I have found that if I use an electric space heater (large radiator with hot oil kind) instead of my electric furnance, I save a ton of money. The key is to heat only the room you're in. And I live in a cold climate. So in the winter, I keep my furnance at 60 or less (but not too low or you will have frozen pipes). But my space heater keeps the temp around 70. As I move from the living room to say my bedroom for the night the space heater comes with me. I've saved probably 700-1000$ by using it for one winter. The space heater cost me 70$.
Nice tip. We will have to check into getting one. I haven't seen one that has hot oil before but we might try your tip anyways. We have gas heat and the prices just keep going up and up. I'm sure even a small portable electric space heater would help us save some money this winter. Thanks!
I too began saving on gas bills after switching to electric space heaters. It is not only effective in heating up only the room you are in, but the timer feature helps in further cutting on needless wastage while you are asleep. I now heat up the entire house with gas only in extreme cold weather. Comparing the bills, I noticed quite a saving when using only space heaters.
I use bottled gas heaters in our apartment, and you're right, they do save a lot over the course of the winter, and you can move them where they're needed. I used to use oil-filled radiators in the UK, but here in Spain, electric is expensive, while bottled gas - propane and butane - is relatively cheap. Also, you pay for it as you go, so there are no nasty surprises when the bills come in.
We use space in the lower level as opposed to turning the heat up. The lower level is colder all the time even during the summer. We do have the electric heaters at this time, I would like to insert a pellet insert in the fireplace to help with the heat bill.
I will have to look into this as well. While it does not get too cold where I live, I would definitely benefit from such huge savings. I tend to have my thermostat set to heat to 60 degrees which keeps the apartment from getting too cold and barely has the heater kicking on while I am at work. I do worry about leaving the space heater on during the day while I am at work because it seems like that may be a fire hazard, especially since I have a cat who likes to cuddle warm things and may knock it over.
Wow, that's a huge difference. I suppose if you spend a lot of time in only one or two rooms, it could definitely be worth only heating that room. I have done something sort of like this before, but when the temp drops too much, you've gotta be careful. The space heater has to run full time and it still won't actually warm up the room because the surrounding ones and outside are so cold.
That's a great tip. However, if you have a big family I don't think it would be worth it. Plus, I am little bit paranoid with space heaters to begin with. Space heaters cause a lot of fires in the U.S. Although it's usually because someone places an object too close to the heater, I'm still not comfortable with the idea. If you are comfortable with it and only have to heat one or two rooms, I think its a great idea. I can't believe how much money it has saved you!
I do the same thing. I keep my thermostat set to a low setting on my unit. I have a space heater that I keep in my bedroom. I run the space heater and close my bedroom door. This maintains the heat in the room to a comfortable level. Since I'm not heating up the whole house, it saves me at least $50 a month on my power bill.
This is a great idea. Thanks for your input, all. I live in a one-bedroom apartment in a condo building where utilities are included, so this is never really an issue for me. I do, however, keep the thermostat at a minimum all day because I just don't see why the heat has to be blasting. In the morning, I'll wake up and turn the heat up while I'm in the shower so it's warm as I get ready for the day. But, I'll put it back to normal. Then, when I get home, I just make sure that I'm dressed warmly. There's no need for my apartment to be so hot thanks to the heater. I can keep myself warm by wearing a pair of sweatpants and a long sleeved thermal shirt.
I use a space heater all the time. Yes, it saves a LOT of money. Another thing you may want to consider is sealing the drafts around all windows and doors. That could save you even more money!
I've just bought one of these last month. I'm in the house alone a lot now so I don't really need to constantly turn on the heat for the entire house. So having this baby saves me a ton on my bill.
That is really good idea. We have gas heat in the entire house and electric heat in the kid's room. At night we turn the gas heat off and it gets down to about 54 degrees. We turn the electric heat on in the kid's bedroom so it stays warm in there. It really does help to lower costs of electric bills. Great tip! If I owned a space heater I would do this in my room as well.
That's a great save. I think the best way to save money is to not use central heating. Keep your windows shut, use body heat and layers of clothing to keep warm. You don't need any heating on if you use blankets and warm clothing.
