August 23rd, 2018 by Chris Chapman

With gas and electricity prices rising year-on-year, the cost of heating in winter is a real worry for millions of families across the country. For many, heating costs during those cold months can be a serious burden and are the difference between living a happy life and simply surviving. No one likes having to choose between their health and their finances, so if you’re stressed about your heating bills this winter, you may be looking for a more affordable way to heat your home. If this is the case, you should be looking at an electric panel heater, which, thanks to new EU regulations, must now by law be energy-saving and eco-friendly.

That’s Your Lot

Thanks to these regulations (known as Lot 20), all new electric panel heaters must contain a certain number of energy-saving features. This is good for you, as you know that, as long as you’re buying a newly-manufactured panel heater, you’ll be getting something that’s state-of-the-art and eco-friendly. Different panel heaters have different energy-saving features, so the more of these features a heater has, the more eco-friendly it is and the cheaper it is to run! Why is this important? Well, many central heating systems are quite old and inefficient. There also isn’t any Lot 20 equivalent legislation for central heating, so even if you get a new system, you’re not guaranteed to get an energy-saving performance unless you go for a really expensive option. Electric panel heaters are affordable to buy and should be able to keep your home warm for much less than your central heating and radiators, especially if you’ve got an older central heating system. They also don’t cost anything to install – just plug them in and you’re good to go, safe in the knowledge that you’re guaranteed an energy-saving performance with a few convenient and eco-friendly features on top. So, what are these energy-saving features that panel heaters have? We’ll break down a few of them below and lay out how they can save you money.

Electric Panel Heaters with Thermostats

All new panel heaters must have mechanical or digital thermostats as part of Lot 20. A thermostat allows you to set the temperature of the whole room right down to the degree (or, in some cases, even half a degree!) and gives you much more control over your heating costs than the old-style heat settings. Old radiators with numbered heat settings aren’t efficient as you can have them set to 5 and be warmer than you need to be, but turning them down to 4 is too cold and there’s no option in between. A thermostat means you’ll never have to be too hot or too cold again!

HSD Recommends: Prem-I-Air Ultra-Slim Convector Heater

With a compact and portable design, this panel heater can be picked up and taken to any room in your house, or even sheds, garages, and caravans. It’s also one of the most affordable panel heaters on the market that doesn’t compromise on quality, with an effective convection system that’ll make the air around your room cosy in no time at all. It also comes with a thermostat and timer which can maintain the temperature of your room down to the degree for as long or short a time as you want. These features, coupled with the panel heater’s versatility, make it a clear winner if you’re looking for a panel heater that costs under £50.

Electric Panel Heaters with Timers

How much energy do you waste every year by forgetting to turn off your heating when you’re not at home, or overnight while you’re in bed? It probably happens to us all at least a couple of times a year, but with a programmable timer, you can set your panel heater to turn on or off whenever you want. Most central heating systems also come with timers, so you can combine a more efficient panel heater with your central heating system to keep your house warm for less while cutting down on wasted energy. This is good as it means you can switch your central heating on low to prevent pipes from freezing in sub-zero temperatures through the night, have it turn off in the morning, then have your panel heater automatically switch on to keep you warm around the home.

HSD Recommends: Levante Panel Heater LEVPH500TPSW

With a no-nonsense 24-hour mechanical timer, this panel heater is small and compact, making it ideal for spare rooms, garages, and sheds. Set the timer to turn off through the night, in the morning, or when you leave for work to ensure you’ve always got a handle on heating costs. It’s simple but effective, and its low price point offers incredible value.

Smart Electric Panel Heaters

If you want even more control over your heating costs, consider a smart electric panel heater. These combine the benefits of timers and thermostats and wrap them up into a convenient package that you can control remotely with your smartphone or tablet. Smart panel heaters and radiators let you monitor the temperature of your radiator from anywhere in your home or, in some cases, anywhere in the world depending on the functionality of your app. If there are any problems with your heater, or if you notice the temperature suddenly rises or falls unexpectedly, you can consult the app and address the problem at the touch of a button. You’ll find this dramatically reduces waste energy and saves you hundreds of pounds over a few years.

HSD Recommends: MYLEK Smart Radiator

With a completely free app that lets you control your heater from anywhere in the world with a WiFi or 3G connection, this MYLEK heater gives you unparalleled control over the temperature of your home. Whether you want just one heater, or several throughout your home, you can fully program them to turn on or off to a set schedule and set the temperature down to the degree, either individually or as a group to heat your whole home. It’s also fully compatible with Amazon Alexa and Google Home, meaning you can use voice control to control your radiator! What really sets this panel heater apart from other smart radiators, though, is its outstanding energy-efficient performance. Inside the MYLEK Smart Radiator is a ceramic heart that generates and stores heat at the same time. After heating up for 60 seconds, the ceramic heart can cut power and continue to heat a normal-sized room for an hour. That means you can keep warm for as little as 0.03p per hour! With this unbeatable energy-saving performance, the MYLEK Smart Radiator will have paid for itself within a couple of months, making it a clear market leader for economical panel heaters.

Electric Panel Heaters with Open Door and Window Detection

When you leave a door or window open, heat can escape your home surprisingly quickly. This will massively increase your energy bills as your heater is constantly fighting against the cold outdoors to reach your desired temperature. This often leads to rooms becoming very cold despite your heater working double time! Some panel heaters are able to detect the sudden drop in temperature that occurs when a door or window is left open, at which point they’ll cut the power – that energy would only be wasted anyway. When the room temperature stabilises after you shut the door, your heater will get back to work. This is a small feature that’ll probably save you a few pennies every day, but this adds up to big savings over a number of winters.

HSD Recommends: MYLEK Lumi Aluminium Panel Heater

Offering simply unbeatable value, this panel heater packs an incredible amount of energy-saving features into an affordable package. In addition to the open door and window detection, it also comes with a remote control, a digital thermostat, a fully programmable 7-day timer and an anti-frost setting. All of this is housed in a sleek and compact aluminium body that circulates both radiant heat (heating objects in the room) and convected heat (heating the air and circulating it around the room) for an effective and cosy performance.

Electric Panel Heaters with Motion Sensors

If you only want your panel heater to keep you warm while you’re in a certain room, it can be frustrating to keep having to turn it off every time you leave. Inevitably, at some time or another, you’ll forget and waste energy on heating an empty room. A panel heater with a presence-detecting motion sensor will prevent this from ever happening! These heaters turn off when there’s nobody around but will quickly heat up again when they sense someone is in the room. This means you’ll never have to worry about forgetting to turn your heater off and leave you free to relax at home.

HSD Recommends: Tatou Digital Radiant Panel Heater

Cost-effective and incredibly smart, this heater combines energy-saving features with a low-energy design and will save a fortune on heating bills. It uses radiant heat, which heats you directly rather than simply warming the air around you, so it can quickly heat up once activated without using much energy. It offers a plethora of convenient features, including a motion detector, an adaptive mode that monitors to your daily routine and learns when you’re in so you don’t even have to program it, an open door and window sensor, a fully programmable timer, and a thermostat that lets you set your desired temperature down to a tenth of a degree.