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Originally Posted by akuti
Hi,
I'm about to move into a rented house without central heating. I need to buy some type of plug in heater (possibly portable so I can heat more than one room). Can anyone advise me on what type I should buy. I would like one that doesn't cost the earth to run but gives out a good amount of heat. Thanks.
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Electric heaters are always going to cost a bit. Best way to find out running costs is to find out how much your electricity supplier charges for 1 kilowatt per hour. For example say ESB rate was 16c for 1kw per hour, So if you get a 1kw heater and that will be the running cost per hour at max setting. So the more kilowatts on the heater the more it will cost to run.
I don't have much experience in heaters, however I found for me that convector heaters dried out the air too much and affected my breathing, same with bar heaters.
When I had to heat my house a few years back I used oil filled radiators (concertina style ones)with a thermostat and timer. 1 was on 24/7 the other 3 were on the timer so that the bedrooms were warm at night and in the morning. I think they were between 1kw and 1.5kw and it cost roughly the same as storage heating. None of them were on the full heat setting!
Also you will have to minimize draughts (doors & windows) or any heater you buy will be a waste. The type of heater you choose will depend on whether you want instant heat or something more constant. Hope this is of some help to you.