space..

 

[Helen Back]

If your ceiling is tall, maybe try a ceiling fan and run it so it blows the warm air back down.

 

[Arcticdude]

If your ceiling is tall, maybe try a ceiling fan and run it so it blows the warm air back down.

A ceiling fan is a good idea. We have 3 of them, one in the shop and two in the house, bedroom and living room. I'm going to add two more ceiling fans before next summer, one in the TV room and another in the wifes hobby room upstairs. They move a lot of air.

 

[DrHenley]

Thanks for the replies doods and gals, I'm still processing them but am tending towards a "dry" (ie non-oil filled) electric radiator at the moment because i can't see what advantages an oil-filled one would have.
And as i see it, an oil one would take longer to begin heating the room because it'd have to heat the oil first.
Luckily I live in a small 3rd-floor flat which heats up quickly, but I might get some expanded polystyrene ceiling tiles so heat doesn't escape through the ceiling.
In fact most homes ceilings are too high anyway which means we're wasting cash and energy heating the empty space 3 feet above our heads, so I might try to get some really thick tiles i(f they make them), to fill up most of that space..

Hang a false ceiling using insulated ceiling tiles. Most offices here have those. Then you can put lights flush with the ceiling wherever you want.

 

[rainingcatzanddogs]

Thanks for the replies doods and gals, I'm still processing them but am tending towards a "dry" (ie non-oil filled) electric radiator at the moment because i can't see what advantages an oil-filled one would have.
And as i see it, an oil one would take longer to begin heating the room because it'd have to heat the oil first.
Luckily I live in a small 3rd-floor flat which heats up quickly, but I might get some expanded polystyrene ceiling tiles so heat doesn't escape through the ceiling.
In fact most homes ceilings are too high anyway which means we're wasting cash and energy heating the empty space 3 feet above our heads, so I might try to get some really thick tiles i(f they make them), to fill up most of that space..

There are also these foam insulation boards. R-10 (2")was the highest R-value I found here easily available. They are lightweight and the ones I used in the cabin ceiling came prescored to fit between studs.