Small heater for Otago student flat bedroom

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johno1234

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#315648 2-Aug-2024 10:57

My daughter needs something as her room is cold and the only heatpump in the flat is in the lounge.

I suspect a small fan heater under her desk towarm her feet first would do the trick, but what would be the most efficient, inexpensive option, preferably with an timer?

Thanks

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1556 posts

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#3267493 2-Aug-2024 11:38

All resistance heaters have the same level of efficiency: 100%.

I'm not a fan of fan heaters, I think whatever is directly in front of them quickly gets too hot while the rest of the room remains cold.

I recommend an oil column heater (they have small sizes too), sometimes they have a timer built in but maybe not on the cheaper models.

E.g. https://www.mitre10.co.nz/shop/goldair-7-fin-oil-column-heater-1-5kw-white/p/399513 1500 W is plenty for a small room.

Not sure what benefit a timer has, surely using the thermostat is more appropriate.

PS check your daughter has discussed heaters in rooms with her flatmates. Some are known to be quite stroppy about power bills and secret room heating...

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SpartanVXL

1309 posts

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#3267520 2-Aug-2024 12:51

Oil heaters are the same, they just convect the heat upwards so the top of the room gets warm while short people stay cold. With the fan you can at least direct it where you want.

Regardless if the room doesn’t start to heat up then it’s better to find out why and spend some effort on insulation.

tweake

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#3267523 2-Aug-2024 13:00

i would recommend oil heater. this has the less fire risk. get the biggest you can. you get more benefit out of it. remember your loosing heat out of the room all the time. so you have to heat it up faster than it losses it. with a small heater you loose a large amount of heat before the room gets up to temp, so you have less benefit from it.

also get a fan to move air around the room. something that is slow and quiet. air movement helps warm the room and keeps things dry.

johno1234

2805 posts

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#3267539 2-Aug-2024 14:08

cddt:

All resistance heaters have the same level of efficiency: 100%.

I'm not a fan of fan heaters, I think whatever is directly in front of them quickly gets too hot while the rest of the room remains cold.

I recommend an oil column heater (they have small sizes too), sometimes they have a timer built in but maybe not on the cheaper models.

E.g. https://www.mitre10.co.nz/shop/goldair-7-fin-oil-column-heater-1-5kw-white/p/399513 1500 W is plenty for a small room.

Not sure what benefit a timer has, surely using the thermostat is more appropriate.

PS check your daughter has discussed heaters in rooms with her flatmates. Some are known to be quite stroppy about power bills and secret room heating...

Thanks. The girls are onto it and miserly with power. Only allowed to use the drier during the free power hour, run the heaters and heat pump like crazy at the same time etc.

Reason for timer is to warm the room just before she wakes and gets up....

johno1234

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#3267542 2-Aug-2024 14:15

SpartanVXL: Oil heaters are the same, they just convect the heat upwards so the top of the room gets warm while short people stay cold. With the fan you can at least direct it where you want.

Regardless if the room doesn’t start to heat up then it’s better to find out why and spend some effort on insulation.

It's a student flat (although not one of the old ones - it's purpose-built student accommodation, probably 1980's). They won't be able to get anything done about insulation as it is already one of the better ones.

I like oil heaters but the main need is quick warmup in the morning so sounds like fan forced heating will be better.

caffynz

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#3267544 2-Aug-2024 14:26

What about a portable convector heater? I have 2 of these, and they warm up the room they're each in, quite well (with door closed).

lxsw20

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#3267561 2-Aug-2024 15:25

If its to quickly heat the room before getting up, then you can't really go past a fan heater. Oil heater takes ages to heat a room.

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tweake

2391 posts

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#3267566 2-Aug-2024 15:37

the problem of course with fan heaters or radiant heaters is if they get covered up they can catch on fire. of course bedrooms are the worse room for loose clothing or bedding, especially with teenagers. with oil heaters the worse that will happen is it will blow the thermal fuse.

you used to be able to get clothes racks for oil heaters. so you can warm up your clothes.

shk292

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#3267569 2-Aug-2024 15:42

I agree with the recommendations for a fan heater. I used to use an oil-filled radiator in my home office, but found it took at least two hours to warm up the room because all the heat rises. With a fan heater, I have it on the lower setting pointing towards me and it's instant warmth.

tripper1000

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#3267573 2-Aug-2024 15:47

Get a plug in power meter and commit to paying the extra for running the heater. Then she can keep the room warm and healthy. Your health is worth the extra $30 or $40.

I don't recommend oil column in shared living situation (best used for for babies and retirees bedrooms). Fan heaters are waaay better when the flat is sensitive to power usage.

While they're technically the same efficiency (100%), oil column has such bad hysteresis and are so slow and quiet, that people are easily tempted to leave them running when not in the room/not home etc.

Practically, fan heaters end up being a lot cheaper to run simply because people are much more inclined to turn them off. They warm the room up quickly when needed and they're too noisy to forget about. Oil column will stealthily use power at the same speed as a fan heater but for triple or quadruple the hours.

timmmay

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#3267580 2-Aug-2024 16:26

A fan heater with a cut-out if it tips over or gets too hot would make sense.

Before I got a heat pump in my smallish office I used an oil heater with a fan heater. The fan heater on fan or low blew air through the fan heater. That helped the warm air move sideways. I think some oil heaters now have a small fan in them to help with that.

neb

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#3267643 2-Aug-2024 17:29

johno1234: The girls are onto it and miserly with power. Only allowed to use the drier during the free power hour, run the heaters and heat pump like crazy at the same time etc. Reason for timer is to warm the room just before she wakes and gets up....

What about an infrared heater? That's near-instantaneous, heats your body rather than an entire room, and is quite power-efficient.

tweake

2391 posts

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#3267652 2-Aug-2024 17:46

neb:

johno1234: The girls are onto it and miserly with power. Only allowed to use the drier during the free power hour, run the heaters and heat pump like crazy at the same time etc. Reason for timer is to warm the room just before she wakes and gets up....

What about an infrared heater? That's near-instantaneous, heats your body rather than an entire room, and is quite power-efficient.

as efficient as every other heater. radiant heaters are nice to sit in front off. but safety is a big problem for those.

gzt

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#3267689 2-Aug-2024 18:53

I will guess the room is uninsulated or badly insulated. In that case a fan heater is the most efficient option for the getting up in the morning.

Nothing with a yeolde glowing element inside it is going to be safe. Noel Leeming say "Ceramic" fan heaters are not in that category:

Ceramic heaters are the most efficient form of fan based heating and come in personal and tower versions. Ceramic heaters have no glowing parts, making them very safe to use.

I have not owned the fan ceramic type can't tell you anything about them.

Danite

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#3267792 3-Aug-2024 09:30

If the goal is biggest bang for buck in that hour and she has space could do oil and a fan heater. Fan would get the room warmed up in that hour and oil heater then back the heat for the longer term.

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