# Electric Radiators



## HouseHunter (18 Aug 2008)

Does anyone use electric radiators, not be confused with storage heaters.You can get some really nice ones which are waterfilled. 

I am trying to find out what they are like, how economical and effective.


----------



## PADDYBOY99 (2 Sep 2008)

I haven't seen them for a while but as a primary source of heating they are expensive to run. Get the KW ratting on them and you will have an indication of how expensive  they are to run.


----------



## dinjoecurry (2 Sep 2008)

Electric radiators are in fact oil filled One of the properties of the oil is that it retains heat so once the selected heat level is reached the radiator switches off untill the temp falls then it switches on again this on /off cycle reduces the electricity consumed.Oil filled rads are economical when compared to other forms of electric heat such as fan heaters or radient heaters You should understand however heating by electricity will always be expensive.If you buy an oil filled rad make sure it has cool touch side panels


----------



## April Raine (2 Sep 2008)

how long will it retain the heat if turned off? Looked at one which is 1500 kw at 

Would that be any good?


----------



## ClubMan (2 Sep 2008)

There are a number of existing threads that go into detail about electricity usage with storage heaters and other room/water heating options in case they are of any use to you.


----------



## dinjoecurry (2 Sep 2008)

when it is turned off the heat starts to go down but it will have some residual heat for 15/20 mins that one at 1500w looks fine to me but if getting one I would get a 3KW as that will give options for 1k/2k/3k depending on how you switch it


----------



## April Raine (2 Sep 2008)

dinjoecurry said:


> if getting one I would get a 3KW as that will give options for 1k/2k/3k depending on how you switch it


OK did not know that thanks!


----------



## muddles (12 Nov 2008)

I'd be interested in getting more info on this efficient German electric heater. Can you direct me to a website or email me the brochure?


----------



## allthedoyles (12 Dec 2008)

Remember that 2kw cost .35 cent per hour + VAT @ 13.5 % . 
Buy one as described above that will switch on/off and will keep room at temperature setting .
Keep away from storage heaters ... even if you have night saver electricity...usage cost is massive


----------



## Simeon (12 Dec 2008)

barneym, please PM the details. Very interested.


----------



## Gordanus (15 Dec 2008)

barneym, please PM me the details......thanks


----------



## croman (16 Dec 2008)

Did anyone manage to source good electric radiator as I am looking for one for a cold conservatory.


----------



## Hoagy (23 Dec 2008)

Nov/Dec issue of our trade magazine (Irish Electrical Review) which just arrived here today, has an article concerning Suka Electro Heating, which may or may not be the type referred to earlier in the thread.  

In any event their website is worth a look, although the heating calculator seems to be very optimistic at app 100w/ sqm (as against storage heaters at app 150w/sqm)

[broken link removed]


----------



## OhPinchy (30 Dec 2008)

Hi Hoagy,

I've been looking into this as I need to get an additional heat source to supplement my normal radiators in an extension with a high ceiling. 

Bottom line is I haven't been able to find anything that would justify spending the €300+ on something like a Kalirel or Suka heater when it doesn't seem clear how these are actually going to save money over something like a standard DeLonghi oil filled radiator (just chose that one as an example - plenty of wall mountable options). 

This post and this post pour water on the claims that these rads actually offer savings over the likes of the bog standard electric heaters. I thought that the argument that oil filled rads with thermostats are more efficient as they only use electricity when temperature is below the desired level and also the oil holds the heat for a good while after turning off seemed logical. However, it does seem this is in dispute and that there is little difference between the efficiencies of the fan heaters and oil filled radiators. 

So it seems the only real benefit of going with one of the more expensive rads is that they may be more attractive (not by much though). For me, as I only need this as a supplemental heat source I'll just go with a free standing DeLonghi.

Some relevant links:

http://www.elkaheating.com/Elka_Heating-Decorative_Range.shtml
http://www.elkaheating.com/
http://www.kalirel.co.uk/ 
http://www.meaco.com/proddetail.asp?prod=Elnuroilwall 
http://www.rvr.ie/default.aspx?subj=catalog/ProductDescription&catIdPath=0_46_195&productId=SRP405 
http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/ERRF12E.html 
http://www.electric-heating.co.nz/documents/catalogue2008.pdf


----------



## Oracle24 (28 Jun 2009)

House I recently bought is only 5 years old but underfloor heating (downstairs & rads upstairs) was put in by an amateur and it is useless (I knew about this before I bought). There are only 2 coils (not sure if I'm using correct lingo!) for the entire ground floor when there should apparantly be 10+. As a result the house has proved almost impossible to heat without the boiler being on 24/7 in winter. This resulted in some oil bills of up to €900 per month! 

Having examined the retro fitting of rads I have decided thats its too messy as the house is in very good decrative order (incl very expensive floor tiles) and am now looking at installing electric radiators. Has anyone got any experience of these in general and in particular of the Suka product range www.suka.ie ?

All opinions/thoughts needed and welcome!

Thanks


----------



## onq (28 Jun 2009)

Baz2005 said:


> House I recently bought is only 5 years old but underfloor heating (downstairs & rads upstairs) was put in by an amateur and it is useless (I knew about this before I bought). There are only 2 coils (not sure if I'm using correct lingo!) for the entire ground floor when there should apparantly be 10+. As a result the house has proved almost impossible to heat without the boiler being on 24/7 in winter. This resulted in some oil bills of up to €900 per month!
> <snip>
> All opinions/thoughts needed and welcome!
> Thanks



Baz, don't just add more heat to the mix.
You should seriously consider investigating the level, location and type of insulation in the house and adding more insulation to your house if your bills are that high.
You should also check the weather sealing on doors and windows and examine the option of fitting a heat exchanger.
I seem to recall seeing a programme on TG4 on "sustainable" wind and solar power system installed in a house for €15K.
With winter quarter bills alone of €2.7K this suggest payback in a reasonable period.
The Power of One Street on [broken link removed] may be of some use to persons reading this thread.

FWIW

ONQ


----------



## mathepac (29 Jun 2009)

Baz2005 said:


> ... Has anyone got any experience of these in general and in particular of the Suka product range [broken link removed] ? ...


My first time hearing about this particular product Baz. I notice the web-site compares costs with storage heaters. Any cost comparisons with gas or oil?


----------



## Fnergg (29 Jun 2009)

The only economical form of electric heating is storage heating.  I have yet to come across any type of plug-in electric heating be it fan heaters, oil-filled radiators or whatever that is not expensive if used on a continuous basis. Fine if they are used just to heat up a room for 30 mins or so but if used for hours on end you are going to get very large electricity bills. 

I can't comment on the claimed running costs of the Suka heaters other than pointing out that the capital cost of them is quite high. 

Regards,

Fnergg


----------



## Oracle24 (29 Jun 2009)

onq said:


> Baz, don't just add more heat to the mix.
> You should seriously consider investigating the level, location and type of insulation in the house and adding more insulation to your house if your bills are that high.
> You should also check the weather sealing on doors and windows and examine the option of fitting a heat exchanger.
> I seem to recall seeing a programme on TG4 on "sustainable" wind and solar power system installed in a house for €15K.
> ...



Thanks for your reply. I havent ignored the insulation side of things and am currently sealing up the windows (wooden double glazed sash) and the wooden double glazed doors. Am also looking at the attic for additional insulation. The UFH which is currently in place cannot heat the house efficently or quickly regardless of how it is being powered so another method is needed. Having radiators put in downstairs and reverting to regular oil powered central heating would be too much hassle & mess so thats why I'm looking at the electric rads option.


----------



## Oracle24 (25 Aug 2009)

Has anyone got any experience of these type of radiators www.rvr.ie/Product_Groups/0_46_195/ for home use? Would be interested in hearing
any opinions re their running costs too. I am looking at getting 3 or 4 of them for
downstairs as my UFH is permenantly dead.

Thanks


----------



## corkgal (3 Sep 2009)

All electric heating costs 4 times as much as gas/oil except storage heating which is only half as dear. A good thermostatic control will help you prevent the room from overheating and will save money.

Oil filled heaters hold the heat longer but they also take a while to heat up. There are no magical properties in the oil! It costs the same to heat a room with a fan heater as an oil filled rad, except you are more likely to overheat the room with a fan heater.
Anyone who tries to sell you a "more efficient" electric heating system is unaware of the laws of thermodynamics.

[broken link removed]

Whats up with the UFH? Is the boiler broken, control system not working or the pipes leaking?
You might be able to rescue it.


----------



## Oracle24 (6 Sep 2009)

corkgal said:


> All electric heating costs 4 times as much as gas/oil except storage heating which is only half as dear. A good thermostatic control will help you prevent the room from overheating and will save money.
> 
> Oil filled heaters hold the heat longer but they also take a while to heat up. There are no magical properties in the oil! It costs the same to heat a room with a fan heater as an oil filled rad, except you are more likely to overheat the room with a fan heater.
> Anyone who tries to sell you a "more efficient" electric heating system is unaware of the laws of thermodynamics.
> ...



Thanks for your reply. The UFH is downstairs and only has two manifolds. The advice I have been given is that considering the floorspace downstairs (approx 1200sq ft) there should be maybe ten manifolds. I have been told that two manifolds is hoplessly inadequate. The previous inhabitants had massive (€900 per month at times) heating bills and the reason for this is that they apparantly had the heat on 24/7 in winter. There are no photos or any other info re the UFH so its impossible to say exactly whats under the floor. Added to this is the fact that the pipe work from the boiler (in the garage) to the house is completely uninsulated. So I am now looking at electric radiators downstairs and getting a new boiler put in right next to house for the upstairs heating and water!


----------



## Woodie (30 Jul 2013)

Other than short term emergency heating I would run a mile from electric heaters.  You will end up with massive bills, believe me.  Had a temporary solution for part of property for a while while work in progress, it went on longer than expected and ended up with absolutely massive bills.  Cost effective and electric don;t go together, and performance wise in winter it is really a case of always on if you want to replicate other heating.  As I said in an emergency only is my advice and certainly not more than one in a home that you move around.
If you are going to the trouble of boiler for upstairs do it for downstairs too despite disruption if decor etc. otherwise its a permanent prison sentence to huge bills. And as previous posters stated do everything to insulate everything possible.


----------



## pudds (30 Jul 2013)

that is some bump of a thread, its 4yrs old


----------

