Heaters, most energy efficient ones please :)

We have a Panasonic Inverter in our new place, it heats the house nicely (partly because the house is small ) I have researched them and have read they they are generally pretty cheap to run. There is also a panel heater in the lounge, but I am too scared to use it because I don't know how much they cost to use. I'm pretty sure it's a panel heater, it's stuck to the wall and you just plug it in. It has no fans or anything, just vents at the top that release heat. It's a 'Thermofilm' if anyone has heard of that? Are they expensive to run?

Also, bub is due early July and I will need a heater for the nursery. Which are the best/most energy efficient? We are on a tight budget so I need something cheap to run. I heard that apparently oil heaters are really expensive.

TIA :)

Anyone know anything about heaters....?

DH says most new places are now putting in the hydro panel heaters, not sure of the technical name but will find out for you, he is in Melnourne for the week.

Thanks Tansta, that would be good :). The spit system isn't in a good spot to dry my washing so I want to put it i front of the panel one. But I don't want to use it if it is going to cost us heaps.

Many of the panel heaters are quite economical. I don't know your specific one though. Have you googled the model number to find out how much energy it uses?

Ok he said they are just called hydronic heaters - if you google a few different types come up. Not sure how big your nursery is though - we have a little tiny oil heater that we use in the kids room overnight and don't find it that expensive at all, when DD was a baby we used a blow heater with a safety shut off thing that worked well - again didn't use up too much power.

The oil ones are good as you can run them at a low temp and they just take that chill off the air - depends if you want something a bit more permanent though. Those thermofilm ones are pretty good too - my sister had one each in her kids rooms and they were great.

My place gets really cold during Winter, down to 3 or 4* some nights. We have only ever heated the front part of the house because of expense. (we only have access to bottled gas or electricity). I just dressed the babies warm and never had to heat the bedrooms.

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Many of the panel heaters are quite economical. I don't know your specific one though. Have you googled the model number to find out how much energy it uses?

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I tried, but I can't get to it because it's stuck to the wall :lol:

Tanstar, I will google hydronic heaters and try get some info :) Thanks!

I have noticed this place gets very cold overnight, so I am a little concerned about the nursery. If all else fails, I guess Ill just use a small oil one.

DH knows random stuff, and apparently looked up Thermofilm just a few weeks ago ?? He asked - what is dimensions of the heater?

Sounds like your panel heater is a convective one. Does it have a thermostat or a dial to set the temperature? Also check on the back of it to see how many Watts it is, the higher the watts the more power it will use but if it has a thermostat it will turn itself on/off to maintain the temperature and not be on all the time (the heater should be able to be lifted off the wall, it is probably on a bracket). I would avoid buying oil heaters as they take a lot of energy just to heat up, where as convective panel heaters are pretty much instant. They can be more expensive upfront to buy but I think for comfort and running costs they are worth it.
We use panel heaters with thermostats (Noirots) in the kids' rooms at night set at about 18 degrees. A 1000W is more than enough for bedroom IMO.

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DH knows random stuff, and apparently looked up Thermofilm just a few weeks ago ?? He asked - what is dimensions of the heater?

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DH knows random stuff :lol: Ok the heater is about 100cm by 50cm. Is that what dimensions is?

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Sounds like your panel heater is a convective one. Does it have a thermostat or a dial to set the temperature? Also check on the back of it to see how many Watts it is, the higher the watts the more power it will use but if it has a thermostat it will turn itself on/off to maintain the temperature and not be on all the time (the heater should be able to be lifted off the wall, it is probably on a bracket). I would avoid buying oil heaters as they take a lot of energy just to heat up, where as convective panel heaters are pretty much instant. They can be more expensive upfront to buy but I think for comfort and running costs they are worth it.
We use panel heaters with thermostats (Noirots) in the kids' rooms at night set at about 18 degrees. A 1000W is more than enough for bedroom IMO.

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Thanks Dusty :) DH took it of the wall cos it was only mounted and judging by the sticker on the back we think it's 2400 watts. I don't know if it has a thermostat, but it has a dial from 1 to 6.

look at elec bill to determine peak rate per hour (prob around 22c).
times rate by 2.4
this value is how much it will cost you to run each hour if it runs whole time (ie thermostat doesn't turn it off during this time).


If you look at the brochure on the Thermofilm website, they calculate 23c/hour for the 2400W model (* based on normally insulated rooms with standard ceiling height. Running costs are based on 16 cents/kw hour electric tariff, and 60% operating cycle after a warm up period. ) I think Tariffs are generally higher than that now.

Mum suggested a panel heater as back up in our next house, so I'm interested in how well they work & price etc.
I have a split system, bottled gas heater & oil heater for the kids rooms here. If I want instant heat I turn on the gas heater, but its lucky to go on once a fortnight. Temps here get down to minus's at night I have kids who refuse to acknowledge the cold, & DD3 won't sleep with blankets on. Drives me up the wall, but I'll happily pay a higher bill to keep her warm.

Our next house will be a lot bigger, no carpet & we'll only have a fire place & the oil heater. This might be fine, but I think our little oil heater might be a bit small. It only does the kids 2 rooms now, soon there'll be 4 bedrooms surrounding it. I might just get one each for the kids rooms & have them on low over night.

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look at elec bill to determine peak rate per hour (prob around 22c).
times rate by 2.4
this value is how much it will cost you to run each hour if it runs whole time (ie thermostat doesn't turn it off during this time).


If you look at the brochure on the Thermofilm website, they calculate 23c/hour for the 2400W model (* based on normally insulated rooms with standard ceiling height. Running costs are based on 16 cents/kw hour electric tariff, and 60% operating cycle after a warm up period. ) I think Tariffs are generally higher than that now.

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Thanks HotI. Is that expensive? I have no clue :redface: We have only been in this place 4 weeks so I am testing out how everything works.

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Thanks HotI. Is that expensive? I have no clue :redface: We have only been in this place 4 weeks so I am testing out how everything works.

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Its about 57 cents an hour, so yes, very expensive if you run it 12 hours per day ($7-8). Upwards of $60 per week to run. Thats $700 a quarter, just on heating.

ETA, DS was born in april, his first winter our power bill was over $800 :o (ducted- run all night)
After that, we just dressed him warmer.

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Its about 57 cents an hour, so yes, very expensive if you run it 12 hours per day ($7-8). Upwards of $60 per week to run. Thats $700 a quarter, just on heating.

ETA, DS was born in april, his first winter our power bill was over $800 :o (ducted- run all night)
After that, we just dressed him warmer.

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:jawdrop: Wow, that is something we certainly can't afford!! Think I might just leave that heater alone....

We have just bought 2 Nobo heaters they are panel heaters and the cheapest on the market to run @ 9c an hour. They are quite exy to buy - they are over $300 per heater but will save us on power so worth it.

Our little bit of luxury is a Nobo heater in the bathroom. It's set to 15 deg and warms the towels plus takes the chill out of the air on cold mornings.

Flannel sheets and a hot water bottle in the bed before baby goes in (remove the bottle when you put bub in) can help in the Winter months. Tonight DS is wearing a Bonds suit with flannel pjs on top. DD as a younger bub wore a singlet, Bonds suit and then a polarfleecey suit with feet over the top.

Thanks HotI. Might see if I can get a second hand Nobo or something. And I'll stock up on warm fleecy suits for bub. I grew up in the hills and ridiculous cold weather and we now live a bit further in, but still kinda in the hills so it's still about 4-5 degrees overnight in the winter. Mum did mention Nobo yesterday actually.

Thanks for your replies ladies :)

Noirot is a cheaper version of Nobo :) Second that suggestion too, brilliant in our bedroom, keeps the chill off and bub sleeps much better :)