How you heat a single room will, unsurprisingly, depend on a number of factors.
The first major factor is the make-up of property the room is within. How insulated it is, how well fitted and thermal the doors and windows are… and what floor the room is located on (heat rises).
The second factor is your personal body temperature and the room temperature you require. The warmer you require it, the more it will cost (depending on the property factors above).
Heat your room for free!
Well, ok, not exactly heat it… but keep yourself warm by investing in thermal clothing, wearing a thick jumper, have a throw to sit under, and/or keep moving… 20 burpees really raises the body temperature!
Seriously though, if you have a room which gets direct sunlight, keep your blinds and curtains open whilst the sun is streaming in to heat the room from free solar energy – then close them to stop the heat escaping back out.
Keep yourself warm rather than the room
One way to keep yourself warm is to buy an electric blanket and wrap it around yourself. Not very glamourous – but effective and cheap to run! (approx. 19.6p per hour)
use what you already have
Leave the oven door open once you’ve finished cooking – you’ll be amazed how much heat it gives out.
If you don’t already have individual thermostats on your radiators, now would be a great time to have them fitted. The room you want to heat can be turned up, whilst rooms you don’t use are kept on low.
Additional heat sources
Air source heat pumps can be used to heat an individual space (complementing your current heating system). Converting heat from the air (up to -5oC) a fan will pump the warm air into a room. (As an additional bonus, in summer, it can also pump the hot air out of the room, effectively becoming air con!)
Many people think that an oil filled, plug in, radiator is more cost effective to run than an electric heater. However, an oil radiator will cost approx. 42p per hour for the electric element to heat the oil, whereas an electric heater will cost approx. 37p per hour to run.
And finally, use your smart meter to work out the most economic way of using any plug in heating device. Is it cheaper to run on high for shorter periods, or run on a lower temperature for longer?
Simon Barker BSc (Hons) aka “Ginger Electrician”
