Cost to heat a towel rail electrically?

[rudebhoy]

Daughter is in an all electric flat.

She had a new bathroom fitted this week which she is delighted with, apart from the towel rail. We went for a 500x1200 one. As there is no gas central heating, an element was fitted to it.

However when I was talking to the fitters yesterday, they said it would take ages to heat up and the best idea would be to leave the towel rail switched on permanently. (To back this up, she had it switched on for 3 hours last night, and said it was only warm at the bottom.)

I did a bit of research this morning which suggested it would cost about 20p an hour to run? Does that sound right? 20p an hour doesn’t sound much, but that equates to £150 a month if left on permanently

 

[rudebhoy]

This is the towel rail

Kartell Memphis Towel Radiator

Buy your Kartell Memphis Towel Radiator from Just Radiators with different sizes and heat outputs available. Free UK delivery. Our prices won't be beaten.

www.justradiators.co.uk

 

[rulefan]

What is the wattage of the heating element?

We have a heated towel rail but it does heat up pretty quickly. Is the radiator full of water, does it need bleeding?

 

[GreiginFife]

I fitted a 500W towel radiator when I renovated the bathroom last year. It’s not a fluid filled one and heats up in less than a minute.

Cost of about 12p per hour running cost approximately.

I should note that this is only for towels and not to heat the room, I installed a central heating radiator in addition to do that.

 

[rulefan]

What about a wall mounted fan heater £50/£60 (eg Dimplex)? Only switch on just before showering etc.
My g'daughter has just fitted one. 'Great' she says.

 

[harpo_72]

I used a fan heater in my flat, used to turn it on make a coffee and then have my shower .. drying towels was a pain and I had a drying rack set up in the spare bedroom to make use of the economy 7 heating ..
But there are more effective and efficient options like oil radiators, UV panels etc ..
I am currently investigating how I can positively impact our gas bill when we start to over produce electricity.
So we have a cold bedroom that makes us pop on the heating too long to affect it but if I put in a local electric radiator that runs at a certain temperature and comes on at a certain time I may we’ll see a cost save.

 

[rudebhoy]

Spoke with the guys who fitted it.

First thing the guy said was he just realised he had fitted the wrong element. He reckons this rad needs 1kw, but the one he fitted was only 300 watts. He's ordering a new one. He is also going to fit a timer switch.

I also asked if he was sure there was enough water in it. He said it's actually been filled with oil ...

Anyway, hopefully things are getting sorted.

 

[Springveldt]

Spoke with the guys who fitted it.

First thing the guy said was he just realised he had fitted the wrong element. He reckons this rad needs 1kw, but the one he fitted was only 300 watts. He's ordering a new one. He is also going to fit a timer switch.

I also asked if he was sure there was enough water in it. He said it's actually been filled with oil ...

Anyway, hopefully things are getting sorted.

Definitely needs a timer fitted if it's a 1kw one. My electricity unit price is 21.22p per kwh, wouldn't fancy leaving that running all the time.

 

[rulefan]

Spoke with the guys who fitted it.

First thing the guy said was he just realised he had fitted the wrong element. He reckons this rad needs 1kw, but the one he fitted was only 300 watts. He's ordering a new one. He is also going to fit a timer switch.

That explains a lot.

 

[cliveb]

I used a fan heater in my flat, used to turn it on make a coffee and then have my shower .. drying towels was a pain and I had a drying rack set up in the spare bedroom to make use of the economy 7 heating ..
But there are more effective and efficient options like oil radiators, UV panels etc ..
I am currently investigating how I can positively impact our gas bill when we start to over produce electricity.
So we have a cold bedroom that makes us pop on the heating too long to affect it but if I put in a local electric radiator that runs at a certain temperature and comes on at a certain time I may we’ll see a cost save.

I'm assuming you mean an IR panel?

We fitted one of those in the hope it would take the chill off our ensuite when showering in winter. I can say it hasn't been a successful experiment. It provides a nice warm feeling before you begin, but when you step out of the shower and are wet, it doesn't really help much at all. You need warm air, which an IR panel doesn't provide.