subject: Which Portable Heater To Buy This Winter? [print this page] Which Portable Heater To Buy This Winter?
This winter, you may want to see if you can cut energy costs by only heating small sections of your house with a portable heater.
It can be more economical to buy a portable heater and heat just one room rather than run the central heating, even if you only have the radiator active for the room you are in, you still have to run the central heating system so using a portable heater may make sense.
You may also want to boost the heating in just one room and it is potentially cheaper to use a portable heater rather than turn up the thermostat.
Oil filled heaters (powered by mains electric)
Convection heaters (powered by mains electric)
Fan heaters (powered by mains electric)
Radiation heaters (powered by mains electric)
Gas heaters (powered by gas bottle)
Which Heater is Right For You?
The choice you make depends on a few things, if you have small children then it may not be a good idea to have a convector heater as there is a risk of them trying to cover the heater or poking things down the slots whch could get on the elements and catch fire. If you do opt for a convector style and you also have children then our advice is that it should have atleast a "fall over" cut-off and also over-heating cut-off switch.
The safer option is an oil filled heater as they are more stable and also unlikely to cause any issues if little fingers tamper with them. If you are looking for a heater for your bedroom then avoid a fan based heater for obvious reasons (noise), we would also suggest avoiding a convector heater as they really dry the air; a better option is the oil based heater and if you find the air is a little dry, we suggest hanging a damp towel up (not near the heater) as this will provide moisture in the room as it dries.
Energy usage is also a consideration, not wishing to favour oil based heaters again but often these can be the most economical as they do not use a motor to power them (unlike fan heaters) and if you buy a solid oil based heater then it will retain its heat and act like a "heat sink" for a while after it has heated up - unlike a convector heater which loses heat immediately is it switched off.
Oil based heaters are no good for wall mounting so if you need to mount it then you will be much better with a lightweight convector heater. Bear in mind heat rises so the higher up you position it - the less effective it will be.
