A 2kW fan heater for ￡24 or a 2.5kW Aircon Unit for ￡1500?

At Logicool I seem to talk constantly about energy consumption. All of my discussions with our apprentices start with energy and then end with the product.

Whilst purchasing some milk today at Sainsburys I saw this little gem. My initial reaction was "an A/C unit would be cheaper and better". Shoppers would think "that's cheap". How do we explain this better?

Here is the maths based on office consumption of 35 pence per kWH electric tariff, 8 hours use per day, 5 days per week, 13 weeks per year.

2kW Electric Fan Heater

Power input = 2000 watts (all on or all off)

8 hours use per day, 5 days per week, 51 weeks per year.

8 x 5 x 13 x 2 = 1040 (kWH) x 0.35 (pence kw/H) = ￡364.00 + ￡24.00 (product cost) = ￡390.00 first year costs with additional ￡364.00 per annum running costs.

Actual costs over five years. ￡390 + ￡364 + ￡364 + ￡364 + ￡364 = ￡1846.00

2.5kW CS-BZ25ZKE Panasonic Heat Pump

Power input = 780 watts in Heating mode.

8 x 5 x 13 x 0.78 (kW) = 1040 (kWH) x 0.35 (pence kw/H) = ￡141.96 + ￡1500.00 (installation cost) less ￡375.00 AIA savings = ￡1266.96 first year costs with additional ￡141.96 per annum running costs.

Actual costs over five years. ￡1267 + ￡142 + ￡142 + ￡142 + ￡142 = ￡1835.00

There is nothing wrong with a 2kW fan heater. It does what it says on the tin. But if your clients wants to "think" about energy and "be smart" then discussing some simple mathematics may help them understand the benefit of a nice company Wall Mounted AC Unit.

Then we can discuss the following with our potential client

"It also cools"

"It is an inverter and will most likely cost much less to run than advertised"

"It will do more than keep someone's feet warm"

"It has a timer so you can ensure it is turned off at night"

"It can be controlled with an App"

"It can help improve your EPC Score"

"It will make your staff much happier than a 2kW Fan Heater"

"Spending a little more up front will reduce your running costs and lifetime costs even further"

Disclaimer - some installations cost more than ￡1500.00, some cost less. We don't install AC Systems but we do sell them to companies who install them for all sorts of prices ??