My Cheap Way To Heat A Room-Cheapest Electric Panel Heaters Running Costs Review

The cheap way to heat a room that I finally decided upon (after doing LOADS of research on forums, posts, guides and articles and energy saving websites) was to buy a low KW electric panel heater with low running costs. We wondered which portable heater to buy. Looking for ways to cut down on exorbitant energy price rises in the U.K. we decided not to waste money on central heating for a whole house during a full year, by wasting money on heating rooms we weren't actually using. We decided to keep the central heating only for the bitterest of cold snaps in the winter, and in the spring and autumn to just 'keep the chill off' the rest of the house. OK, this needs a little more input in the way of watching individual thermostats, research, wearing warmer clothes, shutting doors and windows, good insulation and switching things off, but the energy saving benefits have been enormous in terms of our electricity and gas bills.

Dimplex 400w Electric Panel Heater

The cheap way to heat a room (in this case our living room) that seemed best suited to our needs was the electric panel heater. We have owned this for a year now, and our review of it's effectiveness follows. But first some details about the product:

It's 400W electric panel heater with a single heat setting. The reason for this was that we just wanted to keep the chill off the room on chilly days and didn't want something the kids could blast up willy-nilly! The panel heater has an on/off neon switch so you can keep an eye whether it's on as you pass the room, and as a reminder to turn it off if you want to go out for a long time, although it does have an overheat protection. It comes with a wall-mounting kit but we like to have ours portable for flexibility. There's a three year guarantee which we think is quite good and haven't needed so far!

It looks more stylish than an oil-filled radiator and heats up quicker.Part of a new range of slimline panel heaters which look more modern, it has some beading detail on the front with a smooth finish and rounded corners.

We would say it's great for providing low level background heating or as a boost for other heating. Its light and portable so can be moved from room to room or for fixing to a wall, a mounting kit is provided.

OUR VERDICT

Given the above criteria, it's been great! It's unrealisitic to expect it to heat your whole home though. Our solution? To go and buy a couple more for the kids' rooms for the autumn. Used in the right way, it can significantly lower unnecessarily high central heating costs, by say, just taking the chill off the living room before the kids go to school, using a safety bathroom one, or boosting a coal fire or woodburner in the evening. It also keeps the damp off, even giving some protection against frost for pipes, or black mould condensation pockets in old houses.

How do we know it's economical? Well, we also decided to deliberately put in an electric key meter. This flashes red while electrical appliances are being used. When the fan heater is on, the little red light goes mad. When the panel heater is on (it turns itself on and off too) the light barely flashes at all. We've noticed no signifacnt hike in our electric bill and haven't had the gas central heating system on yet this year and it's now mid-November.

Hope this article helps some other hard-working families, if so you can show your appreciation by visiting some of the advertisers! Thanks!! Watch out for some more of our frugal money saving tips coming soon. I just found some excellent foot-warming trainer insoles - two for a pound (review coming soon LOL.)