am really dreading winter,as i have to put a lot more on the gas meter to heat my room (i have the thermo set low also/just upstairs heaters on).i end up putting over £40 every fortnight on the meter 🙁

my friend recommended one of those small halogen type heaters for my room saying it will save a lot of bread (man 😉

just wondering what you might suggest tbh?

ta 🙂

electrical energy is 2-3X the price of gas energy even allowing for losses.

However, if your central heating is heating the whole house when you only really need one room heating it may be more efficient to do so with some background electrical heating. Id go with an oil filled convection heater with a thermostat though rather than a halogen one.

The halogen are good as they heat you and not the air. If you are sitting at a desk working for example then the halogen is a good idea as you can point it at your desk.

If you are going to be moving around the room a lot so want to warm the whole room then go with an oil filled jobby.

There is also the option of a fan heater but they can be quite obtrusive unless you spend a lot on a Dyson hot.

Any form of heating the air will cost roughly the same as you are heating a known volume of air by X degrees. The inefficiency comes in when you get air leaks and this is where a fan heater can also suffer a bit more than a convection heater as the higher air flow can increase losses.

I once spent a very cosy evening waiting for a big hunky fireman to come and rescue me after our downstairs neighbours cat had an argument with a mop and a halogen heater.

Consider wearing more layers, as well as draughtproofing, insulation, and those stick-on ‘triple glazing’ kits. And do it now, not when the cold begins to bite and everyone is scurrying to do the same thing.

andy – I think youre confusing an infra-red heater with a halogen one.

Coin Meter ? Typically they charge more than normal meters for same usage.mas above electric heating is very expensive (overnight storage heaters and seperate meters are less)

It also sounds like you have a very inefficient heating system and a draughty house ?

Get some heavier curtains from charideee shop?
Double glazed windows? If not, seal em up with faux film glazing or similar.
Have you a sausage dog at each door? (and matching door curtain from same charidee emporium).
Bare floorboards? Again, seal em up, or at least get a heavy rug (do this if on floorboards, wood, laminate or vinyl anyway) from another charity spot.

Stoner – Member
andy – I think youre confusing an infra-red heater with a halogen one.

how do you think a halogen heater works?

the above comment about a cat is a good point though and the oil filled rads are considered to be a lot safer than most that respect.

edit: actually do you mean the cat and a quartz or metal wire element heater? A halogen is just a bulb so it should break and not cause things to go on fire. Pretty much all heater should have tilt switches these days anyway.

thanks a lot for your replies 🙂

will definitely look into trying some of the ways of stopping the heat escaping (on the cheap as unemployed at present).i just know it would be depressing looking at it with an infra red camera in winter.

also have looked at some of those portable oil heaters too online (will have to invest in a cheap one i reckon).

definitely laziness/the scotsman (miser :wink:)part of me that hasn’t done anything about this for so long tbh 😳

I thought you were referring to those “cold touch” glass panel IR heaters.

The cheap halogen ones get v hot and end up producing more convective heat than the funky new panel ones.

And obviously far less cat-proof.

i am sure the fireman said it was a halogen, he also said the owners were total morons so he seemed pretty clued up on the facts.

it didn’t fall over so the tilt switch didn’t disengage, just set fire to the mop head then the fuse box, then the doors, the floor, the kitchen. gutted it.

i had two at the time, i no longer have them.

Get saving heat – not chucking more away as cheaply as you can.
As said, charity shops often have lots of curtains uber cheap if you are not so bothered about pattern.

Raceface have you been in touch with your energy provider to see if you qualify for any grants to get insulation and draught proofing sorted in your accommodation?

From my conversations with my provider it seems as though those on benefits are the priority. Would be worth a call to find out.

Wha is stick on triple glazing and does it work?

Plastic sheets you stick over the window. Yes

Consider wearing more layers

Don’t just consider it. Why most people feel they need to maintain a wardrobe of a crop-top and a thong round their houses during winter is beyond me.
Folks are getting more and more removed from their environment and common sense it seems.