The last week has seen temperatures parts of Britain drop to below zero while energy prices are at the highest they have ever been.
As the cost of living crisis continues to squeeze our finances, people around the country are seeking cost-effective ways to keep warm.
Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis has shared several ways people can stay warm without having to turn on their heating with electric blankets and heated pads having become popular methods for staying warm.
Another recommendation from the MoneySavingExpert (MSE) website is to purchase a halogen heater.
The MSE team has labelled them as a great and cost-effective way to help heat your home for less.
Portable heaters come in two forms: ones which heat your space or ones that give you directional heat.
Halogen heaters use a halogen-filled bulb to create heat energy from electricity and this energy is then radiated into the room, which heats the air directly in front of it.
The team at MSE says: “Halogen heaters are directional. Once on, you instantly feel the heat. As soon as you turn them off, the heat quickly dissipates.”
Halogen heaters are considered a good method to use if you need to heat up only a certain area of your home such as where you’re seated in your room, or your bed.
This is particularly handy for those who may have less mobility such as pensioners or someone with a disability.
How much you pay depends on a few different factors, such as your supplier, where you are in the country, and the tariff you chose.
However, using the Energy Price Guarantee stats, a 1.2kW halogen heater costs approximately £0.41 to run for an hour or a 1kW model will cost about £2.04 to run for six hours.
Of course, running a halogen heater in every room that needs heating would be prohibitively expensive, but they come into their own by being easy to move between rooms.
Halogen heaters are considered as safe as most electric heaters, the bulbs themselves do heat up, but they usually have protective grills placed in front of them so the risk of burns is relatively low.
However, uSwitch warns that there should be plenty of space around Halogen heaters, particularly ones which are oscillating.
Even though the MSE team have recommended the use of a halogen heater they have not endorsed a specific brand or model.
According to uSwitch, prices for halogen heaters typically range from £15 to £150, depending on size and effectiveness.
When looking to buy a halogen heater, features they may want to consider include portability, so it can be moved easily around the home or office, and models with low electric usage with the maximum heat output.
Many models usually come with thermostats and controls and can be adjusted to keep the area you’re trying to heat at the desired temperature.
