Run a single radiator using Evohome or invest in an electric radiator

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  • bruce_miranda
    Automated Home Legend
    • Jul 2014
    • 2307

    Run a single radiator using Evohome or invest in an electric radiator

    During the week, I work from home and have the heating just to heat the Study. Evohome does a good job of heating just a single room. But would it be better to turn the entire heating system off and just have a single electric radiator in the Study? Any opinions. What about running costs.
  • anniesboy
    Automated Home Sr Member
    • Aug 2019
    • 71

    #2
    Well I have a gas boiler, my supplier charges are Electricity 15.33 per kwh Gas 3.64 per kwh ,not sure if that helps

    Comment

    • bruce_miranda
      Automated Home Legend
      • Jul 2014
      • 2307

      #3
      I guess I will have to work out how much gas I use up during the day to keep the Study heated. And then work out how much it would cost to run an Electric heater for that time. But then also add some more gas to account for the fact that the house then will be heating up from a colder starting point again in the evening.

      Comment

      • mtmcgavock
        Automated Home Legend
        • Mar 2017
        • 507

        #4
        Originally posted by bruce_miranda View Post
        I guess I will have to work out how much gas I use up during the day to keep the Study heated. And then work out how much it would cost to run an Electric heater for that time. But then also add some more gas to account for the fact that the house then will be heating up from a colder starting point again in the evening.
        Have you considered just heating the whole house? If it's well insulated ours uses less gas than having set times on, using EvoHome. Even though we are out at work all day I have on from the morning till the evening.

        I've measured our usage, yearly and monthly to find the most efficient way of running our system. Obviously weather conditions aren't consistent but the overall view is that it uses less gas, not a lot but less for it to be on all day.

        Comment

        • bruce_miranda
          Automated Home Legend
          • Jul 2014
          • 2307

          #5
          Yes my entire house is heated all day but to about 17C, except the Study which goes to 20C. I wanted to know if this was the most efficient way to deal with my single occupancy during the day or invest in something more localised.

          Comment

          • rs1987
            Automated Home Jr Member
            • Nov 2019
            • 44

            #6
            Originally posted by bruce_miranda View Post
            Yes my entire house is heated all day but to about 17C, except the Study which goes to 20C. I wanted to know if this was the most efficient way to deal with my single occupancy during the day or invest in something more localised.
            While electric heaters are 100% efficient, the price disparity between mains gas and electricity means that, no matter what, it's going to be more expensive to heat with electricity.

            Assume a 2kw electric heater. If it runs for one hour at full blast it uses 18.4p * 2kwh = 36.8p (based on default tariffs in my area).

            Using gas heating, a 2kw radiator would cost 3.7p * 2kwh = 7.4p. It could run for five hours and still be cheaper than one hour of an electric heater.

            Comment

            • BuxtonJim
              Automated Home Jr Member
              • Aug 2018
              • 45

              #7
              Quite an interesting one and so many variables of course, depending on insulation, room size etc.
              Taking out pipe runs and associated heat losses, added cycles on the boiler and so on, I suspect there's little in it.
              My tariffs are lower than quoted but the ratio's similar. The 'thermal inertia' of a space eg an office matters. Heating a space like that needs to be agile and recognise that a person isn't necessarily moving so much. Indicative temperatures sometimes don't feel so comfortable.

              Comment

              • filbert
                Automated Home Guru
                • Oct 2017
                • 162

                #8
                Don't forget the £50-£100 cost of a decent electric radiator. It will take a while to get that back at a few pence per hour savings.

                Comment

                • G4RHL
                  Automated Home Legend
                  • Jan 2015
                  • 1580

                  #9
                  I often run my heating the same way, i.e. the house is at a low temperature when I am in my study with only the study being heated. One of the advantages of Evohome. Even though downstairs rooms are set at 19c during the day, the heating often does not come on and when it does not for long to sustain that temperature. Like other contributors here I assume that an electric radiator will cost an awful lot more to run.

                  Having said that in due course I will remove a radiator in the conservatory as it is not very efficient, with the HR92 fitted mid winter I hear the boiler fire up in the night because the temperature has dropped below the minimum you can set of 5C. When I want it on it can struggle to get a decent temperature. I think an electric panel radiator will be more efficient but I doubt if I will recoup the capital cost. In the UK I believe one cannot now install a radiator in a conservatory that runs off the CH system.

                  Comment

                  • bruce_miranda
                    Automated Home Legend
                    • Jul 2014
                    • 2307

                    #10
                    Really, so what are they expecting in a conservatory? UFH? or are they trying to force the fact that it's in no way integral to the rest of the house, so shouldn't use the supplies of the house?

                    Comment

                    • G4RHL
                      Automated Home Legend
                      • Jan 2015
                      • 1580

                      #11
                      Originally posted by bruce_miranda View Post
                      Really, so what are they expecting in a conservatory? UFH? or are they trying to force the fact that it's in no way integral to the rest of the house, so shouldn't use the supplies of the house?
                      The reasoning I understand is solely that a radiator in a conservatory attached to the house system could be a waste of energy as due to the lower temperatures in cooler months it will be on when it is not being used and the heat loss, because of the area of glass and roof, will be great. The fact that I can control when it is on, and at what temperature, using Evohome is not relevant to these "experts"! Mine was installed before the regulations came about.

                      Comment

                      • rs1987
                        Automated Home Jr Member
                        • Nov 2019
                        • 44

                        #12
                        Originally posted by G4RHL View Post
                        Having said that in due course I will remove a radiator in the conservatory as it is not very efficient, with the HR92 fitted mid winter I hear the boiler fire up in the night because the temperature has dropped below the minimum you can set of 5C. When I want it on it can struggle to get a decent temperature. I think an electric panel radiator will be more efficient but I doubt if I will recoup the capital cost. In the UK I believe one cannot now install a radiator in a conservatory that runs off the CH system.
                        Yes, this is exactly what I do. My conservatory was re-purposed as a dining room, so I do need to use it. However, the central heating struggles to heat it even to 15 degrees in this weather and the problem is compounded by the fact that the radiator is about half the size it should be, so the gas bill literally goes through the roof if I attempt to heat the conservatory using mains gas.

                        I use this heater. It heats the entire space in about 15 minutes. Extremely effective and I use it only for about an hour a day when I want to eat dinner. It's pricier than a standard oil-filled radiator, but it heats up almost instantly and according to the literature is substantially more efficient than a oil-filled radiator.

                        Comment

                        • G4RHL
                          Automated Home Legend
                          • Jan 2015
                          • 1580

                          #13
                          Originally posted by rs1987 View Post
                          Yes, this is exactly what I do. My conservatory was re-purposed as a dining room, so I do need to use it. However, the central heating struggles to heat it even to 15 degrees in this weather and the problem is compounded by the fact that the radiator is about half the size it should be, so the gas bill literally goes through the roof if I attempt to heat the conservatory using mains gas.

                          I use this heater. It heats the entire space in about 15 minutes. Extremely effective and I use it only for about an hour a day when I want to eat dinner. It's pricier than a standard oil-filled radiator, but it heats up almost instantly and according to the literature is substantially more efficient than a oil-filled radiator.
                          Thanks for the recommendation. It gets some decent reviews and is not too expensive. Worth a thought.

                          Comment

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