What Are The Benefits of Using Electric Heaters to Warm Up a Room?

Using an electric heater to warm up your room is smarter than you think!

Photos By: Unsplash

As the colder weather comes around again, you may start to think about how you are going to keep your home and your family warmer during the colder months of the years! Running heating can become expensive, especially if you are heating rooms that you don’t really use much of the time. Also, some homes don’t have central heating, so you might be looking at alternative heat sources. Electrical heaters have come a long way since your grandparents had that scarily noisy, clunking heater that didn’t actually seem to produce much heat! Let’s have a look at some of the benefits an electrical heater can provide you.

Boilers Are Not Always Energy Efficient

Many of the newer boilers that are installed these days are much more energy efficient than their older counterparts. If your boiler has not been replaced in recent years, then they may be one of the older, less efficient models that used to be previously installed. This means that your old boiler is having to use more energy to heat your central heating system, which is ultimately going to cost you more money. Hot water is usually heated by a boiler in most homes, however if you are only using a boiler for this purpose, you may only need a smaller model, which will save you money on servicing and replacement when that time comes around. Another thing to consider about boilers is, the older they are, the more noisy they can be! An electric radiator is silent, with the exception of fan heaters, and so your home will be more peaceful without a boiler rattling away as it tries to heat your home. If your boiler does break down – and this does sometimes happen – you will be left without hot water or heating with a traditional central heating system. However if you use electric heaters, you will still be able to warm your home, which is very important in cold months, especially if you or a family member are particularly vulnerable.

Environmental Impact

If you choose to warm up a room with electric heaters, you can also be helping do your bit for the environment. Gas does have emissions which are not good for the environment, in particular Carbon Dioxide, and in an age where we realise how fragile our planet is, we really should be trying to do more to protect it. Electric is a much ‘cleaner’ energy, and it is renewable too, especially as more wind farms, solar panels and hydropower. Electricity can be generated without the consumption of fossil fuels. Natural gas is also a finite resource, eventually it will run out, and the mining of gas is fraught with problems, such as fracking and the like. One big drawback of using natural gas within the home is the risk of a gas leak, and therefore Carbon Monoxide poisoning. Carbon Monoxide is often known as the silent killer, because there is no smell or any indication it is present in your home, and it is a fatal gas when inhaled in large quantities. If you do have a gas boiler in your home, always ensure you have at least one carbon monoxide alarm on each floor of your house.

You Can Save Money

To work out exactly how much money you will be saving, you need to look at how much you are currently paying for gas and electricity, and also how well your home is insulated. You may well find that your current system is inefficient, and you are spending money on heating rooms that you are not using, or you are losing heat from a particular area of the home. By using an electric heater, you can concentrate on only heating the areas of the house that you need to be wam, therefore saving money. New electrical heaters are much more energy efficient than they used to be, and when you are researching which model to buy, you will be able to compare their energy efficiency rating to decide what works best for you.

Type Of Electric Heater

Traditionally when thinking of an electric heater, most people think of the old fan heaters that were incredibly noisy, and inefficient. Whilst you can still buy – much better – fan heaters, there are so many other options available. There are oil filled radiators, these tend to heat up quite slowly, but stay warm long after they have been turned off, and keep a room warmer for longer. Other styles include, convector heaters, infrared heaters, electric panel heaters, storage heaters, and many other types of electrical heaters. It will require some research on your part to find what suits you, but there will definitely be something out there that suits your home and your needs. However, never leave an electric heater unattended, and check it regularly to ensure it is working properly, and there are no wires that are bared and need repairing.

Other Ways To Keep Your House Warm

You can have all the heating you want in your home, but if you don’t have good insulation then the heat will not stay in. You can always get a professional to come out and have a look at your home, and advise on any areas that need extra insulation such as your roof, or replacing your single glazed windows with double glazed ones. Heavy curtains are also useful for keeping heat in, in front of windows of course, but did you know you can put one in front of your front door as well? Front doors often let in a lot of draughts, so a curtain will help to keep them out. Putting rugs on the floor can help to keep cold floors, such as tiled flooring, warmer. Keep yourself warm with cosy clothes like jumpers and dressing gowns, and wearing house shoes or socks in the house.

As you can see, electric heaters can be extremely beneficial for many reasons, research your product properly, and you should soon be living in a toasty warm home!