Heaters FAQs

What size heater should I get?

The size of heater you should buy depends on the size of the room you are planning to use it in, and the length of the outside walls to the room. Also what temperature you prefer to maintain the room at will have an impact. The tables below provide some guidance. Use the top table if you prefer to maintain your rooms temperature at around 21°C (comfort level), and the lower one if you prefer 18°C (background level). The reading from the table is in Watts, thus indicating that your heater, or combination of heaters, should be rated to at least this wattage. Most heaters have some graduated control to increase the heat output, so if the reading from the table for you room is say 1250, then you know that a 2000 watt heater running at just over half its rated capacity, would be sufficient.

How do you work out running cost of a heater?

The running cost is worked out by multiplying the power rating for the heater, for instance 2kw, by the unit cost that you pay to your electricity supplier. This will give you the maximum running cost per hour, at the current electricity price. It may well be the case that you won't need the heater running on maximum all the time, so you will find that running cost drops accordingly. Also if you are trying to work out a running cost per year, remember that even in winter you will only use the heater some of the time and that in summer and much of the spring and autumn you will barely use it at all.

What are the benefits of a fan heater?

Fan heaters are relatively old technology, however they are still used widely as they do have some advantages.

• They are very light and small; easily packed away and only brought out when needed.
• They are relatively low priced compared to other heater types.
• They do produce relatively rapid heat.

What are the benefits of halogen heaters?

Halogen heaters provide economy heating with almost instant heat, and have a bright glow that almost makes you feel warmer just by looking at it. Suitable for any room, they are very modern and stylish in design and all have automatic cut out on tip over.  With overheat protection and being cool to the touch they are ideal for the elderly, and around children and pets. Halogen heaters are safe and suitable in homes, conservatories, the garage, workshop and offices.

What is so good about an oil filled heater?

In a couple of words - durability and control. Yes they are relatively large and heavy, however as they are in fact small vessels full of oil, they have to be made of steel and are very tough. There is no reason why they won't last for decades. Depending on the model they are also very controllable. A 24 hour timer and thermostatic control provides a far greater degree of control than, say, only two or three heat settings. With frost protection setting they are ideal for long term protection of heating systems in dormant properties, as well as furniture and other contents. With this sort of control (i.e. stable warmth vs. harsh on and off heating) comes operating economy.

How do I get really 'mega' efficient heating?

With the 'heaters' listed on this website, you basically get the heat energy 'out' that you put 'in' as electrical energy. It is possible to 'steal' heat energy from outside, even on the coldest days and put it inside your home, and to do so you need to look at installing air conditioning that has a 'heat pump' function. Strange but true; this way not only do you get cool clean dry air in the summer, but you will also get a heater that will return around 2 to 3 kw of heat energy for every kw of electrical energy. Have a look at the wall mounted air conditioners in the air cooling section.

The other option is to consider storage heaters which operate on much cheaper off peak electricity. Have a look at the our page called Storage Heater Guide.