Measuring caravan Electricity consumption. MeterMaid 16A. Caravan electricity costs.

[xtrailman]

That is not logically true.

Bear in mind that ALL electrical heating appliances are 100% efficient, meaning if they consume 1kWh of energy they give out 1kWh of energy. Its one of teh beauties of electrical heating.

Assuming you are only referring to the cost of electrical power used, then if your Alde heater used 8kWh of energy to heat both the caravan and the hot water, if you used separate appliances to achieve the same result you would still only use a total of 8kWh of energy, but it would be shared between the heating appliances. So there would be no cost or efficiency difference.

I can't see how a fan heater is 100 percent efficient, motors always have losses.

 

[otherclive]

Doesn’t the loss go into the atmosphere ? Someone told me they would not change from incandescent bulbs to LED as the heat from incandescent would help reduce central heating costs. 😂

 

[RogerL]

I can't see how a fan heater is 100 percent efficient, motors always have losses.

Their efficiency isn't 100% but the energy "lost" from direct heating comes in the form of heat from the motor and switchgear.

 

[RogerL]

Doesn’t the loss go into the atmosphere ? Someone told me they would not change from incandescent bulbs to LED as the heat from incandescent would help reduce central heating costs. 😂

That's true - but equally the heat from incandescent bulbs would increase air conditioning costs.

 

[otherclive]

That's true - but equally the heat from incandescent bulbs would increase air conditioning costs.

I only repeated what someone said to me in all seriousness. Aircon is only fitted in a small proportion of UK properties, and commercial premises such as offices and factories invariably use fluorescent fittings.

 

[ProfJohnL]

I can't see how a fan heater is 100 percent efficient, motors always have losses.

Where the desired product is heat, then as some one has already confirmed, even the energy used to drive a fan ultimately appears as heat, so they are 100% efficient.

Even the energy used to push the air and the noise of the fan raises the temperature of the air. Its one of the few things that really are 100% efficient.

Whilst the appliance may be 100% efficient, that doesn't always mean its 100% effective. For example if you are trying to produce a radiant heater, there will be some heat released as convection , and conduction from hot parts and as visible light which is radiation, but not at the best wave length for radiant heating, but despite this, all the energy is being ultimately released as heat

Its that reason that always makes me cringe when I see adverts where sellers claim an particular type of electric heater is "Efficient" implying that other appliances are not.

Additional comment
The types of adverts I refer too are those typically found on the back of the television listings magazines designed to catch the attention of particularly older people who are tempted by claims of a "New efficient Digital 1500W radiant panel" heater (£120) being able to heat a whole room for pennies when a £20 oil filled 1500W radiator or £10 fan heater or would do exactly the same and arguably better than the panel.

 

[xtrailman]

A motor has iron losses, bearing losses so can not be 100% efficient.

Maybe 85 to 90%

 

[RogerL]

A motor has iron losses, bearing losses so can not be 100% efficient.

Maybe 85 to 90%

All the losses will come out as heat - in a heater that makes it 100% efficient.

The law of conservation of energy states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed - only converted from one form of energy to another. This means that a system always has the same amount of energy, unless it's added from the outside.

 

[Tobes]

All the losses will come out as heat - in a heater that makes it 100% efficient.

The law of conservation of energy states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed - only converted from one form of energy to another. This means that a system always has the same amount of energy, unless it's added from the outside.

Just to be super pedantic, it is possible that the fan heater's bearings are so knackered that it emits a horrible squealing noise, audible outside the caravan. If that is the case, the energy dissipated as sound will end up as heat, just not inside the space you wanted to heat, resulting in less that 100% efficiency. The moral of this story is - if your fan heater squeals, oil it or bin it (ideally before it seizes up, overheats and catches fire)...

 

[Damian]

This topic has run its course and has now strayed off into all kinds of other things, so it is now locked.

I have to say that had I been the original poster I would have regretted asking the question in the first place and would never return to this forum again.