Recommended heaters in winter?

Whatever you decide to buy after discussion and deliberation, I would recommend a good quality dehumidifier as well. On a winter's day ours draws out about 1 litre of water from one room. We live in a new build so it's not a damp building, its the limeblocks in the outer walls that draws the damp into the apartment.

This might be of interest to you - have a read through all the comments too. Hope it helps.

www.maltainsideout.com/8991/heating-a-house-in-malta/

use AC on dehumidifier setting this will draw the water vapour out of the air and make you feel warmer for sure.

gas heaters wil introduce more water vapour.. and encourage damp spots

electric heating - theyre ok but is expensive to run  - ok for small areas but large open plan areas forget it....

bio ethanol - is great for producing a lot of heat - good to look at  - no ash no smoke no smell no chimney - but expensive to run.

I read a lot about these infra-red panel heaters. They are supposed heat like the sun's infra-red rays, to be more effective than AC which only heats the air, not the objects in the room, cheaper to run as efficiency should be close to 100% and add no humidity to the room. If you would run the AC on dehumidify, or get a good stand-alone dehumidifier you could be looking at a good solution.

Question I have if somebody has any real-life experience with these infra-red panel heaters? Are they as good as it says on the box?

Thanks i will check them all out... I don't have AC unfortunately.

I was planning on using no heating and wrapping up but seems I'm being told this wouldn't be enough... First winter in Malta so I don't have a clue lol

Is there actually anyone here who heats with electricity? When you say expensive, what are the numbers? We live in a really vented 2 bedroom old penthouse apartment, this is our first winter here and we are scared shitless. Plan is to get a decent dehumidifier and two electric heating fans, one for each room .

A dehumidifier is a must!!
With moisture in the air, your home will feel much colder, without the moisture it is instantly warmer. Without the dehumidifier, it is nearly impossible to dry washing inside too.  I have a stand alone dehumidifier as the one on the A/C isn't enough. I also use a small electric fan heater in the living room throughout the day. A/C in the bedroom for a little while before bed. Gas fire in the bathroom (no electricity) 5 minutes before getting in the bath.
You may find that your bed sheets feel really damp- I use an electric blanket and it really helps.
When you look at weather charts for Malta, the temperatures are very misleading. When it is windy (and that is often), it feels much colder than it actually is and with the dampness, indoors can be really cold. Without the wind sometimes it is warmer outside than it is inside.... seriously!!

Electric blankets are excellent as Damsel says - a cold, damp bed feels terrible.  Cupboards also collect damp so use a container with commercially bought crystals in it to absorb the damp and keep your clothes as dry as possible, but they will still feel cold when you put them on. Toonarmy gave an excellent tip many years ago - buy a cheapish electric blanket and drape it over your clothes horse overnight with your clothes for the morning on top of it!
Electric air heaters do warm a room well if you keep the door(s) closed. We brought an old style electric oil heater over from the UK and it works very well in a bigger room - it didn't affect our eco reduction on our electricity bill last winter. When we have guests we use our bio-ethanol heater in our lounge (it has to be used in a large room for safety reasons), warm and gives a very cosy atmosphere but fairly expensive to run - but not exorbitant. The good news is that the extreme indoor damp/cold temperatures don't last longer than two months - normally only January and February. if it gets you down go outside for an hour or two and warm up in the sun - it will do the trick....

electric blankets - the best money you will spend

Energy prices have been reduced since last winter. We used electric heating, essential, as my wife has chronic arthritis and the cold affects her, far more than me. I think it cost us an extra E300 for 3 months over last winter but we were also using a tumble drier, when necessary,  to dry clothing after washing. Electric blanket essential and lovely!!
Here they also sell, quite cheaply, what we call 'arthritic sheets', they are actually sheets made of fleece material but I found them too hot! Dress indoors for the weather too, Ug boots, fleeces and lined trousers are the norm here when it really feels cold.

Good god I need to make a list and get buying 😊
I have an oil filled radiator that I shipped over with me. I move into my new apartment tomorrow so will see if they have any heating sources if not i will have to pick something else up and a humidifier and electric blankets.
Can anyone recommend cheapest place for the humidifier amd blankets?
Thanks!

Steff88 - your oil filled radiator is what we have (I probably didn't use the correct British name for it  ) it does a good heating job. Be careful of compromising on quality when looking for cheaper dehumidifers - perhaps check the specs for Delonghi humidifyers online for a benchmark to compare. Look for ones with wheels to move from room to room as they can be quite bulky - our Delonghi is one of the slimmer portable types and is very user friendly (and  excellent performance)

Thanks 😊  I still have to ship some things from England so I may be better buying it from.england and putting it on my shipping.
Does anyone have any tips to prevent as much as possible damp and mould in winter?
Thanks!

Good idea to ship from England - check online prices for Delonghi 

a DE humidifier  - you dont want a humidifer for sure  - you will get enough humidity wothout one of those LOL

Haha yes your right! Was looking online and realised its the DE-humidifier I want LOL whoops!

stef88 wrote:

Thanks 😊  I still have to ship some things from England so I may be better buying it from.england and putting it on my shipping.
Does anyone have any tips to prevent as much as possible damp and mould in winter?
Thanks!

It may seem counter intuitive but ensure you have good ventilation, that is essential, especially if using a gas heater or cooking on gas.
For what it's worth we brought two of these with us but we didn't need to use them much, hardly at all.

Compact, portable design
Removes up to 12 L of moisture/day
Water tank full indicator and auto shut off
Easy-empty removable water tank and washable filter
Noise Level <42 dB Quiet Operation

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B002 … &psc=1

Thanks. Let me know if you decide to sell one 

toonarmy9752 wrote:

a DE humidifier  - you dont want a humidifer for sure  - you will get enough humidity wothout one of those LOL

Double whoops! Sorry, slip of the typing fingers, well spotted.

Regarding asthma... If anyone has it... Do you need the flu jab here like in England?

Don't know about the asthma connection, but do know that the Mater Dei Hospital gave flu jabs at the outpatients department towards the end of last year- this clinic was held over a number of days. We had already had ours in the UK just before that so didn't bother - but from what we saw it appears that the Malta Health dept. does take flu seriously.

I just went to get my jab yesterday. Bought the vaccine from the local pharmacy for 7.5 Euro (Influvac) and the local GP did the injection. Even though I'm not an astma patient and in good health I've been getting flu jabs ever since I've left Holland. Fingers crossed they've kept me out of trouble or significantly shortened my recovery in case some flu-like bug got me down anyway. Highly recommend it as nobody enjoys 1-2 weeks of feeling bad and missing school/work etc. Make sure you get them before the epidemic starts though as it takes some time to start working.

Free flu jabs in Xaghra.
For another consecutive year, the Xagħra Local Council has made the necessary arrangements with the Health Ministry so that persons aged 55 years and over can receive the flu vaccine in our administrative offices.  This is another initiative taken by the Council in favour of our residents' well-being.

Therefore, those who are interested in receiving this service must book at the Council's offices by not later than Friday 10th October 2014 at 4.00pm.  Since the Council has some deadlines to meet regarding this service, requests made after this date will not be processed.  Kindly note that this service is being offered free of charge.

Booking can also be made through telephone on 21 563737 during normal office hours from Monday 29th September till Friday 10th October at 4.00pm.

Thanks all... My son is only 7 but has always had it in England due to his asthma so I will pop to a clinic and check it out :-)

redmik wrote:

Free flu jabs in Xaghra.
For another consecutive year, the Xagħra Local Council has made the necessary arrangements with the Health Ministry so that persons aged 55 years and over can receive the flu vaccine in our administrative offices.  This is another initiative taken by the Council in favour of our residents' well-being.

Therefore, those who are interested in receiving this service must book at the Council's offices by not later than Friday 10th October 2014 at 4.00pm.  Since the Council has some deadlines to meet regarding this service, requests made after this date will not be processed.  Kindly note that this service is being offered free of charge.

Booking can also be made through telephone on 21 563737 during normal office hours from Monday 29th September till Friday 10th October at 4.00pm.

Is this only available to Xaghra residents Mick ?

TheDarkman wrote:

Is this only available to Xaghra residents Mick ?

In Xaghra - yes. Other councils may be doing the same.

I use my air condition which I can also run warm. It regulates the heat, so they turn off when the desired heat is reached. A radiator is also good but only for small space. But he needs more power and is therefore more expensive. For the bedrooms electric blanket or a good old hot water bottle are recommended. I have now built me a wood stove, but I have no experience with it. Especially if that works with the wood and how expensive it is over the months.
I can also recommend winter curtains that protect against drafty windows and doors.

The gas stoves I can not recommend because it generates even more moisture in the rooms and the humidity is usually the problem.

Otherwise endure or friends and family in Central Europe visit:-))

Regards Rosmarie

The best heater that does not cause damp or mould is your own body heat. Wear an extra layer of clothing to conserve more of it.

I know nothing about asthma.

For an arthritis sufferer, Malta, having such high levels of humidity, is probably not the place for a comfortable retirement.

I have arthritis in my neck with fused vertebrae and was on a permanent prescription for pain killers in the UK but find the climate here is beneficial and no longer use them. Humidity does not affect arthritis, skin is waterproof !
Damp may make it feel colder and that would not help.

Bumping this. Middle of november and we still have no duvets or any heaters/dehumidifiers in the appartment and it is rather warm. We did order one (pretty expensive) dehumidifier which will arrive on Monday, but that is becuase of the clothes drying, or not drying rather...

So really, how much more colder does it get? If it stays like this then wow, we will survive the winter without having to buy anything at all! I know, sick scandi

Also, what would be the better option in terms of electric heating? Buy a massive heater that we switch room to room or buy 2-3 smaller ones for each location?

It will not stay like this, Jan - Mar will be the time. Maybe you won't need extras but the majority will.
It also depends upon your home construction etc.
Why heat rooms you do not occupy?
Dress for the temperatures, even indoors.

Good advice Red

I have stocked up on warm winter clothes rather than lots of heaters. I have one oil filled radiator that I brought from u.k which I will use in my sons room an hour or so before he goes to bed. I also have a dehumidifier but not used it as of yet 😊

I recommend an electric blanket. Also and it's no great hardship but I wear fleece lined trousers, thermal vests etc.
Trap whatever heat you can from any sunshine and close curtains, when sun not shining, particularly in rooms not occupied during the day.
If using gas heating ensure adequate ventilation also.

Oil filled.

Wotsnext wrote:

Oil filled.

Think you may be a bit late on this topic!

Ray

oil filed takes time to heat up the oil.... oil free would be better

Haverland convectors are said to be extremely good. expensive to buy though

We would not want to be without our electric blankets which we put on a couple of hours before we go to bed but we do not use any other means of keeping warm upstairs.
Downstairs we simply use a 'Blue Flame' gas heater and 1 oil filled radiator.

Ray