running an electric heater, fan or bars?

I have one of these: http://www.buildingchoice.com.au/heating-and-cooling/electric-heating/pureheat-royal-fan-forced-heater/132:1522/# (white one) and I get conflicting reports on whether one should run the fan or bars. What I thought was the "normal" way to use it was turn on the fan and bars, wait until the room gets to the temperature you want, set the thermostat, turn off the bars and let the fan do the work. However the electric company is saying you do the opposite. When I posed this to the real estate agent, they told me that the electric company was lying as that method uses more power and hence more $$$ for them!

No two people I've met seem to agree on this. The bars (on high, all three of them) use 3.5kw and the fan uses 2.5kw. Maybe someone as technically-minded as Maes could give the definitive answer?

The glowing bars might make you feel warm faster, it aimed directly at you, but you will feel cold as soon as you turn them off. They are also not particularly good at heating a locale indirectly: they only heat what they are pointed at.

The fan might get a room warmer more evenly, but will take more time to make you feel warm unless you have it blow the air right on you. Which one will burn up more power depends what you're planning to do: heat yourself or the room.

In the latter case it's better to have the fan run, rather than the bars.

You wrap yourself in a blanket and put the heater underneath it with you until your house warms up.

Here in Canada electric heat is so expensive it's absurd to even consider it as an option.

Here in Canada it gets so cold Finns make fun of us! Ugh. I'm cold now. I need tea and a scarf!

Relying on electric heaters sucked. Did that in South Africa for a couple weeks. Even though it was 20 outside during the day the place would get terribly cold at night and there weren't enough heaters to make it comfortable. When I told mom about this she said she had the same problem when living in Australia in the 70s.

I'm so glad we have good wall insulation and triple glazed windows here so no need for extra warmers at winter. Maybe wall radiator or fireplace. They should make triple layer windows in every country where winters are even mildly unpleasant. One person I know said that they only have one layer windows in new zealand where winters can be mighty cold also.

Waffenak said:

I'm so glad we have good wall insulation and triple glazed windows here so no need for extra warmers at winter. Maybe wall radiator or fireplace. They should make triple layer windows in every country where winters are even mildly unpleasant. One person I know said that they only have one layer windows in new zealand where winters can be mighty cold also.

Worse than this?

Turns out we need triple-glazed windows too. Sometimes it feels like they don't help.



Note the humidex. This is how Canadian scientists quantified our discomfort with warm weather.