Warming Up Baby Room for the upcoming Winter!

Hi!

We had one of those wall panel heaters in our townhouse. It was on an interior wall and while it did not make the house toasty warm like some other heaters do it definitely took the chill off. At the time (about 2 years ago) it cost R200 a month to run 24/7.

My LG was born in mid winter last year (July) so keeping the room warm and moist was very important. we bought a free standing panel heater from clicks (works exactly the same as the wall mounted ones), we left that on all day through the coldest months, then we would run one of those blower heaters at bathtime to warm the room nicely and in the morning when we dressed her. We used a warm steam humidifier, tried both and preferred the warm one but only for about an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening.

If you go with a panel heater it won't make the room toasty but will take off the bitter chill. It is best to fit it on an interior wall (one that divides two rooms).

Lauz mayer,

Now that huggles mentioned it, I remembered we actually put one in the study as well and it didn't work very good. What we concluded is that your room has to be pretty airtight and I wouldn't put it close to a window (even if it is closed). The one in the study is close to an outside door and this door doesn't seal very good and there is always a bit of a draft coming through the bottom and sides. For this reason I am convinced despite the fact that the study is small it didn't work as well as in my LG's room.

Therefore I would suggest maybe switching it on and placing it on a few spots in the room before fixing it permanently on the wall (just take safety precautions when doing this!). Ours is 60 cm away from the foot of her bed, behind the bedroom door but the door is obviously closed during nighttime. I would suggest having it not too far from the bed or cot as it is most cosy a meter or so away from you.

We never leave it on during the day as this would certainly cause high electricity bills. You can even put a timer on it to turn it on at a certain time at night and turning it on again by 4 in the morning when it gets colder again. I would say that it uses half the electricity compared to oil heaters, therefore you will still notice the difference on you winter month bills (being higher than summer of course).

To conclude, where you put it in the room is vital and the room must be absolutely airtight with doors and windows closed properly to work well.

It really doesn't dry out the air as much which is a big deal for us.

We use the Econoheat one.

Thanks Ladies will see what my Paed says about the humidifier.

Momtoc the room is relatively small and my lg is 6 months tomorrow so will be around 8 months when winter really sets in!

Ive heard good and bad reviews regarding the panel heaters, gloeiwurmpie which brand did you get and the next question would be do you put the panel heater next to the cot or preferably away from the cot?

Sorry for all the questions!

Personally I find the wall panel heaters a total waste of time and electricity. We've had both the Salton one and the Econoheat one.
Granted, when we used the Salton one it was in our room and we were unable to close the door and the window had to stay partially open for the cats, but the Econoheat one is in my son's room and his room is really tiny. We had the door and windows closed the whole night and his room only ever reached a maximum of 14C. And they use a lot of electricity.
They claim to be energy savers and all that, and I suppose in contrast to other types of heaters they probably do use less, but they still use way more than leaving a light on which is what they claim to use, and it cost far more than I could afford to use it for not much heat at all.

Instead we bought one of those 3 bar (energy saver) heaters from Clicks that rotate. We put it on for maybe half an hour in the evenings during bath time and again in the mornings when we dress him so the room is toasty warm when he's naked, and then we switch it off and just make sure to dress him really warmly at night and cover with enough blankets (not sure about blankets now he's older and kicks them off - will cross that bridge soon).

I know many people swear by the wall panel heaters but I have honestly never found them to make a room anywhere near comfortably warm and they use far more electricity than I can afford.

Hi Lauz.mayer,

I would hands down recomend an energy saving wall panel heater. We installed one in our LG's room and our room 2 years ago. It is the best investment ever! It doesn't dry the air out as much as oil/blowing heaters. However staying in the highveld myself I would suggest getting a cool steam humidifier. 2 Peads told me that warm steam breeds germs and is not recomended. Don't know if it is true but we stick to cold steam.

Hi there.

It is best to use a warm mist humidifier during winter as the air is dry.
Regarding warming up baby's room......how big is the room? How old is the lo?

If the room is not too big, I would go with those panel heaters. It saves electricity, doesn't get too hot so it is safer for baby and it can be on right through the night.

Good Morning Ladies,

So winter is on its way and I would like to know what your suggestions are on keeping baby's room warm and comfortable. We live on the ground floor and my lg's room really only see's the sun early morning.

Any suggestions on which type of heater is best (wall panel heater, oil heater etc)?
Also with the Joburg air would you suggest a warm mist humidifer or cool mist (im so confused what the difference is)?

Sorry didnt see the recent post about blanket and pillow in crib which answers some of my Q's.