Is it cheaper to use a plug-in oil radiator to heat an individual room, or run the central heater to heat an individual room and living room?
Is it cheaper to use a plug-in oil radiator to heat an individual room, or run the central heater to heat an individual room and living room?
With winter coming up, I have two options for home heating.
Central unit
- I can use the central unit and close/open vents throughout the house to heat up only the individual rooms I want. This would heat up rooms very quickly. However, to make this work, the living room with the thermostat will also need to be heated so that the thermostat reads the proper temperature. The living room is by far the largest space at about 2.5 times the size of the largest room.
Oil-filled radiator
- I can use an oil-filled radiator to heat up an individual room. This would be much slower, but I wouldn't have to heat up the entire living room. However, the oil-filled heater might not be as efficient as the central unit. I don't know. I plan to rarely heat up the living, no more than once per month.
Edit: The central heating unit is actually a heating kit made up of a few coils that is added to the central a/c.
Edit 2: Where I live, it might freeze once per year over night for a few hours.
Which would be more efficient on the electrical bill, and would t be considerable or negligible?
You're viewing a single thread.
i recommend you avoid polluting the air in an enclosed space. So no oil burning inside the room. The central heating would be a much better option in my opinion
Alternatively, weak (1 to 5 kwh) electric heaters with good placement can heat rather large rooms without wasting nearly as much power
I think by "plugin" op means electric rafiator filled with some special oil that dissipates heat. So it's still electric just the heating element will heat and circulate oil.
Oh that's pretty cool, sorry for the misunderstanding
They said oil filled radiator, not oil burning. I expect it's a very efficient electric heater like these:
If they are trying to keep one room warm and don't care about freezing the rest of the house those are very efficient.
I was thinking of one of those radiators that burn oil, and you have to fill them up before use. Thank you for clarifying!
ps. the link appears to not work for me? Maybe they have a region block?
This is the same layout as the device I was referring to:
Oh that's an odd approach, it's just an electric heater with extra steps
Basically yes.
It adds some efficiency because once you have a radiator full of hot oil in the radiator it tends to release the heat for a long while after the electric is shut-off.
Most electric space heaters send a plume of hot air arcing upwards.
You end up with a nice heat storage device to radiate warmth at the level you want to use it for longer than a normal resistive space heater using the same energy.
ahh, that is handy! But I guess that's only suitable for some types of spaces
It has its uses.
Like most bespoke items they're good at some things, not everything.It's nice if you're trying to keep an indoor living space warm for a longer period, like overnight.
They typically have a thermostat setting on it to maintain the temperature.
It doesn't make the same noise as a blowing space heater, as there's usually not a fan. I've heard creaks and such from them.
As noted, the radiative effect can last for a few hours depending on energy loss in the space.
It has its uses.
Like most bespoke items they're good at some things, not everything.It's nice if you're trying to keep an indoor living space warm for a longer period, like overnight.
They typically have a thermostat setting on it to maintain the temperature.
It doesn't make the same noise as a blowing space heater, as there's usually not a fan. I've heard creaks and such from them.
As noted, the radiative effect can last for a few hours depending on energy loss in the space.
I agree that burning oil would be a terrible idea. In this case, the oil would be in an enclosed radiator that is designed to function as an indoor heater. Thanks for looking out tho!
That is actually pretty cool! In that case, the slowness shouldn't be a big issue. As soon as you've got a comfortable temperature you only need to maintain it