Just over half of household costs are taken up with heating. Water, of course, for showers and baths, but also winter heating of rooms.
Which are cheapest? Electric heaters, reverse cycle air conditioner heaters, oil heaters, gas heaters, wood fires?
It’s quite a complex question with many kinds of electricity heaters (including air conditioners) to choose from. And not all heaters provide the same efficiency. The initial cost of the heater itself must initially be taken into account.
I believe the cheapest way to heat a room or house (unless you have a ducted or under floor system) is with a gas convection heater.
Those Dimplex oil heaters give off a good clean heat, but are slow to get a room warm and are not cheap to run.
Air conditioners – being run by electricity – are expensive, but the least cost efficient are those electric bar heaters.
Wood heaters – if enclosed – are also quite efficient and give probably the best heat of all, but nothing compares costwise to gas.
But here’s a tip: if you buy a gas convection heater, make sure it has an economy button and USE IT! (It will then not overheat a room.)
And lastly, spend $10 or so at a $2 dollar shop and buy a few draught excluders this winter. Those little snakes of wool placed at the bottom of doors around the house will save heaps! Why heat empty rooms?