There are a few important things to understand about efficiency and running costs, and there's a lot of bad information posted on the internet. So read this carefully to make sure you fully understand!

All electric resistive heating is essentially 100% efficient at converting electricity to heat.

If a 1000W heater runs non-stop for an hour, it will use 1 kWh (kilowatt hour). Depending on your provider, that would cost about $0.24 cents.

Sounds high, right? But this isn't the full story...

The first thing to consider is that a heater rarely needs to run non-stop to keep a room warm. A heater equipped with an accurate thermostat (like LVI radiators) will cycle on and off to maintain a consistent room temperature.

This means that the exact energy usage will be equal to the rate heat loss of your room. A poorly insulated room on a cold day will lose heat much faster than a well insulated room on warmer day. North-facing rooms that get lots of sunlight will consume less power than dark south-facing rooms.

Radiant heat means LVI panels are usually cheaper to run compared to other kinds of resistive electric heating (like convection-only panels).

This is because radiant heat feels more comfortable to people even if the air temperature is lower. It heats objects directly, and is lost less easily to draughts and air flow.

Many of our customers find they can set the thermostat a degree or two lower and still feel warm and cozy because of this effect.

Put simply, in a well-insulated home, or a home equipped with solar panels, LVI panels are very cost efficient to run.

To get a rough idea of running costs, you can use the following rule of thumb.

On average across a winter season, LVI panels will need to run 50% of the time when sized correctly for the room.

This means the average cost of running the 1000W radiator we talked about earlier comes to about $0.12 cents per hour that it's turned on.

Remember that this is a rough average that factors in usage on the coldest days of the year. Many of our customers find their actual running cost ends up much lower than this! 

Most panel heaters available on the market are convection-only heaters. That means they warm up a room by heating the air. Typically they have an element that's exposed to the air, which can create that burning dust smell.

Even low-cost oil-filled column heaters produce mostly convection heat because of the shape of the fins.

Convection heat circulates using air currents. Hot air rises to the ceiling, cools and eventually circulates back to the heater. It's easily lost to draughts and open doors, and in general people find it less comfortable.

LVI panels are true radiators. They produce much more radiant heat. Think of the feeling of the sun on your face, this is an example of radiant heat.

Radiant heat is unaffected by air currents, because it's infrared energy. It behaves in exactly the same way as light, beaming out the front of the radiator and warming objects and people directly.

While convection heat is better at getting around corners and spreading out, radiant heat feels much more comfortable and doesn't escape the room as quickly. You generally need less radiant heat energy to make a room feel comfortable. This can translate to energy savings if you set your thermostat a degree or two lower.

LVI panels produce a mix of radiant and convection heat, so you get the best both worlds. They're also fully enclosed, so there's no potential for burning dust, and they operate completely silently.

Installation of LVI panels is extremely simple.

Two brackets are screwed to your wall, and the panel simply clips on. It typically takes around 20 minutes per panel.

Provided there's a powerpoint nearby, this makes DIY installation a breeze!

If you want the clean appearance of a hardwired installation, you'll need to arrange an electrician to wire up the included wall boxes directly before installing the panels.

It's also a good idea to engage an electrician if you have an older switchboard. This ensures you won't overload any of your circuits by the amperage draw of the panels.

For Victorian customers, we can offer our installation service directly. This includes mounting of the brackets and panels, but it does not include hardwiring or anything that requires a licensed electrician.

For interstate customers, we're happy to exist your electrician to make sure the panels are installed directly.

You can watch our detailed installation video below:

Our panels are entirely maintenance-free, which is one of the significant advantages we have over hydronic systems.

In the event a repair is required, we carry a full-range of spare parts. Repairs are simple and low-cost (when outside the warranty period) and can be carried out by us or a qualified electrician.