By Kate Harvey
Content Manager | Pou Whakahaere Ihirangi
If you were to take a walk past our head of testing James Le Page’s desk in the Consumer office, you might think he’s taken some sensible grandmotherly advice to pop a blanket on his lap.
But what looks like a fleecy comforter is actually a heated throw with integrated wires running through it. You plug it in and put it over yourself when you’re feeling chilly.
James loves them because they’re so cheap to use and can save you from the cost of having to heat a whole room.
“They’re super efficient – you’ll use about 5% of the power you’d use if you put an electric heater on,” James says.
To be safe on the safe side, he wouldn’t recommend using one in bed. Instead, pick up an electric blanket as it can also be a cheap way to keep warm if you choose an energy efficient one.
“A clever way to use an electric blanket is to just turn it on before you get into bed and turn it off when you get in. Doing that will only cost you about $1.50 for the whole winter,” James said.
The cost of leaving an electric blanket on all night will depend on how power hungry it is – we found a big difference in how much they cost to run when we did our latest test.
Other ways to stay warm
Here are some of James’ other recommendations for staying warm this winter if a heat pump or woodburner aren’t an option.
A tower heater that oscillates is a great option in a living space as
it will push heat around the room evenly and quickly. We included
seven of them in our heater test.In a bedroom, an oil column heater or panel heater fixed to the wall
are a good option. The heat will go up to the ceiling first, but in a
small room won’t take long to come down.In a bigger room, you can put a fan beside a heater, like an oil
column, to help push the warmth around the room rather than letting
it go to the ceiling. Even with the cost of running two appliances,
it makes it cheaper to get the room up to a good temperature than
using a fan-less heater.
Home heating guide
Whether you own or rent your home, you can make it warmer and healthier this winter. Our heating guide is full of great tips for staying healthy, warm and cosy in the great indoors.
