I got the gas bill in the mail yesterday and despite us having an early snow this year the bill was not as bad as I have had in the past. It was $157 and I know it is only a matter of time before the bills go even higher. I have done everything I can, we have insulated, we have even turned back the thermostat and we have an newer high efficiency furnace. I am thinking maybe of getting one of those electric fireplace inserts for the bedrooms which seem to get colder in the evenings but I am afraid they cost a fortune. Does anyone use them and know what I should expect as far as increase in my electric bill?
Be careful about which one you buy. Some of them can be very energy efficient indeed but others just guzzle the stuff. Do a bit of research online and work out which models use the least electricity. You could alwas put the heater on a timer too, to control exactly how long it is on for.
Wow that's a crazy amount for a heating bill. I live in a tiny apartment so my bills don't get very high, but my mom lives in a pretty big two story house and her electric bill is about that high. She has electric vent heating, with two of the electric wall heaters, and floor heat in a couple rooms and pays about $150 a month in the winter. When she added the second wall heater, the bill went up about $10 I believe. We live in the northern states of the US and keep our heat at about 70 degrees. If you're just wanting a warm bedroom for sleeping, a cheaper suggestion is using an electric blanket. A lot of people set them on a timer to heat up before they get there and to shut off in the middle of the night. Although if you really want the room warm, getting a larger portable heater seems to work alright. Using one to heat up a room that otherwise didn't get heat made my bill go up about $40. Note: This room was getting no other source of heat, the door didn't shut properly, and it was barely insulated. So that's not too bad.