Best Heating Option for 2-Bed Apartment

lyeball

Hi there,

I recently moved into a 2-bed apartment which has storage heating in the living room and hall and electric heaters in both the bedrooms. The living room also has an open fire so this can be heated without using the storage heating if necessary. We don't want to use the electric heaters in the bedrooms as we believe they cost a fortune to run and they take ages to heat the rooms.

Does anyone know a good method of heating rooms without costing a fortune?
We were thinking about the bottle gas heaters but I've heard they cause condensation. We are already having problems with dampness in the apartment and we are hoping to get a dehumidifier to dry out the house.

Has anyone used halogen heaters?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

yoshytoshy

If your apartment has an open fireplace ,it must be over twenthy years old. Get a ber done and get advice on how to insulate properly ,keeping the cold out is cheaper than fighthing it with heat.

lyeball

Yeah it's an old house which has been converted into three apartments.
Thanks for the advice, will look into getting a BER done.

Dempo1

Sounds like you might also have ventilation issues. I own a very old cottage and had similar problems until restoration. Your probably limited in terms of options re a heating system, ideally central heating of some sort would solve your problems but this may only be an option if your on ground level and have use of out door space (for an oil tank, which in turn needs to be a certain distance from the property.

Halogen heaters are excellent and give immediate heat but as with any electrical appliance, they are also expensive. Night time storage heaters would be the best option but again there are cost implications, not just the heaters but you would also require a night time metre installed by the esb. (I think Long term this may be your best solution.

You mention you have an open fire? by far the best heating solution would be installing a stove, using your existing chimney. I also had one installed and they offer almost 80% efficiency. A 5 - 7kw Stove would easily heat up a standard two bedroom apartment. Stoves are really cheap now but insure you get good advice on installation. Installing a stove may also help seal up your chimney which may also be a cause of your apartment being cold. I estimate a stove and installation would be about €1k.

Finally, you mentioned a gas heater. Yes they can cause condensation but only in confined spaces. Prior to getting my stove installed i used a super ser in a large room downstairs. The heater complimented my central heating system. My bedroom is a loft type and the heater also heated my bedroom space (obviously not left on at night). These are very useful heaters and heat up large spaces. Unfortunately cylinders are now almost €30 and on average you would get about 3 hours x 7 days one one cylinder. These heaters can be picked up for around €120 but if getting one, insure it has a catalytic filter (most new ones have them), these eliminate gas odors.

First things first, sort out ventilation in each room, this is critical to stop mildew and mould growing.