bunnings $29 5 fin oil column heater

Where can you get electricity for 10c per kWh at times when you're likely to want to run a heater?

A more powerful heater with a thermostat wouldn't cost any more to run if you set it for the same temperature. It would also be more useful in that it could be moved to a larger room when you wanted to heat that room instead.

Sylvia.

It would have to be a very small and well insulated room for it to run at about 50% on/off time Since electricity prices are approaching 20c per KWH, this is what you would be needing to achieve to get to this 10c per hour level. This duty cycle will get much worse as we get into winter and the outside air temp gets colder.

Maybe you need to buy a KWH meter from Ebay etc and check for yourself.

**Indeed. A better, albeit considerably more expensive, option would be to use a reverse cycle air conditioner. A few years ago, I was able to retire my 2.4kW radiant heater for my workshop. I replaced it with a 620 Watt, reverse cycle, inverter type air conditioner. The new system warms the workshop more quickly, safely and with significantly less energy consumption. The bonus is that the workshop can also be cooled in the Summer.

The cheap option is not always the best option.

--
Trevor Wilson
www.rageaudio.com.au

Lucky you, where do you get 10c per KW/hr electricity these days?

MrT.

I'd be surprised if a reverse cycle airconditioner can cover its capital cost by reducing energy used for heating in Australian conditions (unless you live in Tassie, or Canberra perhaps). Of course, its cooling ability is priceless in summer, so one can regard the heating energy savings as a freebie.

Sylvia.

Stated earlier

50% duty @20c/kw

yes correction, it costs about 20c/hr max to run depending how often thermostat comes on. I think for a small room may be cheaper than running an aircon considering purchase cost.

But no reason given for a 50% duty cycle assumption with a 1kW heater. Probably about right for a bathroom, but you'd need a timer for it to come on an hour before you get up to be of any use whatsoever. And frankly one of those IR heat lamp units is more suitable for that application IMO.

Then again, it may be all you ever need for the lounge room in Darwin or far north Queensland :-)

MrT.

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From my experience, heating isn't needed in these places :)

far

Yes, that's my point! :-)

MrT.