Heater for Winter Easy on Electricity Bill

justanick on 17/05/2024 - 23:15

Hi All,

We are looking for a cheap heater for our guest bedroom 3m x 4m. Our family members will stay with us for a month in June. After they leave we won’t need this heater nor we have enough space to store this (might be shoved in the garage).

What are our best cost effective option which will be easy on our electricity bill and safe?

We got Cosco membership, Goodguys commercial and JBHifi commercial access.

I got good faith in oil heaters but there could be more options out there. Fan electric heaters are the worst.

Any recommendations around $60 or less would be ideal.

Electrical & Electronics Heater

Comments

  • jv on 17/05/2024 - 23:24
    +3

    Heater for Winter Easy on Electricity Bill

    https://i.ytimg.com/vi/7edYsKsbkBs/maxresdefault.jpg

    • MS Paint on 17/05/2024 - 23:44

      Exactly what I'm doing tomorrow (but on my property). Now that all the snakes have hopefully gone into winter mode it's time to get felling, cutting and splitting.

  • AustriaBargain on 17/05/2024 - 23:32
    +2

    Are they going to be sitting on their bed in the room? An electric blanket will be cheaper than any heater to run. But maybe you want to treat your family members to a fully heated room. I think all heaters are about as efficient as each other, unless it got a heat pump like a split system. You can get reverse cycle portables but they are incredibly loud and I don't know how much more energy efficient a reverse cycle portable is, if at all, compared to any standard electric heater.

  • Jimothy Wongingtons on 17/05/2024 - 23:52
    +8

    Me, a dad: have you put on long sleeve shirt, and pants, and socks

    • barge-in hunter on 18/05/2024 - 07:40
      +2

      “What? You call that a jumper? Go put on the scratchy wool one your grandma knitted you”

  • Drakesy on 18/05/2024 - 00:12
    +2

    reverse cycle air conditioner.
    Puts out more heat than energy it consumes, good ol laws of thermodynamics.

    Basically a giant heat pump

    You're in sydney though, barely gets cold there.

  • justanick on 18/05/2024 - 00:15

    So just for my knowledge Oil heater and fan electric heater consume same amount of energy per hour?!

    Any place where there’s a sale and I can get them over the weekend?

    • scrimshaw on 18/05/2024 - 00:49
      +3

      Both oil heaters and electric fan heaters have roughly the same efficiency. In fact most electric heaters can be regarded as 100% efficient (i.e. they have a coefficient of performance of 1) which in plain english means all the electricity they consume is converted into heat and there are no waste products. If you put in 1kw of electricity into an electric heater you can expect to get 1kw of heating (or very close to it).

      Heat pumps (i.e. a reverse cycle air cond) have a coefficient of performance of greater than 1, meaning they actually produce more useful heat with the same electricity than a simple electric heater does. But of course the upfront cost, (and the installation cost) of a reverse cycle system is quite a lot more than a fan heater you could buy from Kmart.

    • rumblytangara on 18/05/2024 - 09:37

      Every heater has a wattage rating. Practically all that energy gets turned into heat. More watts - more heat - more cost.

  • justanick on 18/05/2024 - 02:06

    Thanks a lot. So do I get an electric heater fan $19 from Bunnings or Kmart?

    • Mokr on 18/05/2024 - 08:00
      -2

      An electric heater fan makes the air more dryer than an oil column.

      • GordonD on 18/05/2024 - 10:53
        +2

        Where does the water from the air go?

  • The tiger on 18/05/2024 - 08:02

    Buy it from Kmart. The simple electric heater won't consume too much of your electricity bill. After all they will be with you just for a short while.

  • soan papdi on 18/05/2024 - 08:56

    Also look for air leaks in the room and seal your doors and windows.

    • AustriaBargain on 18/05/2024 - 13:16

      I ran an AC in my large extension/bedroom and found huge air gaps along the coving. Covered it all with masking tape and the room is effectively airtight now, airtight enough to create a strong negative pressure with the portable AC on.

  • shaybisc on 18/05/2024 - 09:27

    HEATTECH Extra Warm Long Johns

  • GordonD on 18/05/2024 - 11:06
    +1

    Air conditioners are the most efficient because they don't produce heat from electricity, they pump it from outside. And they can pump in three times more heat than they use electricity. But they are expensive to install.

    Electric heaters come in a couple of essential different varieties.

    There are convection heaters. They warm the air in the room. The room doesn't feel warm until they've warmed up the air in it. You'd choose them for a room you're going to be in continuously for a time, with the door closed.

    There are radiators. They warm the objects in the room, including the people, without making the air any warmer. They are mostly used in bathrooms where you're only there for a sort time, probably undressed, and don't want to feel cold, and outdoors, where you can't practicably warm the air.

    Then there's electric blankets and throw blankets. You get into bed, or into a chair, and they both insulate you from the cold air, warm you from your own body heat, and add a bit more heat. These are by far the lowest power consuming, and cheap, but require you to stay on or under them to be warm. As soon as you're not, you're cold because the air in the room hasn't been warmed up. They are best choice if people are going to sleep in a bedroom, and maybe watch TV in it in the evenings, but not generally live in it.

    • scottishdave on 18/05/2024 - 14:32

      Don't forget heated vests, hoodies and jackets powered by rechargeable 5V - 12V batteries. Don't get a cheap one from ebay but instead buy brand name one like Milwaukee, Ryobi, Bosch, Dewalt etc from Bunnings/Mitre 10 or your local toolshop like Sydney Tools or Total Tools. The wiring on the cheap ones is not robust and breaks after numerous plug-ins.

  • MeesusEff on 18/05/2024 - 13:14
    +1

    I've been using electric blanket and electric throws for the past 2 winters, just turn it on a bit, sometimes set a timer for the undersheet. I've found that to be the most efficient way to keep warm.

  • Love a bargain on 18/05/2024 - 18:46

    If you're only going to be using it for a short time, you might wanna consider getting one secondhand.

  • justanick on 20/05/2024 - 00:42
    -1

    I bought an electric blanket from the recent Ozbargain post still to get the blanket. Also, second hand heaters not a possibility at all as I can’t see how the previous owners kept it.
    So here’s my options now. Could you please help me choose?

    $15
    https://www.bunnings.com.au/click-2000w-fan-heater_p0329502

    $15
    https://www.kmart.com.au/product/fan-heater-black-and-white-…

    $25
    https://www.kmart.com.au/product/oscillating-fan-heater-blac…

    $69
    https://www.bunnings.com.au/de-longhi-1800w-ivory-white-caps…

    $69
    https://www.kmart.com.au/product/2000w-convection-heater-wit…

    $99
    https://www.thegoodguys.com.au/ewt-15kw-oil-column-heater-ew…

  • justanick on 20/05/2024 - 13:10

    Any recommendations on the above please?

    • scrimshaw on 20/05/2024 - 13:55
      +1

      They are incredibly simple devices, a bit like a water kettle. It just consists of a fan and some heating elements.

      Kmart / Bunnings has a good return policy too so if you don't like it you can always return it.

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