Quick tips for choosing an energy efficient heater

Wood fired heaters

• Create air pollution and the wood is often from unsustainable sources, with treated timbers giving off toxic fumes.
• Open fireplaces are highly inefficient with up to 90% of heat escaping through the chimney and incoming cold air draughts.

Gas heaters

- Cheap to run but need ventilation

Types:

• Flued – externally flued for outside ventilation, which is not always possible, especially for tenants.
• Fixed – wall installed and most are flued, with fans to circulate hot air and provide convective and/or radiant heat.
• Portable unflued – run on natural gas or LGP and give radiant or convective heat – need room ventilation for good air quality.
• Flame effect – radiant and convection heaters vary in efficiency from purely decorative flames to highly efficient heat generating flames. Keep in mind that decorative gas heaters can use more gas than a space heater and not effectively heat the space.

Electric heaters

Types:

• Portable – cheap to buy but running costs can be expensive.
• Radiant Ceramic and Quartz – gives you instant radiant heat.
• Fan – heats the air and can quickly warm smaller rooms.
• Oil column – heats up slowly and creates a combination of convective and radiant heat.
• Convector – not suitable for rooms with high ceilings or poor insulation because it heats the air which then rises.
• Fixed – must be installed into the wall.
• Storage heaters – heat is produced during the night using off-peak electricity then stored in bricks.
• Wall panel heaters – expensive to run so compare with energy efficient heaters that cost more to buy but are cheaper to run
• Reverse cycle split system air conditioners (A.K.A heat pumps) – the most energy efficient electric heater. 5 and 6 star reverse cycle units can be even cheaper to run than gas heaters, producing just one-fifth of the greenhouse gas emissions that a standard electric heater creates. They are quieter to run because the compressor is outside, and provide low cost heating in winter and cooling in summer