Helping to prevent Hypothermia

Mild hypothermia is often denied by the victim, but the warning signs must not be ignored. An air temperature of 20°C can chill a body to 33°C in less than 8 minutes, well into the range of mild hypothermia. Elderly people with inadequate food or heating are particularly at risk, especially if they become immobile or are malnourished, due to their low metabolic rate predisposing them to the condition. So how can we help prevent hypothermia in our elderly generation?

Portable heaters can be a great solution to keeping an elderly relative’s home warm, eliminating the risk of developing hypothermia within the home. The average consumer pays around 16.5 pence per kW hour on a standard energy tariff - so it would cost just 33 pence per hour to run a 2kw Dimplex electric fan heater or convector, and only £2 if you were to run it continuously for six hours.

What type of portable heater is right for you?

Convectors:

Convector heaters are ideally suited to heat larger spaces such as living rooms and conservatories and offer rapid warm up and virtually silent operation. They work by pushing air over a heating element which then rises and enters the room. Cold air is pulled in through the bottom of the heater and the same process repeats, eventually heating all of the air within the room. They also operate at a much lower volume to fan heaters.

Fan heaters:

Fan heaters are lightweight so easy to quickly move around the home to where needed most. They offer incredibly fast heat output and sit unobtrusively within the home. With a mix of upright and letterbox styles as well as towers, you can decide which Dimplex fan heater would suit your lifestyle most, with clear displays and controls, our range of fan heaters offers complete flexibility for your needs.

Portable radiators:

Portable radiators have near silent operation, so are great for use within bedrooms. Featuring easy glide castors, they are simple to move from room to room and some models even feature fully programmable 24-hour timers, so you can set precisely when you want the heater to be in operation – saving you from wasting energy at times in the day when you feel it is not necessary.

Hypothermia is a problem that is often overlooked but can no longer be ignored. This past year there were more than 34,000 excess winter deaths, and hypothermia was a contributing factor to that number. The fact is that it doesn’t cost a lot to reduce the risk of hypothermia for your loved ones, and now is the time to act.