Electricast Electric Radiators - Energy efficient???

nino1 · 27-09-2023 10:35am #1

I have a small cottage 16ft x 12ft

I do air bnb and have a gas stove but the tenants leave it on 24hours and its costing a fortune.

I was looking at potentially getting these electicast radiators

https://electricast.com/product/electricast-rococo/

The seem to be very energy efficient.

Has anyone used them or heard of them.

Looks like they can be run for 24hours and only cost €1.50 for that time.

Not really that fimilar with BTU etc

Do you think they would heat up the cottage well for the size of cottage i have?

TIA

DC999 · 27-09-2023 11:13am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058315715/electricast-electric-radiators-energy-efficient

I use electric heaters in parts of the house and I’m an energy geek. Electric rads cost a lot if not used sparingly.

Downstairs in our small but cold house is about the same size as your cottage (but our roof is only 8 foot high and yours might be higher meaning you need more space to heat). We’ve 2 electric rads in that space and combined they use 10-15kWh a day to heat, or €3.20 to €4.80 a day (based on my electricity rate of is 33c a kWh). And that’s colder than most people would like it. If the doors or windows are left open, that would be closer to 20kWh a day (€6.40) - as the heating is running and not heating the space. Same on very cold or very windy days (as the wind sucks the heat from the house).

If you want to try it, don’t got for the ones in your link. Put them in for a few (cold) days and see how they work. Then you can see the cost and comfort level and decide to get nicer aesthetic ones. Get 2 of these (€25 each) first to try it and they will deliver them: CYPA-5

Freestanding Oil-Filled Radiator 500W - Screwfix. They will use 1kWh between them per hour. A kWh is 1000watts for 1 hour. Each rad uses 500w constantly.

A 1kW heater running for one hour uses 1kWh. So if you run those 2 for 10 hours a day, it uses 10kWh. To find the cost multiple the rate you pay for 1kWh of electricity by 10 (or however many hours you run the rad). So my electricity rate is 32c a kWh. If I ran the 2 screwfix rads for 10 (hours) it would cost 10 x 0.32c = €3.20 for both rads per day. If you pay more or less for electricity, then change the rate yourself.

If they run 24x7, they will cost €7.68 a day (that's for both rads, not per rad). That's 24 (hours) x 0.32c per 1kWh.

**** All electric rads convert the same amount of electricity into heat (or so little that it makes no odds). Some just look prettier. Ignore the BTWs for now as that is simply a measure of the heat. All electric rads produce the same BTW relative to their size. Ignore the numbers from the website you included, their sales team will want to gloss over the downsides of electric heating.

Question - when you say the current gas stove is costing a fortune, how much per day as a comparision?

I’d suggest get your roof insulated 1st if not done already. There are grants from seai.ie on that. Makes a huge difference as heat can’t leave through the roof (heat rises).

Lastly Have a look at this thread I wrote last year on the same topic: Heating with electric rads and no gas boiler for now — boards.ie - Now Ye're Talkin'