Centre for Sustainable Energy | home energy advice | 2023
See all our energy advice leaflets at [Link]/advice-leaflets
Room heaters
What are your best options for extra heat?
Room heaters are used to heat a small
space and are normally portable or fitted
to a wall. Most room heaters use gas or
electricity.
Room heaters are usually used as an extra heat source
(sometimes called secondary heating), alongside a main
heating system.
They can be useful if you need to heat
one room for a limited time or give an
extra boost of warmth to someone who
needs it. But they can be expensive if
used over a long period of time because
they consume a lot of gas or electricity.
What kind of room heater is best?
Electric halogen heaters are relatively
cheap when heating a small area
There are many options! To be most efficient, you should
use the right heater for the space you want to heat,
otherwise you may have a high running cost but not feel little longer to work, but this type of heater can be easily
any warmer. controlled with a timer and thermostat, so you don’t
overheat the room or waste any energy (or money).
You should carefully control the temperature and the time
you have the heater on. Heaters with these controls are 2) Heating a room for a short period of time
usually cheaper to run.
For a quick blast of warmth, or for more directional
The first thing to think about is what purpose you want it
heating, you should use radiant heaters. These work
to serve.
quickly and are useful if you only want to warm up part of
a room or a person for a short period. That’s because they
1) Heating a whole room for a few hours or more only heat what’s in front of them.
To warm up a room for longer periods of time, you Unlike convector heaters, radiant heaters don’t achieve an
should use a convector heater. These heaters work by even level of heat throughout the room so they might not
warming the air immediately next to them. The warm air give you the same level of comfort over time. They rarely
then naturally circulates around the room. They take a have thermostats or timers, which can make their running
costs more expensive over long periods.
Â
This leaflet is not about night storage heaters which There are many different types of radiant and convector
are particular type of room heater. For information room heaters, and they can use gas or electricity. Find out
on these, check our our website: [Link] more about the different options below.
Centre for Sustainable Energy | home energy advice | 2023
See all our energy advice leaflets at [Link]/advice-leaflets
Electric room heaters Oil-filled radiators are often the
cheapest electric heater when
running over several hours
Electric heaters are very efficient because they turn all the
electricity they use into heat. But this doesn’t mean they
are cheap to run.
To calculate the running cost, you need to look at the-
power rating of the heater, shown in kilowatts (kW). The
higher the power rating the more heat will be produced,
but also the cost will be proportionally higher.
This table shows typical running costs for a range of
electric room heaters. Costs are for heaters used on the
highest setting, and which are producing heat for the
whole hour. However, heaters with a thermostat will auto- Halogen heaters tend to be the cheapest radiant heaters
matically turn off when the required room temperature as they have a low power rating (but also produce less
is reached, meaning in reality the cost will be lower over heat), while oil-filled radiators are often the cheapest con-
several hours. vector heater because there is a thermostat to control the
temperature.
Electric room heaters Portable infrared heaters are getting a lot of attention
Pic. Heater Heat Typical Running cost per hour* at the moment. Manufacturers claim that they can save
source power
Single-rate Economy 7 energy and they are cheap to run and callers to our
rating
meter
Night Day energy advice line often ask “Are infrared heaters any
good?”
(1) Bar fire radiant 2 kW 68p 35p 79p
Convector heater convector 2 kW 68p 35p 79p
Our response is that these are radiant heaters so there will
(2)
(3) Oil-filled radiator convector 1.5 kW 51p 26p 61p be no warmth lingering in the air once the heater is turned
(4) Fan heater radiant 2 kW 68p 42p £1.00 off. If an infrared heater is the only heat source in a room,
(5) Halogen heater radiant 1.2 kW 42p 21p 47p there’s also a risk of damp and mould problems. That’s
because the air in the room remains cold which means it
*Running costs assumptions: Single-rate meter, 34p/kWh; Economy 7 condenses on any cold surface.
(night), 17p/kWh; Economy 7 (day), 40p/kWh. To calculate this yourself
times the heat output of your electric heater by your electric kWh unit cost.
Infrared heating can suit some homes, for instance where
people spend a lot of time sitting rather than moving
around, or where the building is draughty or poorly insu-
Hot parade (electric) lated - as warm air is not being lost out of the [Link]
1) radiant bar fire, you want to use an electric room heater, use it only when
2) convector heater,
necessary and consider the following:
3) oil-filled radiator,
4) fan heater,
¢ Use a timer if it has one, if not, you can buy a time
5) halogen heater.
switch for the plug.
1 2 ¢ A thermostat will reduce running costs, but by how
much depends on lots of factors, such as room size,
insulation levels and making sure the thermostat is not
turned up too high.
¢ If you are on Economy 7, avoid using heaters for long
periods within peak hours if you can. It’s better to use
3 4 5 night storage heaters that are charged at night.
Centre for Sustainable Energy | home energy advice | 2023
See all our energy advice leaflets at [Link]/advice-leaflets
Gas room heaters
Gas heaters are not as energy efficient as electric heaters
because as not all the gas is converted into heat output
into the room (some is lost as exhaust gases, moisture
and the creation of light). However, mains gas is usually
cheaper than electricity, so the running cost is often
comparable.
Gas heaters can be run on mains gas, or LPG (liquid
petroleum gas) also known as bottled gas. If you are
considering buying a gas heater you need to check current
safety regulations as some fixed heaters require flues or
chimneys, to ventilate combustion gases and moisture out
the home.
Portable gas heaters don’t need flues, however you still
need to make sure the room is well ventilated. Otherwise, Modern radiant gas fire
there is a risk from carbon monoxide and the water vapour
that gas heaters produce can cause condensation
Gas room heaters leading to damp and mould problems.
Pic. Heater Heat Typical Average Running cost
source output efficiency per hour* Gas heaters are sold with a heat output rating and
Mains LPG an efficiency rating, which should be looked at in
gas
conjunction with each other. Heat output is an indication
(6) Radiant gas fire radiant 5 kW 60% 86p £2.06
of how much heat will be provided into the room. If
(7) Gas convector
heater convector 3 kW 60% 52p £1.23 you look at two heaters with the same heat output, the
(8) Open decorative heater with a higher efficiency will be cheaper to run
gas fire radiant 2.5 kW 28% 93p £2.21 than the heater with the lower efficiency. This is because
(9) Closed decorative it will use less gas to provide the same amount of heat.
gas fire radiant 4 kW 60% 69p £1.64
(10) Bottled gas
The table on the left calculates the running cost for
heater radiant 4 kW 92% n/a £1.79
heaters using mains gas and LPG, based on the average
* Based on 10.3p per kWh for mains gas and on Oct 2018 Sutherland heat output and efficiency rating of various heaters.
tables calculations for LPG. To calculate this yourself: (output ÷ Actual costs will vary, but what’s important is how they
efficiency) x 100. Multiply the result by your gas kWh unit cost.
compare with each other. These are based on the
heaters being on full power for the hour, without a
Hot parade (gas)
thermostat to regulate the temperature.
6) radiant gas fire
7) gas convector heater
8) open decorative gas fire
9) closed decorative gas fire If you’re on mains gas, then gas
10) bottled gas heater 6 central heating is usually the
best way to heat your home
(modern boilers are around 90%
efficient).
For more information on gas
central heating, see our website:
[Link]
7 9
8 10
Centre for Sustainable Energy | home energy advice | 2023
See all our energy advice leaflets at [Link]/advice-leaflets
Is it cheaper to heat one room with an
electric heater? Tips to cut your electricity use,
and save money ...
The answer depends on what your heating needs are, the
type of electric heater you’re using, and what your main
heating is. Give your clothes a day in the sun
(and give your tumble drier a break).
If you are only using one room – for example, because Clothes dried in fresh air feel great,
there are only one or two people in your home and you’re and there are sunny days in winter, too.
going to be in the same room for while – then using an
Dodge the draught! Fit draught-
oil filled radiator may work out cheaper than running your
excluders to your front door, letter box
gas central heating during that time. However, if you use
and key hole, and draw your curtains at
a high wattage heater like a fan heater for a long time this
dusk to keep the heat in.
may well work out as more expensive than having your
central heating on. Only fill the kettle with as much
water as you actually need (but make
If your household has more people in who are likely sure you cover the metal element at
to be using other rooms, then although you may be the base).
saving money by only heating one room, this will be
uncomfortable and unhealthy for the occupants in the Buying a new appliance?
unheated rooms. Remember to check the energy
rating label and consider the size.
Also, heating just one room only in cold weather could
lead to damp and mould problems in the parts of your Wait until you have a full load in your
home that you’re not heating. This is because the moisture
dishwasher or washing machine before
doing a wash. Two half-loads use more
you produce from washing, bathing, and breathing, will
energy than one full load.
condense on the colder surfaces in the other parts of your
home and this can cause mould to grow.
Sleep tight. Make sure all the lights
are turned off when you go to bed. You
Electric room heaters are the most expensive type of space can get low-wattage night lights for
heating so are not appropriate as a main heating source, children’s rooms or landings.
apart from in homes which are very well insulated and
only need a small amount of heat. Gas and oil powered
central heating is cheaper to run. So, when considering the
best option to heat your home over a sustained period,
central heating is likely to work out cheaper.
Contact us:
PHONE 0800 082 2234
EMAIL [Link]@[Link]
WEB [Link]/loveyourhome
TWITTER @HelloCSE
St James Court,
St James Parade, The Centre for Sustainable Energy is a
Bristol BS1 3LH national charity supporting people and
organisations across the UK to tackle the
0117 934 1400 climate emergency and end the suffering
[Link] caused by cold homes.
info@[Link]
Our Home Energy Team offers free advice
Charity: 298740 on domestic energy use to householders in
Founded: 1979 central southern and southwest England.