Many advantages with electrical appliances

Press, 18 March 1983, Page 12

Many advantages with electrical appliances

Contributed bv P.D.L. Sales, Ltd

Home heating — which fuel and what type of appliance should I use? The decision is entirely yours and one that only you can answer because of all the individual requirements you have.

Regardless of what you decide, insulation is very important for economy. If ceilings only are insulated, research has shown that at least a 26 per cent saving in heating costs can be achieved over a non-insul-ated ceiling. An even bigger saving of 35 per cent can be made if walls are also insulated — a very worthwhile investment. Over a period of three to four years, the cost of insulation would be recovered in savings on fuel, and then the savings would go on forever.

Of all the fuel types available, undoubtedly electricity has more advantages in terms of running costs than the other alternatives and in terms of efficiency, rates 100 per cent.

Capital costs are obviously a factor in your decision. as are such things as convenience, portability (if more than one room is to be heated), pollution, installation costs and a host of others.

Electricity must rank as the fuel with most advantages. Running costs are lower, it gives instant heat, it is clean-burning and is in plentiful supply. There are no storage problems as may be the case with solid fuels and oil.

The range of heating appliances is wide and varied with a model suitable for almost every heating requirement. Portable and permanently wired, fan assisted and radiant models, with or without thermostats, timer or non timer models — the list goes on.

Electricity is not expensive; we are paying less of our average income on electricity today than we were 20 years ago. In fact, a little over 2Vz per cent. Additionally, the price of electricity has increased on average 309 per cent in the last 20 years, and as a comparison, the average weekly wage has risen by 643 per cent. With electric heating you have a totally flexible commodity. There are especially designed models to heat specific rooms, such as bathrooms, and portable heaters can be carried from room to room.

There are two types of heaters — radiant and convector. The various models of heaters available are based on these two main types. Fan assisted heaters will heat an area very quickly and are by far the most popular heater on the market today. When you make the decision to purchase, be sure that the capacity is sufficient for the area you intend to heat. If the heater is undersized, you will be unable to attain a comfortable room temperature simply because the heater has insufficient output to warm the room.

The correct “wattage” for a heater to heat a particular room can be calculated, but in an article such as this, explaining such an exercise would be difficult,

and there are publications available which detail the procedure. Thermostats are a very worthwhile consideration when purchasing a heater and can save considerable costs in electricity if used correctly. Thermostats can be built into the heater or are available as a plug in type or, on permanently wired heaters, can be wall mounted. Timers can also save considerable amounts of money in running costs by eliminating the need to leave a heater running overnight for the purpose of waking to a warm room, or leaving a heater running while you are not in the home for the purpose of coming home tc a warm room.

By using a timer, the heater can be programmed to switch on just before you awake or return home.