For three months, as from 1 October, electricity is being charged ar a unit rate of Unit rate: 27.35p per kWh and you can use this figure to work out the cost of your oil-filled radiator. Frost protection The heater can be set to heat automatically when the temperature drops below 5°C, but you'll need to have it on standby for it to run, so this can limit its usefulness. The nature of convection heaters mean they usually take a little longer until you feel the heat (compared to a halogen heater for example), but it will heat the whole room evenly. Typically, convection heaters are around 2000W in power output which does make them more expensive to run. On top of this, you might tend to leave a convection heater on for longer periods of time too (compared to radiant heaters).

But when the cold weather closes in during Autumn and Winter, it’s easy to get carried away with exactly how much electricity we are using, especially when it comes to heating your home.Portable electric heaters use electricity, which costs 27.35p/kWh under the current energy price cap. Depending on how effective the heater is, they can take anything from 30 minutes to an hour to notably raise the temperature of a medium-sized room, so if you're only planning on using it until the room gets up to temperature, it will likely cost you between 28 and 55p. We set up each heater in the centre of our test room and run it on the maximum settings, with the room starting at a cool temperature. We monitor how much the room temperature changed over the course of an hour using temperature probes. We found the most drastic changes happen in the first half an hour and increases in temperature become more incremental after that. Some portable heaters have useful extras, such as an LCD screen that displays the current temperature or a remote control for turning the heater on from across the room. These features may come in handy: Convector heaters are usually taller than fan heaters, but thin and light – making them larger, but still relatively easy to move between rooms. So, after looking at the different types of electric heaters available, due to its lower power-output, halogen heaters are the cheapest electric heaters to run.

They tend to be cheap to run, but some can be really slow to heat up. Most oil-filled heaters are also fairly heavy and cumbersome, so look out for models that come with wheels.

Central heating is much more effective at maintaining a stable temperature over a longer period, whereas the heat from an electric heater will soon dissipate if the rest of your home is cold. Electric oil-filled radiators are portable so you can heat only the room you are using to reduce your energy costs. Oil-filled radiator vs central heating Halogen Heaters are great for instant heat. They get their name from the halogen element inside the bulb or lamp of the heater which, when combined with electricity, heats up and provides a radiant heat.

Under current energy prices, a run-of-the-mill plug-in electric heater can cost approximately 40p to 65p per hour to run on full blast. They can be installed on a wall just like standard types of radiator or can be freestanding units that can be moved to different rooms. The ability to heat just one room is the reason many advise that homeworkers give them a go. The oil in the radiator acts as a heat reservoir, which stays hot for some time after the heater's switched off. Some are called 'oil-free' and function in a comparable way, just with an internal heating element instead of any oil. Smaller oil heaters can use as little as 500W of power (possibly less) and are designed to heat smaller rooms — while larger oil heaters can use 2,500W or more.Cold air setting Some fan heaters can help cool you down too. They're not nearly as effective as a dedicated air conditioner, but a light breeze of cold air is better than nothing. The average wattage on an oil-filled radiator can vary quite a lot, which therefore means how costly they are can vary. However, many oil-filled radiators will come equipped with a built-in thermostatic control, which therefore allows you to control the power and heat output of the radiator. For this reason, they can be considered one of the most energy efficient types of heaters. Pinning down an exact comparison of how much central heating and electric heaters cost to run is nigh-on impossible, as the factors below are just some of the variables that play a part: Start by converting the watts into kilowatts and then multiply by your electricity cost per kWh. You can do this by dividing the watts by 1,000 and then multiplying by the current electricity cost.

On the downside, this type can be quite noisy and they don't have some of the more advanced features you can get with convector heaters. You will have to allow for enough time for the heater to warm up before the space reaches a comfortable temperature, maybe 20-30 minutes. Some are equipped with a timer that you can use to preheat the room prior to use. If the heater is equipped with a thermostat, it can be set to switch off when the oil reaches the desired temperature. Due to the long list of factors that come into play to calculate your central heating costs, the only way you can confidently compare a heater to your central heating is to install a smart meter. You then divide your weekly heating cost by the number of hours you have it switched on and compare that figure to the cost of running your heater. In addition, oil-filled heaters are up to 99% energy-efficient because they directly convert all the electric energy into heat energy with barely any losses. Their thermostats, timers and adjustable heating modes consume less than one percent of the heater’s energy needs. What are the disadvantages of oil-filled radiators?

We use a force meter to record how much is needed to topple each heater over and a decibel meter to measure how much noise each one makes while running. How much an oil-filled radiator costs to run is also dependent on a few other factors. The following will all affect the running costs: In our tests, we set every heater to run at full blast so you can see the maximum amount it cost to heat our medium-sized test room. If you have the thermostat of your heater set to a desired temperature, the heater will toggle on and off once it reaches that temperature – depending on what's needed to maintain it. The heater won't operate continuously, so won't cost you as much to run. Are electric heaters cheaper to use than central heating? We assess how easily each electric heater can be set up and how easily understandable the controls and settings are. We used any handles to lift the heater and move it around. While some heaters can be used straight out of the box, others have complicated program and timer settings. They’re also safer than some portable heaters because there is no element that could be a fire hazard and are very quiet, so won’t disturb you while you try to meet deadlines or are just trying to relax in front of the telly. Many people have them by their feet beneath or next to their desk or table. How much do oil-filled radiators cost to run?