23 November 2023 , 20:36
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It is the number one rule for saving money on energy bills as the temperature drops; heat the human, not the home. It is advice championed by Martin Lewis ' Money Saving Expert in response to rising energy costs and it is the best piece of money saving advice you can have in the current climate.
After noticing a dramatic rise in my own energy costs 12 months ago I decided to test it out. The concept of heating the human focuses on heating just your person instead of switching the heating on to warm up the entire house. With a leaky Victorian terrace I do not need to see a heat map to know turning the heating on is incredibly inefficient.
You can heat the person using a few different methods. Oodies and Snuggies are increasingly popular and are currently holding Black Friday sales to make them even more cost effective. However I work from home and a fluffy wearable blanket may not be the best option when I dial in to video meetings.
The solution came in the form a desktop heater that cost just £23 from eBay. The heater, a GaiaTop Space Heater, was not the first one I've owned. I'd previously opted for the most industrial-looking Honeywell desktop heater but the lack of aesthetics coupled with the fact is was noisy enough that it spooked by nervous rescue dog every time it was turned on meant the Honeywell option was short lived.
I chose the GaiaTop because it looked nice on an office desk but also because the reviews suggested it was a quiet and efficient desktop heater and after a year of use I completely agree.
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The desktop space heater has been a revelationAs part of the Mirror Choice reviewer team we have tried and tested some of the best heaters on the market including Dyson's excellent bladeless fan and heater. Those are excellent options but they are also expensive. The GaiaTop is only £25 and while small, it can keep you in a bubble of warmer air if you are stationery for any amount of time - for example if you are working at desk like I do.
The GaiaTop has three settings that include both cooling fan and heater options, meaning it can be used all year around. It also comes with a failsafe mechanism that shuts the heater off if it overheats or if the heater is knocked over. When in operation it is extremely quiet and is powerful enough to heat a small area, negating the need to reach for the heating switch.
The 1000W heater costs around 27p per hour to use according to figures from sus-it, which means that a few hours of heating each day costs less then £1 and if that means your heating is staying off then it can be a saving of hundreds of pounds across the course of the year.
I can honestly day the number of days when I've used the portable speaker instead of turning on the household heating is well into double figures and it's a noticeable saving on our energy bills at a time when cutting back is important.
After a week in which it was announced the energy cap is set to rise again saving a few pennies on heating bills the 'heat the human, not the home' advice is a neat trick to cut your bills. A small, albeit stylish, desk heater is not the complete answer to leaving the heating off. It only heats a small space but does it effectively and quietly. At £25 it's one the best bargains I've bought on Black Friday and after a year I can still fully recommend it.
You can buy the space heater here.