Electric blanket vs Oil fin Heaters
Filed under Appliance Power Use and Running Costs, Choosing a heating appliance, Efficient Use of heating appliances, Energy Efficiency and Power Bills, Space Heating.
August 19th, 2010
Can you please add some light as which would consume less energy. I have a fairly large bedroom,ceilings recently insulated. Which would be cost effective. Currently I use a oil Fin Heater?
wellington, August 19th, 2010 on 1:32 am
The answer to your first question is an electric blanket will use a lot less energy than an oil fin heater. Typically a single blanket will use about 150W and a double blanket will use about 200W whereas your oil fin heater will use between 1000W and 2400W depending on its size and heating capacity. However the appropriateness of using each of these heating appliances in your bedroom depends on where you are in your bedroom and how long you are in there for.
An electric blanket has a very specific design purpose. It is designed to heat your bed for 30minutes or so before you go to bed so that your bed and the small amount of air trapped in your bed is warm when you first get in. For this purpose it is a very efficient and cost effective appliance – it will only cost about 2 or 3 cents for 30minutes of use.
A low heating power of 150W or 200W in the electric coils in the blanket is all that is needed to heat the bedding envelope because it is well insulated between layers of blankets on top and the mattress, sheets and maybe even a woolen underlay below. And once you get into bed the electric blanket can be turned off because the radiant heat of your body will provide ample heat to keep you and your bed warm.
Of course if you were to try and use your electric blanket to heat a large volume of air like your bedroom it would be ineffective. A more powerful space heating appliance such as your oil fin heater would be required. And though this heater would cost you money to use, it might be worth it if you have a cold bedroom and you are spending time in your bedroom doing activities out of bed.
World Health Standards recommend a minimum of 21 degrees Celsius in living rooms and 18 degrees Celsius in other occupied rooms. These standards are not just about comfort. At lower room temperatures your body has to work harder to maintain its basic operations like respiration and circulation, you will have less energy in reserve and will be more susceptible to sickness and disease.
It is a good idea to use heating sensibly, finding a balance between using your heater when you need it – looking after your health, and taking steps to conserve your power usage – looking after your wallet. To this end insulation is a very cost effective investment and much like your blankets keep heat in your bed, the ceiling insulation that you have recently had installed will be helping to keep heat inside your bedroom.
To further improve the insulation performance of your home you might want to consider investing in retrofit installing sub-floor insulation, thermally lined curtains and wall insulation in areas where your house is lacking and losing heat.
Retrofitting sub-floor insulation is relatively straight forward and you can get a subsidy off the cost of getting this done by an approved provider under the governments EnergyWise program (The EnergyWise program also subsidizes retrofitting ceiling insulation).
Retrofitting wall insulation is a more difficult and expensive job as it requires removing, replacing and refinishing wall linings. Ordinarily retrofitting wall insulation might not be cost effective in respect of energy saving benefits gained but if at any time in the future you undertake renovations of your home and open up your walls it is well worth investing an extra $10 or so per m2 on wall insulation.
For advice on making your own thermally lined curtains call the Home Energy Advice Centre. If you are on a low income you may even be eligible for free curtains from a local curtain bank.
While youre at it you might also want to consider getting a clean efficient heating appliance installed into your main living room – if you havent already got one. An energy efficient heating appliance like a heat pump or a clean efficient wood burner can deliver three or four times as much heat per dollar spent as a 100% efficient electric heater such as an oil fin heater.
Seth Hickling, energy advisor, Wellington HEAC