natural stone heaters

[katie b]

Hi everyone,

Does anyone have any experience of views on the natural stone central heating systems on the market at the moment
eg from Duo-therm? We are considering purchasing one for our bathroom and wondered how effective they actually were
and if they are expensive to run. Are they basically just a glorified heated towel rail or do they actually give out a decent
amount of heat? I'd appreciate any comments, good or bad!
Thanks in advance, katie b.

[EMM]

We too have been looking at them, there is a very economical " white panel " sold in all the DIY stores that does seem to give off a lot of heat and these are less than 50% off the cost of the stone finish. ie Under 90 euros compared to over 200 each for the stone.

[Polli62]

EMM are they the ones that look like an MDF panel?,(seen them in Leroys). Friends of ours bought some last winter and say they are very good and have low running costs.

[EMM]

Yes it is the MDF looking panels. very basic but they do seem to do the job. We have seen them on offer every year so they must be popular.
OH does not like them so we will continue to look for them an alternative.
Friends had the stone effect installed last winter, spent a couple of thousand Euros, they certainly do the job and are much better than aircon.heating but they have never really come clean on how much they cost to run.

[ALM]

Have also been considering Duo Therm or other similar wall panel elec heaters. It may be that as ever you get what you pay for, Duo Therm being dearer than others, but would also like to know if they are more economical to run than less expensive models. Izzy have same MDF type (400w) as available elsewhere in area and they also have stone or stone effect models where the element is incorporated at the back rather than embedded in the stone as in Duo Therm.

Duo Therm appear to require to be wired to rear of electric socket rather than plugged in directly and are thermostatically controlled.

375w suitable for 8-10 sq m approx ?€
650w suitable for 13-16sq m approx €365
900w suitable for 18-22 sq m approx €420

Suppliers recommend fitting to internal walls where possible to prevent heat loss and say that they have nano technology, whether this has any practical advantage or is an attempt to baffle potential customers I will leave others to judge.
Any further comments or user experience would be welcome