Room heaters are convenient appliances that provide focused and localised heat which is particularly suitable in a room for people that are elderly, ill or with limited mobility. But they can be expensive. Room heaters consume a lot of gas or electricity, and if used over a long period of time are likely to cost a lot more than a central heating system.
Ideally, room heaters should only be used as a secondary or supplementary source of heat. Even then, you should use the right heater for the space you want to heat, and carefully control the temperature and the time you have the heater on. Heaters that have these controls are often cheaper to run.
These work by warming the air immediately next to them which then naturally circulates relatively evenly around the room. Convector heaters are a good choice if you need a supplementary heating source to warm up a room for a few hours at a time.
These work quickly and are useful if you want to warm up only part of a room for a short period, as they tend to heat only what is in front of them.
They rarely have thermostats or timers, which can make their running costs more expensive over long periods. To calculate the running cost you need to look at the power rating of the heater, shown in kilowatts kW. The higher the power rating the more heat will be produced, but also the cost will be proportionally higher. The table below shows typical running costs for a range of electric room heaters. We assess the effectiveness of thermal cut-outs in our test. Regardless of the presence of a thermal cut-out, you should never drape towels or other items over any heater to dry — use an appropriate drying rack instead.
Some heaters may have a fuse instead of or as back-up to a switch; this will do the job, but once the fuse is triggered, it will need to be replaced by a service technician before the heater will work again. The cost of this service could be more than the heater's original price tag. A thermal fuse is not as convenient as a thermal switch; unfortunately, it's almost impossible for a consumer to know whether a heater has this sort of thermal cut-out device.
Most heaters have a thermal cut-out of some sort, but not all of them say so in their product specifications. If in doubt, choose a heater which clearly identifies that it has this feature.
Another important safety feature, a tilt switch turns the heater off if it tilts beyond a certain angle or falls over to prevent a potential fire. We've found some heaters don't state whether they have a tilt switch, but still turn off when pushed over in our test. Heaters usually come with a one- or two-year warranty, but some offer more, or even "lifetime" cover.
Regardless of warranty, don't forget your rights under the Australian Consumer Law — the seasonal nature of heaters means you may have only used your heater for a few months out of a given month period.
Unless you live somewhere really, really cold then your heater's only going to be in use for part of the year — perhaps only a few months. Which means for the rest of the time it's going to be packed away. On-board cord storage makes this much easier — especially for large, heavy oil column heaters where a floppy cord can get in the way while you're trying to wrestle it into the cupboard for the summer.
Cord length is an important consideration for heaters from both a useability and safety perspective — you need a cord that's long enough that you can position your heater where it's going to be most effective, but not so long that it's a trip hazard — an extra risk for heaters in case you fall on it or knock it over. We've seen heater cord lengths ranging from under a metre up to 2. As a rule, larger heaters will have slightly longer cords.
Importantly, you should never use an electric heater with an extension cord or power board. Heaters draw a lot of current which can cause smaller gauge extension cords to heat up and catch fire — plug them directly into a wall socket instead. And if you absolutely have no choice but to use an extension cord, make sure it's a heavy duty one rated for the amount of current your heater draws. This depends on what cost you are looking at — up front purchase, or running cost?
As per usual, there are trade-offs with either selection. Check out our electric heater review to find out which ones perform the best. On average, oil column heaters will be the cheapest on the market to run — but only by a narrow margin ahead of convection heaters such as panel and micathermic panels. There are some comfort trade-offs for that cheap running cost, primarily being slow to heat and ineffective at heating a whole room if they don't have a fan.
If you have a reversible ceiling fan, it will help disperse the heat around the room more evenly see below. But that doesn't mean one W heater will output exactly as much heat as another; for example, one may have a poor-quality thermostat which stops the heater from running at full power when it ought to.
You can improve the effectiveness of an electric heater by making sure its heat isn't wasted; the best way to do that is by insulating your home and stopping draughts. For more about home heating efficiency, check out our home heating guide. Unfortunate news for all of us who are loking for an electric heater - none of them are cost efficient compared to other forms of heating.
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As Featured In. Contact us mailbox thegreenage. This website uses cookies. By continuing to use our website you agree to our Data Protection Policy, which you can view here. If you have a utility bill on hand, you can find the running cost of any heater within a few minutes. If you intend to use a kerosene heater, propane or plan on moving and want to know the cost of running a heater beforehand, we have that covered as well. For most homeowners that need supplemental heat for a room or portable heating, an electric heater is often the best option.
While electric heaters can be far more efficient in turning electricity into heat than gas-based systems, they are often more expensive to run depending on your usage and where you live. The good news is that electric heaters require little to no maintenance, so there is no additional cost down the line.
While not as efficient as an electric heater, heating systems that rely on gas are much cheaper to operate for many homeowners across the United States. Natural gas is priced or billed in therms, which can make comparing costs challenging. Those prices also change considerably across the U. It tends to be cheaper on the West Coast and in Northern parts of the country than in the Southeast, although that will change throughout the year as well.
Once you know the price of natural gas in your area, calculating the operating cost is fairly straightforward, and you may be in for a shock when you compare the price to electric-based heaters. When properly installed and maintained, the upkeep on natural gas heaters is low. The price of the fuel can vary quite wildly depending on supply and demand, however, and can go up or down depending on the time of year.
Propane heating is the best option for homeowners that need temporary gas heat in an area of their home or even outdoors. The price of propane will also fluctuate throughout the year and is often more expensive in summer than winter.
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