Electric radiators are hardly new technology, but they come along with an evergreen question that’s impossible to answer: “How much will it costs me to run an electric radiator?” Cold hard data and to-the-penny cost figures would be lovely answers for such a question, but they just can’t be provided. Predicting the cost of running a radiator is just as tricky as asking ‘how much will my utility bill be next month?’ The answer in both cases is influenced tremendously the details of the specific household, and generalizing across all of the UK’s many different sorts of residence is impossible. For a more professional insight however, you can contact an Electric Heating Expert to give some clarity about costs.
At a cursory glance, an electric radiator doesn’t seem to be that different from other electrical appliances. Once you start thinking about running costs, though, there’s a critical distinction you have to appreciate. Unlike most electrical appliances, a radiator doesn’t consume power based on direct demand. Consider a TV, for example. You switch it on and it draws power continuously until it’s switched off. Instead, an electric radiator’s operation is governed how you set its internal thermostat. It will strive to keep a room at the indicated temperature. That means it only switches on — and only draws power — when it needs to bring up the room’s heat level.
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The Role Of The Specific Room
More than any other factor, the one condition that will influence the running cost of an electric radiator is the type of room you put it in. The size, shape, and structure of the room will all make it easier or harder for a given heater to maintain a given temperature. If you are narrowing in on a comparison of different radiators, it’s vital to consider their operating cost and effectiveness not in general, but in relation to the particular room you intend to use them in. Two identical radiators installed in different rooms in your home may have radically different power draws, and this difference is down entirely to the environments rather than the heaters.
Insulation And Heat Loss
Speaking of the home as a whole, one accurate rule of thumb is that electric radiators are more costly to run when they are installed in older homes. Even when the spaces being heated are roughly the same size, the vast difference in home building technique will lead the radiator in the older home to work harder and consume more power. This is because building trends and regulations have both moved toward greater energy efficiency over time. Newer homes are better insulated and more air-tight, and this means they lose heat at a much slower rate than older homes. A radiator in a period room — one with minimal insulation and single glazing — will have to operate longer and harder to maintain its target temperature than one installed in a similarly-sized but newer room.
Room Size
It’s not just the length and breadth of a room that affect the efficiency of a radiator inside it. Certain design features, such as ‘open plan’ layouts and high ceilings, add considerably to the amount of work a radiator has to do. Because hot air rises, an electric radiator first tends to heat a confined column of air up to the ceiling. Only after the heated air begins to circulate around the room will the radiator be doing its job. This is one reason why you need to pick radiators with higher watts for wide-open and high-ceiling rooms.
Location And Orientation
What lies around your home also plays a role in how much it costs to run your electric radiators. If you own a terraced house attached to two others, the adjacent buildings will have a strong insulating effect and reduce the amount of wall surface exposed to cold air. If your home is fully detached, though, it can lose heat energy on all four sides and will require more heating energy — and a higher running cost for your radiators.