On Thu, 9 Nov 2017 08:30:15 -0000, "Brian Gaff"
wrote:

I like oil filled radiators. I have one in a room to help clothes dry its
less thatn a kw and seems very efficient if the thermostat is set sensibly.

Yesterday I went to the rescue of an elderly family friend who had
fallen over trying to turn off the three kilowatt fan heater that is
in his room as it got too hot when the CH kicked in? [1]

I think they are quite efficient in that all the energy they consume
is converted into heat, ignoring the energy required to illuminate the
On lamp etc. ;-)

A fan heater might mix the air better but you have the noise and the
energy used in the fan, some of which will also be converted to heat
etc.

We have several oil filled rads here and of the two extremes. eg, one
has a 700w element in a very small body (3 fins) and that tends to
cycle on it's upper limit stat whilst the other is a long low flat
panel, also of similar wattage that behaves / works very well in that
it only cycles on the thermostat.

Also, because it is actually dissipating all the energy into the room
efficiently, it doesn't reach the same high surface temperature as the
small one so doesn't tend to creak and click as much as it isn't
expanding and contracting as much ... and possibly a better design in
that way.

I was going to look more into the heat-pump jobbies as I believe it is
said they are even more efficient than a straight resistive heater?

Cheers, T i m

[1] Is it still typical for people to run their gas CH twice a day ...
especially if they are elderly / infirm? I suggested that running a
3kW fan heater in one room might be less efficient than running the
hose CH, considering they have thermostatic rad valves already?