Most South African homes are designed with tiled floors, open verandas and large windows to help keep them cool in the warm South African climate.
And what keeps a home cool in summer makes them harder to heat in the winter. Using energy-efficient heating will not only ensure you and your family are warm and snug - but it will also help you save on your utilities bill, despite rising electricity tariffs.
READ: SA homeowners to prepare for 'bigger than usual' municipal rates increase
- Insulation is the single most important factor when it comes to heating a home. An insulated room requires 51% less energy than an uninsulated room. Insulating your home’s ceiling is the simplest and most effective way to prevent the warm air generated by the heaters from escaping
- Only heat the rooms that you and your family are going to spend time in.
- Close exterior windows to contain energy and inter-leading doors to rooms not needing heating.
Not all heating mechanisms are made equal and while wood-fired heating and gas might seem less expensive, using an electric heater remains easy and efficient, when there's no loadshedding. It’s also a safe option as long as the heaters are used correctly.
How to work out what you pay for electricity
There are two costs you need to be prepared for when buying and using an electric heater – the cost of the heater and the cost of electricity.
Electricity is charged per kilowatt (kW) used per hour. 1 kilowatt is 1000 watts. On the packaging and labelling on your heater you will find the watts the heater uses, for example 1500W. If your appliance has only volts (V) or amps (A) listed on it ask the manufacturer or retailer how many watts the heater uses.
When you know the wattage your heater uses, multiply it by the cost of electricity and the time you use the heater for.
1Life shares the following estimate examples of what you can expect pay when using different types of heaters. Eskom’s Homepower Block 1 rate is 197.02 cents per kilowatt incl VAT. You can find Eskom tariffs here, or ask your municipality for their rates.
Kilowatts used: Divide watts by 1000
425 ÷ 1000 = 0.425
Cost for 3 hours a day for 30 days: Multiply kW x cost per kW x hours x days
0.425 x 197.02 x 3 x 30 = 7536c or R75.36
It is important to note:
- The more watts your heater uses, the higher the electricity cost
- Higher or warmer settings on heaters usually use more watts. Turning your heater up may give you more warmth but it could double your costs
- The more hours your heater is on the more watts it uses and the more you will pay for electricity
- Low wattage heaters cost less to run, but may not warm the room as much as you would like
- Remember, warm winter blankets and hot water bottles do a good job of keeping you warm. Use these more and heaters less to save electricity
| Heater type | Cost | Watts used | Cost to run for 3 hours a day for 30 days |
| Wall panel heaters These can be wall mounted and some models can be painted to match the wall. |
670 | 425w | R75.36 |
| Nanotech plug in heater You may have seen these on TV - they are small heating units that plug into your wall socket. |
400 | 500w | R88.66 |
| Under carpet heating mats (1.77m x 2.5m) These mats are plugged into a wall and lie under your floor rugs. They warm the rug, similar to how an electric blanket warms your bed. Various sizes are available. |
4346 | 600w | R106.39 |
| Underfloor heating This is a heating system installed under your floors, carpets, tiles, wood and laminated floors. Unlike heating mats, the system is a permanent installation operated at the thermostat unit. |
R3 025 for 5m2 of tiled floor. R1000-2500 for the thermostat. |
760w | R134.76 |
| Fan heater | 200 | 1000w (A higher setting of 2000w is available) |
R177.32 |
| 7 fin oil heater These run on electricity that heats the oil in the fins. |
760 | 1500w | R265.98 |
| Infrared heater These heaters use electromagnetic radiation to transfer heat from their unit to objects in the room – much like the sun heats the earth. |
1955 | 1500w | R265.98 |
| 3 bar electric heater | 300 | 1800w | R319.17 |
Based on the above, wall panel heaters should have the lowest running costs. These heaters are suitable for heating rooms of 10 – 12m2. They are easy to install, you mount them on a wall. However, they use a low wattage so the heat they provide will be less than a gas heater or fin heater, for example. And they aren’t portable.
Gas heaters
The most common gas heaters used in South Africa are the 3 panel heaters that use a 9kg canister of LPG, liquid petroleum gas. A gas heater costs around R1 100 and a 9kg gas cylinder R650 (with gas).
The average price to fill a 9kg gas cylinder is between R230 to R250. The price of gas is set by the Department of Energy and just like petrol the price changes each month. You can find the latest prices on the Department’s website. You can also get quotes from gas suppliers. You may also need to take your gas cylinder to be refilled so there may be some transport costs and time involved.
According to Bruce Wilson of Midgas, a 9kg canister of gas lasts around 30 hours. So to run a gas heater at full power for 3 hours a day for 30 days could cost nearly R7 350. However, gas heaters are very efficient at heating rooms, and because they give a lot of heat, you may not need to run them at full power all the time. Bruce says you can save gas by turning the setting down to the lowest heat when the room has warmed up. This will lower your cost considerably.
Paraffin heaters
Paraffin heaters can heat rooms very effectively and cost as little as R400. The average price of a paraffin heaters is between R400 to R1 000.
Like gas, the cost of illuminated paraffin is set by the Department of Energy every month. The cost of 5 litres of paraffin is estimated at around R55.
Running a paraffin heater is cheap, but there are safety risks. Never leave a paraffin heater on if you are not in the room. Place the heater far away from any flammables and have a fire extinguisher or blanket nearby to extinguish any flames should the heater topple over.
The bottom line
Comparing gas and electric heaters, a wall panel heater using electricity is the cheapest heater to run. Of course, of all these heating options, none beats the old fashioned fire place, fuelled by wood. Over time wood always works out to be the cheapest heating option when covering the biggest spaces.
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