Cheapest form of portable heating?

Family member lives in unheated flat in Dublin inner city, he's mentally ill, unable to work so lives on disability allowance in pretty miserable conditions. The flat has some sort of electric bar type heater in it. Would an oil filled radiator be cheaper, per hour for him to keep himself warm? There is a coin-operated meter, so if anyone knew how many hours heat you'd get per euro for different heater types that would be a great help!

You'll have to take a look at the wattage of the heaters to determine power usage. As for how many hours use he'll get, that depends on how many units of electricity he gets per coin. If the heater is rated at 1kW, it'll use one unit of electricity in an hour, 2kw uses a unit in half an hour, etc.

I think an oil fired rad would be a far better idea than a bar heater. These have a built in thermostat, so switch off for a while once the room reaches the desired temperature, so saving electricity. They're also safer than bar heaters, significantly reduced risk of fire.
Leo

Yes, a 3Kwt oil rad can be bought for around 5o euro with thermostat control, and switch from 1,2, 3 kwts on it. It is safer, can be left on when out at low power and cost less to run.

Sounds like a difficult situation - Are there any better longer term options such as local authority housing, or sheltered housing via some of the charitable groups?

Even in the existing situation are there not state or voluntary agencies that might be able to provide some form of direct assistance in a situation such as this?