# Electric radiator heating



## Rabbitcat (Aug 31, 2014)

Just a quicky

Would it be fair to say heating a house in Spain by electric radiators is the most expensive method?

Thanks


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## Anciana (Jul 14, 2014)

I have an ac with heating in my new Spanish apartment (have not used either cooling or heating yet as I came in October) but I also have something looking like a fireplace with an electric cord. Is it a kind of electric radiator? I was told I can use it when I do not want the entire apartment heated, so perhaps it is cheaper than heating by ac ?


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## Rabbitcat (Aug 31, 2014)

I have rather cunningly included a photo of the exact type of electric radiator of which I am asking. ( this took 7 attempts and at one stage I was posting a photo of my cat!)

I think I am correct in assuming they are very expensive to run but confirmation from some member who has experience would be much appreciated.


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

If you have some of the very latest electric 'radiators' which have thermostats, timer settings etc. then they are actually quite efficient.

Older ones may not be.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

I don't know if that type of radiator is more effective than the mobile, oil filled electric radiators, but if not IMO they are a waste of time unless used in a smallish room with the door closed. We tried using one in our living room and it seemed to make little or no difference to the temperature, unlike our mobile gas heater. 

I just keep the oil filled radiator for occasional use in a guest bedroom now, if we have visitors, and plug it in with a timer to warm the room up before they go to bed and when thy get up.


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## VFR (Dec 23, 2009)

Rabbitcat said:


> Just a quicky
> 
> Would it be fair to say heating a house in Spain by electric radiators is the most expensive method?
> 
> Thanks


Yes !


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## jimenato (Nov 21, 2009)

Probably but there is sometimes little alternative.

One thing to note is that all electric resistance heaters (convector radiators, oil-filled radiators, old-fashioned bar fires, ceramic radiator etc.) all produce the same amount of heat per unit of electricity - there is no such thing as efficiency. 

There may be differences in effectiveness depending upon how the heat is delivered and the characteristics of the space to be heated but these differences are usually marginal. For instance in a tall room fan assisted heaters or infra-red fires might be preferred to convector heaters which tend to send heat to the ceiling.

As to alternatives we used: 

Wood fires/log burners if available are nice, and were always our preferred method but cost effectiveness is difficult to assess.

Bottle gas heaters are cheaper and very effective. In some circumstances - newer houses and apartments for instance they can cause condensation but we never had a problem in our village houses which were well ventilated (to be kind to them - actually draughty would be a better description).


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## Rabbitcat (Aug 31, 2014)

Thanks folks.
Bloody knew they were a disaster for both cost and efficiency but as always wifey knows best. Be good to show her this thread and actually win an argument for once- hopefully


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

jimenato said:


> Wood fires/log burners if available are nice, and were always our preferred method but cost effectiveness is difficult to assess.


Our wood fire is much cheaper to run than natural gas heating. Unfortunately, when it-s really cold we need both


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## jimenato (Nov 21, 2009)

Pesky Wesky said:


> Our wood fire is much cheaper to run than natural gas heating. Unfortunately, when it-s really cold we need both


Do you get piped mains gas? if so how much is it per unit? 

I ask because here (UK) the price of gas per kWh is approximately 1/5 of that of electricity - 5p as opposed to 15p.


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## Rabbitcat (Aug 31, 2014)

5p as opposed to 15p is a third not a fifth

Rabbitcat, mathematician


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

As a maths teacher I must agree with Rabbitcat. Some of the new aircons cost around 8c an hour to run and don't take too long to heat a room. We use a log fire and a mobile gas heater. When it gets really really cold (last year that happened about 6 times) we also run an electric fan heater for 30 minutes which is very effective.


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## el romeral (May 8, 2012)

Our ceiling fans can be run in reverse to drive the hot air from the top of the room, downwards. I have not really tried this so don't know if it is effective at all?


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

el romeral said:


> Our ceiling fans can be run in reverse to drive the hot air from the top of the room, downwards. I have not really tried this so don't know if it is effective at all?


Never come across those before, but simple physics tells me that the hot air will simply rise up again and away from the fan???


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## Rabbitcat (Aug 31, 2014)

As well as being a mathematician I too am also something of a physicist 

Indeed I worked out that the reason days are longer in the summer is heat expands......


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## jimenato (Nov 21, 2009)

el romeral said:


> Our ceiling fans can be run in reverse to drive the hot air from the top of the room, downwards. I have not really tried this so don't know if it is effective at all?


It's bound to help mix up the air a bit.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

I have a small (600w) oil filled radiator in the foot well under the computer desk where I am currently sitting (no, it's not on at the moment). By wrapping a ruana around my shoulders extending down to the floor trapping the heat that spills out from under the desk, I can be quite warm and toasty in the winter. This is all we need for most of the winter on this floor (sotano) but it can be supplemented if necessary by an a/c unit.


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## jimenato (Nov 21, 2009)

Rabbitcat said:


> 5p as opposed to 15p is a third not a fifth
> 
> Rabbitcat, mathematician


So it is!  Still a lot cheaper though.


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## VFR (Dec 23, 2009)

baldilocks said:


> I have a small (600w) oil filled radiator in the foot well under the computer desk where I am currently sitting (no, it's not on at the moment). By wrapping a ruana around my shoulders extending down to the floor trapping the heat that spills out from under the desk, I can be quite warm and toasty in the winter. This is all we need for most of the winter on this floor (sotano) but it can be supplemented if necessary by an a/c unit.


We ?
I take it you all get under it then.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

VFR said:


> We ?
> I take it you all get under it then.


No, but the heat spilling out heats the rest of this floor. It is similar to the Spanish "brasero" which is a heat source (gas/ electric/ hot coals) under a round table with a tablecover that reaches to the ground and people slip their legs under the cover and gain warmth.


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## VFR (Dec 23, 2009)

baldilocks said:


> No, but the heat spilling out heats the rest of this floor. It is similar to the Spanish "brasero" which is a heat source (gas/ electric/ hot coals) under a round table with a tablecover that reaches to the ground and people slip their legs under the cover and gain warmth.


Right


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

VFR said:


> Right


This is very common with older people in Spain - many of the (Spanish) people we visit use this method of heating.

Strange as it may sound, there must be some logic and sense in what they are doing!


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

snikpoh said:


> This is very common with older people in Spain - many of the (Spanish) people we visit use this method of heating.
> 
> Strange as it may sound, there must be some logic and sense in what they are doing!


I think it is Spanish logic - why heat areas that you do not, nor need to, use? It is why there are not more houses with central heating. This is not the same as the situation back in UK and elsewhere 60 years ago when the technology was extremely expensive to install as well as operate. Now the technology exists and prices are not too high yet the attitude still pervades the Spanish thinking.


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## Rabbitcat (Aug 31, 2014)

I think we are getting away from the main take home message of the thread- I was right and wifey was wrong


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## jimenato (Nov 21, 2009)

Rabbitcat said:


> I think we are getting away from the main take home message of the thread- I was right and wifey was wrong


I hope that proving that you were right and she was wrong improves your life but somehow I doubt it will.


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## VFR (Dec 23, 2009)

Yes I know what they do as I also visit them, it was the heat that spills out comment that caught my eye.


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