Heating with electric rads and no gas boiler for now

DC999 · 17-11-2022 6:12pm #1

Hey, adding this here in case it helps others. It’s how we’re using electric rads in the house at the moment so the gas boiler doesn’t need to come on (or we can use it less). I’m only 4 month into my solar journey and still delighted to be learning. Part of the reason for solar was to reduce our homes emissions, plus save a few quid.

Mostly these electric rads run from solar during the day (as they are using low wattage on the setting I use). Granted it’s been mild up to now (mid-Nov). It’s only the last few days we’ve seen it drop below 10 degrees. So this week is the 1st real test!

I don’t have a battery. So I’m trying to use as much of the solar when available. Otherwise I have to buy it back again at a higher cost. It’s not so much penny pinching as seeing how much I can wring out of the solar install. I like seeing can I make stuff run better! Or OCD my other half might call it 😊

DC999 · 17-11-2022 6:15pm

Kit that works for me:

1) Thermostat: KETOTEK Digital Thermostat Plug Socket with Day Night Timer, Day and Night Temperature Controller Thermostatic Plug 220V for Reptile Terrarium Greenhouse Freezer Heating Cooling : AmazonSmile: DIY & Tools. This one can have temps for 2 different times of the day. So can set to X degrees to 10am, then Y degrees for rest of day. It just works
Once the room gets to that temp, the rad turns off. When the temp goes below the temp you set, the rad comes on again. Simples! Means the rad isn’t running when it doesn’t need to
Need 1 thermostat per rad (which is one per room for us)
I’ve the thermostat itself maybe 4 foot up hanging from something so it measures the temp at that height (heat rises). So that’s around head height when we sit down
Then the electric rad gets plugged into that. The thermostats on electric rads are usually crap (as in not very sensitive to temp changes). So turn the rad to the highest heat setting so the rad’s own thermostat won’t kick-in
2) Any electric rad works. I prefer the oil filled ones than the ones that are open (like a blow heater), less risk of something getting caught in it
I’ve a few older electric rads and set them to the lowest power setting so it runs ‘low and slow’. Low watts means it’s more chance to use the available solar excess. But it takes longer to heat a room (which is grand as I leave it on all the time during the day)
Screwfix do this 500w one cheap as chips: CYPA-5 Freestanding Oil-Filled Radiator 500W | Oil Filled Radiators | Screwfix.ie. Bear in mind that 500w needs to run for a long time – won’t heat up a room quickly
Check how much power in watts they consume on the setting you want. Some can use 2-3kWhs so that’s 2-3 units of juice per hour per rad. A 500w can only use a max of 1kWh in 2 hours – so less chance of a bill surprise
3) Nice to have: Smart plug to track electricity usage. I’ve these connected on a smart plug that monitors energy usage (which is optional but means I can see how much power they use in realtime and per day, week, month). It will show the power used for whatever is plugged into it. Use an app on phone to see if. Can set timers to turn on, off (once-off and recurring).
TP-Link Tapo Smart Plug with Energy Monitoring, Works with Amazon Alexa (Echo and Echo Dot) and Google Home, Wi-Fi Smart Socket, Remote Control, Device Sharing, No Hub Required(Tapo P110) : Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories – get at least one with ‘energy monitoring’. And can get the non ‘energy monitoring’ ones to control when other devices come on and off (like dishwashers…). I use the non energy monitoring ones as smart plugs for dishwasher, washing machine..

DC999 · 17-11-2022 6:16pm

Yeah but, I hear you say…it’s not a silver bullet to turn the gas boiler off forever. I’ll deffo turn the gas heating on (or there will be house riots) but will likely keep 2 downstairs on plug-in rads and just heat the rest on gas as needed

What’s above is what I had and what works for me. But anything likely works (so the links are just what I have)

In the WFH room, it needs maybe 250w constant to stop the room getting cold (now we’ve in Nov. It’s a small room but north facing and badly insulated so gets cold). I’ve a dehumidifier that uses 140w that throws out 25 degree heat (but granted it’s only a trickle of air)

o Also got one of these 80w heaters to try (Dimplex ECOT2FT Wall-Mounted Tubular Heater 80W 713 x 81mm | Heaters | Screwfix.ie). Won’t heat the room really but stops it dropping in temp to get badly cold. Draws 73w in reality, so can’t expect miracles of course!

o Remember anything that uses electricity is a mini heater in the ‘Winter of Discontent of 2022’. A slow-cooker will give a trickle of heat. I’ve our dishwasher set to finish when we get up to it’s the heater for the kitchen (it’s on every day anyway so why not heat the room!). Use a smart plug to have it come on at the same time each day

o You can get other smart plugs that integrate into the like of ‘Home Assistant’ for home automation. That’s above where I am now ability wise 😊

o There’s loads of expensive electric rads, but I wanted to use what I had for now. Then I’ll buy what works when I’ve tested what I need

o Other people are looking at the auld skool electric storage heaters. Charge them up on cheap night rate and they dump heat during the day. Can pick them up on Donedeal from €10 up

o Others are using infrared electric heaters which heat the person / object in front of them (I will get one to try, don’t have one yet). So the room can remain colder but if you’re in front of it, you’re heated like you’re in sunlight. Something like this type: COLD FIGHTING Far infrared Electric Panel Heater, Wall mounted/ceiling mounted/ free standing, Eco Energy Efficient, White Standard Electric radiators frost, Safety overheating protection (DIC-450W) : AmazonSmile: Home & Kitchen

DC999 · 17-11-2022 6:16pm

How much juice are we using? ~3kWh a day per room up to now (mid Nov). And it’s been as low as 1kWh a day at times. Granted we don’t like hot rooms so have it set to 18 or 18.5 maybe – low for some people of course. Sitting room / kitchen is about 5x5m and gets sunlight so warms during the morning and kitchen helps heat it too. But with single glaze wooden windows (I know I’ve to replace those but need to find the money tree first!!). The WFT room is smaller (3x3) but uses the same amount of heat. North facing and badly insulated.

So why bother? I know some won’t believe that it can use only a few kWh per day. But…electric rads are close to 100% efficient at converting electricity to heat. Our 15-year-old boiler isn’t. Plus it then gets the water to travel in uninsulated pipes around the house. And even the water pump for it likely uses a few hundred watts constantly – that’s not heating itself.

Electric rads are great in (at least) a WFH room. Keep the room at a much more stable temp, so much more comfortable. My room used to go from sauna to igloo with gas heating. Plus means you can use more of the solar produced. It’s cleaner too, not spitting out CO2 from the boiler. And they are noise free. Our pipes click when the gas boiler is on. Tis silence at the mo!

con747 · 17-11-2022 6:18pm

Using a couple of Infrared panel heaters, a small oil filled electric rad and a couple of low set fan heaters on smart plugs for the time being. Using up some units the old meter wound back before spring or ESBN try to take it out. I will have covid the days they call if they do.

DC999 · 17-11-2022 6:20pm

Forgot to say that the rads won't turn off (will run all day) if we don't close the doors in the rooms they are in. As in the halls and upstairs is cold (which we don't mind)

DC999 · 17-11-2022 6:20pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119886693#Comment_119886693

The auld backwards spinning meter. Sweet!!

DC999 · 18-11-2022 1:02pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119886693#Comment_119886693

What infrared panels did you get? I've confused myself on Amazon with choices so I'll grab ones I know work grand :)

con747 · 18-11-2022 4:11pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119889396#Comment_119889396

I got 1 of each 600w and 720w https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B09QBR3NZW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I think unkel bought the same brand as well before me. They work, but do they work as well as the branded ones I don't know!

randombar · 21-11-2022 11:53pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119890378#Comment_119890378

So Panel Heater vs IR Heater. On the fence at the moment.

Decisions decisions.

Jonathan · 22-11-2022 12:00am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119904650#Comment_119904650

Get a second hand oil radiator of the likes of adverts and see how you go. If it works out, splash the big bucks on an IR panel.

con747 · 22-11-2022 12:05am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119904650#Comment_119904650

I know! I am happy enough with the IR but don't really feel the cold so it's the O/H is saying it heats her up on the couch. I fitted one to this https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0819FFQFM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 and mounted it on the wall in front of the couch so it can be pulled out and adjusted to different positions.

I used some 2 x 1 to attach the bracket to the heater and it pushes back in fairly tight to the wall. The other one I mounted over the kitchen table where we sit when in there. As I said earlier I don't know how the cheaper ones fair out against the more expensive branded ones. I use smart plugs on them because there's no on/off switch, just plug in and it's on.

DukesDad · 12-12-2022 4:24pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119904696#Comment_119904696

I am looking to use IR heaters in a garden office that we re building at the moment. I am reading a lot of differing opinions.

I'd love to know how are the IR heaters working for you in this cold spell that we are in now.

unkel · 12-12-2022 4:59pm

Working very well if I allowed myself to use it here in the garden office 😂

I have a 600W panel under my desk, pointing at my legs. The shed is very well insulated in the walls and ceiling (80mm and 100mm Kingspan respectively), but no insulation in the floor, just the thickest underlay and laminate finish. The shed is very large at about 25m2 internal space

DC999 · 12-12-2022 5:03pm

Working brill for me. I’ll always have one in the WFH room now. I’ve one for the home office and it’s a cold room. I’m a fan of it and only have it a few weeks. It’s only a 360w panel and it’s too warm at times – which is class. I don’t have it facing me as was too hot. I’ve it angled to the wall so it bounces off the wall (and heats the wall which stores some heat), and then it bounces off the wall and heats me. It’s only 2-3 foot away from me.

If left on all day while I’m working, the brick wall it faces directly gets to 40C so it will actually store the heat. That wall backs onto the sitting room so there’s no wasted heat that way.

I had the window open last week (was cold but pre the really cold snap) and got lovely fresh air and had the infrared rad on and wasn’t cold. Still takes me a while to get my head around that even though I know it’s line of sight and not impacted by breeze. Just a lifetime of using traditional radiators to ‘unlearn’

You don’t need the room as warm, so they are perfect when it’s this cold. I’ve an oil filled rad in another room it can’t heat the room when it’s this cold. Rad is going full tilt but room temp won’t climb.

So compared to an electric rad that is heating the room, all the heat is all lost once it escapes the room (windows, wall and roof).

I got a heated gilet too and it’s brill. So between the infrared rad and that you ‘warm the person, not the room!!’ Wrei Heated Vest Electric Heated Jacket for Women and Men, Heated Clothes USB Charging Gilet with 3 Levels Adjustable Temp for Skiing,Motorcycle, Outdoor, Camping : AmazonSmile: Fashion – looks ugly but works perfect. Doesn’t come with a power bank. Need your own.

con747 · 12-12-2022 5:52pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119987756#Comment_119987756

As the lads above said, I'm happy enough with mine as well.

DukesDad · 12-12-2022 8:54pm

I don’t have much space to fit these in the new shed. I’m planning to fit 2 of them on the ceiling and am trying to figure out what wattage I would need.

What makes/brands are you using? Thanks

DC999 · 12-12-2022 9:05pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119988849#Comment_119988849

Using this brand. Only gripe is it won't auto come on when powered off and on again. You need to push a button on it, or power button on the app. So I can't put on a smart plug on a timer. But it does allow you set a temp and schedule from an app - that works grand. Klarstein Wonderwall Smart Infrared Heater, Infrared Heater with App Control, Infrared Heater with Thermostat, Electric Heater for Wall Mounting, CO2-Free Electric Heater, Heating 360 Watt : Amazon.de: Home & Kitchen

I did read that putting directly overhead can cause headaches like a hot day under the sun. That was from some manufacturers site. I had it pointing at my face for a few hours and didn't feel great. So you could offset it a little on the roof as is supposed to angle outwards. I'd suggest mess around to see where works, then make it permanent.

con747 · 12-12-2022 9:38pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119988849#Comment_119988849

I have a 600w and a 720w of these https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09QC93TY7/ref=twister_B0B6QQYHN3?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1 and I adapted this with some 2x1 https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0819FFQFM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 to mount it on a wall in the sitting room and it goes back in tight to the wall when not in use and one over the kitchen table on the ceiling. I have both connected to smart plugs. Get the ones you want and worst case scenario if you don't like them you have at least a month to return them.

dinneenp · 31-01-2023 10:40am

Hi,

Not to hijack this thread, hope it's okay asking here.

I have a garden office, 4m by 3m, 80mm insulation in walls & ceiling, ground insulated as well. Will have entire room slabbed & plastered soon.

I'm looking at best way to heat it please, know nothing about IR panels, what wattage would be best, would 1 be enough etc.

Thanks in advance, Pa.

loyatemu · 31-01-2023 11:18am

a combination of smart thermometers and smart plugs plus something like IFTTT could provide a more controllable system and possibly cheaper than the terrarium plugs you're using.

4 smart plugs for £29 here https://amzn.eu/d/gT9GMZN

3 wifi thermostats for £23 here https://amzn.eu/d/bpvAYYo

unkel · 31-01-2023 12:24pm

@dinneenp - depends on what you are using the shed for. I also have a well insulated shed, about twice the size of yours. I use half of it as my office / workshop WFH. I have a 600W infrared panel under my desk. More than enough to heat me sitting there and keeps the rest of the shed from getting too cold. I've another 600W infrared panel in the other half of the shed, but that's only used when others use it as an extra "living room"

DC999 · 31-01-2023 12:34pm

+1 for infrared heater for using as a WFH space. Bear in mind they warms what is in front of them, not the air. Meaning the overall room temp can be lower. So if you move around the room away from them, you'll feel colder.

dinneenp · 31-01-2023 1:18pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120181537#Comment_120181537

Cheers for the quick reply. I should have mentioned that it'll be for WFH. I'll have a large desk probably facing the french doors and will be seated in that. I could put a infrared panel behind me. Are they all fairly similar or are there any specific infrared panels that people would recommend?

unkel · 31-01-2023 10:31pm

All different sizes. A 300W panel will probably do you. Mine is a bit overkill, but I got it cheap and it does heat the room a bit. I would be very comfortable with the panel on, under the desk, on a very cold day with the temp in the shed being just 15-16C. My 600W outputs 555W at the wall

The main reason I have it under the desk is that the concrete floor of the shed (plus thick underlay plus laminate) isn't insulated where the rest of the shed is very well insulated (by myself)

DC999 · 01-02-2023 11:56am

I've a 350w (pulls 330w) and it's perfect in a 3x3m room. Dirt cheap to run. 1kwH every 3 hours. I point it to the wall and it 'bounces' back to me. Too warm if pointed directly at me. It's right beside me.

JayBee66 · 07-04-2023 7:34am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058272200/heating-with-electric-rads-and-no-gas-boiler-for-now

Now that it's spring, how did you get on with electric heating?

We used no oil this winter, just wood heat, desiccant dehumidifiers and a small electric fan heater. During sub zero nights the bedrooms were down to 12C. Not a problem for me but she who must be obeyed has different views.

We experimented with an 800W AENO FIR panel from Harvey Norman in the living room. Not great. Max 18C in the living room but the heat did dissipate more slowly compared to the fan heater.

Now looking at A2A heat pumps due to microbore radiator pipes, maybe in concert with more capable FIR panels or some kind of thermal heat store with high temperature A2W to run the existing radiators.

unkel · 07-04-2023 12:13pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120450374#Comment_120450374

12C in a bedroom is too cold for most people, but you can sort that easily enough by buying her an electric blanket. These are cheap enough to run. Or the old skool way of the hot water bottle!

DC999 · 12-04-2023 11:38pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120450374#Comment_120450374

Was a good experiment heating largely with 2 electric oil filled rads. I learned we could use a heatpump for house even though it's old and leaky and really bad BER. That was unexpected.

The 2kW setting was needed in the 5x5m sitting room when it got Baltic in Dec. Was frozen temps for a while then. Real cold snap. I have a spring on sitting room door so heat stays in the room. Cost 40 quid maybe on Amazon. No need to keep asking family to close the door now.

As low as a steady 1kW running many hours a day could get the sitting room room to 20C by about lunchtime. Had the sitting room on a 'set back' temp of 15.5 at night. Meant the walls retained some heat. Then set to 20C from breakfast to night. Sitting room is 5 x 5m including kitchen. 200kWh a month heated it but did get boosted by gas boiler for up to 3 hours a day (for cold 3 months).

For a lot of the time that rad was on the 700w setting. That's not much heat so needs to run for a lot of the day.

Only turned on gas boiler in mid Nov when temp got cold. But house was cold at thay pooint. And boiler has been off since start of March. Came on for max of 3 hours a day (morning, when kids got home, kids bedtime) in winter. On a Nest so moved the Nest to kids bedroom (instead of sitting room) and only came on when needed.

In March I used 300kWh of heat between the 2 electric rads. No other heat used. 100 of that was the WFH office. It's a 350w infrared heater which is class. Only one we have so far.

Our setup won't suit everyone. 1) Don't have a single control for the house like with a Nest. 2) Plus temp wise, we are grand with the house cooler than some might like. Throw a blanket over us on the sofa if it's a bit cool. Don't like heat upstairs. But the downstairs space we sat in was never cold. Some walls in house did get to 12C internally. Like in hall. I watched for damp and aired house each morning when kids went to school.

JayBee66 · 13-04-2023 12:33am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120471418#Comment_120471418

Thanks for that report. Very interesting.

I visited a heat pump installer and showered them with questions. I'm still caught between heat pump or using ~100% efficiency electric heaters and running them on the saving from not getting HP, plus FIT credit. The rough quote is 10K for a high temperature 8KW HP drop in replacement for the oil boiler. We have someone coming to do an assessment and then I'll look at the figures. The three tonnes of wood I've been fishing out of the river, down below, is dwindling and I no longer have the energy to find and process more.

zg3409 · 13-04-2023 8:57am

My thoughts.

While typical electric heaters are 100% efficient, electricity prices compared to gas or heat pumps are very high. Ideally you would only trigger the heaters to operate when there is excess solar. My energy have an (expensive) product the eddi that can detect export and vary the power to the appliance from say 500 watts to 2000 watts to only use "free" energy. This is typically used for only heating hot water using an immersion element most houses have. Once water is hot it can trigger other appliances via an on off relay. It might be an idea to research this but may require rewiring heaters to special sockets and complicated diy. Your solar inverter may have similar messages or connect tions to trigger loads.

Heat pumps can be 300% efficient as in create 3 times the heat of a standard electric heater and that's not a typo. If you are powering only using free solar that's amazing but you need massive panels for use on cold winter days and if you buy from the grid it may work out more expensive than (existing) gas boiler.

Usually step 1, 2 and 3 are insulate, insulate, insulate and shop around for energy deals and big panels. If you can heat your house with big south facing windows through design that ships the solar - inverter - heater losses.

unkel · 13-04-2023 10:50am

It's actually very simple, @zg3409. The eddi has two outputs that you can prioritise. My mate here has one to his hot water (up to 3kW) and then when that is hot, the other output of up to 3kW is triggered and dumps electricity into a storage heater that is on a timed release. His house is empty during the day but the storage heaters are programmed to release heat before people come home from school and work

All of this only works well if you have a substantial PV array though. Eddi is a relatively cheap device (about €360 with trade discount before VAT) and install is simple. So if you have a huge PV array, payback of this is very quick with today's gas en electricity prices.

Also your point about gas being cheaper than electricity depends a lot on what plans you are on. Personally I pay 8c for night rate electricity, which I store in my battery and use for heating the house during the day. I pay 15c for gas

And on a glorious day like today, my PV is heating all my hot water at the moment and from about mid day I will hook the car up and get a few days worth of driving into it from PV too

bullit_dodger · 13-04-2023 11:04am

You can actually do it "on the cheap" without an Eddi too - albeit you need a little bit of coding skills.

From your solar installation telemetry you can see how much is being exported, once it reaches a certain threshold you can enable (say) a 1Kw heater in your living room to turn on and raise the temperature of that room to say 20c. All you need is a smart plug which you can automate. I don't do this, but I use the same technique to turn on/off some crypto mining achieving roughly the same thing.

The main thing is that heating with electricity and solar panels is a viable strategy. It's probably not a runner for smaller solar installations, but for people with 6Kwp or above, they often have plenty of excess power.

JayBee66 · 13-04-2023 3:00pm

I wish there was an online site where you can enter what you have (i.e. 6.4KW of panels E/W, 5KW battery, no gas (rural), malfunctioning and badly installed oil boiler, rotten wood from the river in the stove) and then be shown what the cost of ownership for n years would be for say, far infra red panels, electric convection heaters, high temperature heat pump.

I'll try and spreadsheet something but I'll probably be way off in accuracy. I was quoted about 5K to have FIR installed in HALF the house by you know who and then you are using 4 times the electricity compared to a heat pump. I know there are dirt cheap FIR panels on Amazon but not so after import duties and would they last as long as European made ones. I have a quote, after grant, of 10K for a high temperature 8KW heat pump, which sounds great value to me but I have no idea how much electricity it's going to use.

My number one metric is to keep She Who Must Be Obeyed happy at all times. I don't think a piecemeal approach is going to work. Filling the house with FIR panels and oil-filled radiators on wheels when every room has a functioning radiator in it (or, at least, would have if there was a derrick attached to the useless oil boiler.) I walk around the house in t-shirt and shorts when it's sub-zero outside and 12C in the house. She wears more than a polar expedition. She feels the cold even in summer!

DC999 · 13-04-2023 5:39pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120471802#Comment_120471802

Good points. In the longer term I won't heat with just electric rads. Can't offset any to a cheap night rate. And paying to heat during peak times on a smart tariff would cost a bomb. That's where the heat pump wins if you have UFH and run it on night rate. Plus the energy needed during the day will have a COP multiplier.

In Dec my solar generated 90kWh only. And 2 electric rads used 350kWh combined. So day or peak rate would not be kind on the pocket.

randombar · 14-09-2023 8:03pm

Hi Folks, in between heating systems at the moment and with the cold season coming I'm trying to figure out what the best solution is for a temporary solution. No panels either currently, just a cheap night saver rate. Guessing a storage heater but that's not very temporary. Maybe a couple of those electric rads? Have a fire in the sitting room, it's only the large kitchen downstairs really? Upstairs I'll just use a few electric blankets I guess??

graememk · 14-09-2023 8:36pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121110601#Comment_121110601

Do you still have the oil tank?

An option could be buying a second hand oil burner?

Back boiler?

A noisy option (and possibly pricy) is a portable air con that also does heat. Might get you a cop of 2ish but would need a good way of venting it though

randombar · 14-09-2023 9:28pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121110763#Comment_121110763

Was thinking of the second hand boiler but I'd have to cango footpaths to get at the pipework and need a sparks for rewiring etc.

Would need to buy a stove with a back boiler and then move it on when I get the A2W in.

In my head I'm thinking I'll need this solution for 4 weeks, hope it's not longer than that.

con747 · 14-09-2023 9:33pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121111076#Comment_121111076

Throw a few oil radiators on smart plugs if it's only for 4-6 weeks. I don't bother with the heating until nearly November if even then! An extra layer will do.

graememk · 14-09-2023 9:57pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121111076#Comment_121111076

If it's just for a month, trial and error. Try the infrared panels and report back!

They all have a cop of 1 so they all should perform as well as the others. Maybe just feel different.

randombar · 14-09-2023 10:58pm

Yup, might see what's popping up on adverts and throw a smart plug on em.

DC999 · 15-09-2023 9:28am

This is my original post. So if you drop uo to the start you can see what works for me. Anything that puts out heat at this time of year is enough. Dehumidifier even puts out heats but needs to run all day to heat a small wfh office. Ours only uses 180w.

Dishwasher on a timer is a heater to heat kitchen so it's finished when you wake up.

I got an 350w infrared panel for cold wfh office. It's brill. Don't use normal rad in that room now.

Also use electric rads on a smart plug.

We didn't use any heating until Nov last year. Ok it was cold then but Ukraine stuff meant there were worries about heating costs over winter. So we suffered cold for a bit first.

unkel · 15-09-2023 6:17pm

Few of those €15 Powercity special 1000W heaters, on smart plugs, job done. I wouldn't bother starting to buy fancier solutions or second hand stuff

con747 · 15-09-2023 6:27pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121111466#Comment_121111466

If you need a few cheap smart plugs here's a 4 pk for around €18 when you apply the 50% off voucher https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0B1WT999V?

randombar · 15-09-2023 6:32pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121114921#Comment_121114921

15????

con747 · 15-09-2023 6:53pm

The only heater I would trust leaving on is the oil filled radiator types, I wouldn't trust a fan or halogen or such like if not in the house. Seen a few cheapo ones that have gone on fire over the years. Depends on what you buy though.

Jonathan · 15-09-2023 7:51pm

Have a few Kasa smart plugs for sale over on the for sale thread if you're interested. Work out of the box with Home Assistant, if that's your thing.

unkel · 15-09-2023 8:54pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121114978#Comment_121114978

Or Amazon for a tenner (pounds)

DC999 · 16-09-2023 8:25pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121115036#Comment_121115036

Plus one to that.

Screwfix have a cheap 500w oil filled rad. 500w won't do a whole heap unless it's on a lot. But perfect in Sept and early spring when want some heating but just in the sitting room and don't need to turn central heating on.

unkel · 16-09-2023 9:29pm

Yeah I agree those supercheap heaters are not the safest. Grand if you are sitting reading beside it, but not on a timer in the middle of the night

DC999 · 16-10-2023 5:18pm

Day1 of our heating season for winter 2023 starts. 3 electric rads plugged in to heat 3 rooms (2 downstairs and WFH upstairs). Still working off this setup (oil filled rads connected to a separate thermostat plug. Means the temp in the room stays constant. It can stay within a ½ degree or less). Post2 in this thread: Heating with electric rads and no gas boiler for now — boards.ie - Now Ye're Talkin'

And using my infrared heater as a 3rd rad in the WFH room. Which is the only place that the infrared is perfect for in our house. I’m using the 350w one and it’s perfect in a small room when you’re close to the heater. Like 3 feet or less away. Need to be line of sight with these as heats only what’s in front of it, not the air (which takes a little to get your head around). Infrared ones only have on and off. Not low, medium and high like other electric rads: Coldfighting 450W Far Infrared Panel Heater - Electric Heater Panel - Wall Mounted - Ceiling Mounted, Suitable for Indoor, Living Room, Bedroom - CO2-Free Energy Efficient Electric Heater : Amazon.co.uk: Home & Kitchen

Gas will remain off for sometime. Or we’ll schedule it to come on when we get up and bedtime. So 2 hours a day max (for the gas boiler) would be fine now until it gets colder.

Careful!!! Electric heating can use a lot of juice 1) on a high setting and 2) if left on too long. So take the time to set it up and check it every so often. If someone turns the heating to max, it can use several times the wattages compared to the low setting (3 times more on the ones I have).

And it’s not useful for people with an expensive day rate, but a cheaper night rate (when people are in bed and don’t need heating). Unless you’ve a monster battery to run the rads during the day. I’m on a 24hr tariff still.

Heating with electric rads and no gas boiler for now

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