As the cost of energy continues to rise, more people are choosing to use electric heaters rather than putting on the central heating, in order to keep bills down, but which ones on the market are the best?
Small free-standing heaters have become popular over the winter, while hot water bottles and hooded blankets are being used more than ever before. Reporter David Bentley purchased three different models of heater, which are also the cheapest on the market right now.
It’s also worth pointing out that the prices of heaters are going up and many can very quickly show as low stock or unavailable – so if you are going to buy one, don’t put it off too much.
1. Electric convection heater
“Mine came from Wickes and is a style of heater many will be familiar with,” said David. “These models heat up air which then rises up out of the vents at the top.
“It runs quietly and has three different settings. The power rating is 1700W to 2000W so, under the Government’s current energy price guarantee that limits electricity tariffs to a maximum of 34p per kWh until March 31, 2023, it would cost 58p to 68p an hour at most.
“You can find the Fine Elements Slim Convector Heater at Wickes for £23, a higher price than I paid, but still relatively cheap. The similar Screwfix version priced £25.99 was sold out when we checked, with the website saying it won’t be available again until August. Toolstation has a similar model reduced to just over £19.”
2. Electric fan heater
“At the same time as I bought the Wickes convention heater, I had decided to get a fan heater too – because I didn’t really know which would be best and they were both at a low price,” explained David. “As I learned, the disadvantage with fan heaters is the noise they make, roaring away like an engine running, and you might well find it irritating.
“Mine has controls on the side at the top and a power rating of 1700W to 2000W, but the current model has been updated slightly and instead has controls on the front and a slightly different power rating of 1000W to 2000W. If you buy this latest model, the running costs would be a maximum of 34p to 68p per hour.
“These are lightweight and very easy to move around – they also cut out if knocked over. You can find the Fine Elements Upright Fan Heater at Wickes for £16.”
3. Halogen/quartz heater
“This is my recent purchase and I think it is easily the best,” said David. “During the current energy bills nightmare, I’ve seen a lot of mention of halogen heaters.
“Since both my heaters have a fairly high power rating and 68p an hour can soon mount up, I wondered if there might be a better option. I landed on the B&Q website where a search for halogen heaters came up with a model priced £16.
“At a B&Q branch not far away, I asked a member of staff about halogen heaters. I was pointed to some shelving where they were on sale in a row of brown cardboard boxes.
“The price of this similar if not identical version was £28, and that is now the price on the website as well. It’s actually a quartz heater rather than a halogen heater – one type uses coils made of quartz, the other uses tubes containing halogen gas.
“This model needs a brief bit of self-assembly to attach the feet, using two tiny screws on each side. It might prove off-putting to those who just want to get something out of the box and switch it on.
“There are two settings – one switch puts on one bar and gives you 500W and the other turns on the second bar as well so you have 1000W. Under the current price guarantee, that’s a maximum cost of 17p per hour for one bar or 34p for both.
“This was surprisingly the clear winner not just because of its low running costs, but also the homely orange glow of the bars. There’s no noise at all and the heat is pretty good with just one bar on, though it looks better with both.
“It does give out a fair bit of heat and it’s also the lightest of all three heaters and easy to carry. The digits on my smart meter display hardly move when I have this on and I’m already using it instead of my fan heater.”
*Prices of heaters were correct at the time of writing but may go up or down due to demand and availability.
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