February 26, 2012
I have been researching portable heaters. They vary in price from $50 to $300+ but will using one save you money on your heating bill? According to an article "Making Cents of Small Heaters" in This Old House, it depends on the price of fuel in the area, kind of climate, the size of the house, age and efficiency of the furnace and how well the house is insulated. The number of people who live in the home and how they spend their time is also a factor. There is a simple formula that can be used to figure the cost of running a portable heater. Multiply the wattage of the unit by the cost per KWH from the electric company. That number should be on your electric bill. However, I could not find it on mine. That is when you call the electric company.
I picked out four different space heaters and emailed them to my prodigal son. He said he would take care of it. The other back door child who said he would not help unless the other one does called back and said that they would not let me get cold or go hungry. I personally do not see the need for an attitude. It has been in the 20's at night and in the 40's during the day. Heat is a necessary thing.
Infrared heaters include Duraflame, Edenpure, Amish heaters and others. The prodigal son wants to check out specifications. I had to go on line for this information. The smaller units' heat up to 600 Sq. ft and the larger units up to 1,000 sq. ft.. Watts used is dollars spent on heat. The heat output is measured in terms of BTUs just like a regular furnace. These portable heaters range from 3,400 BTU to 5,500 BTU. Compare that to your furnace. Some of these heaters have a blower rated as air flow such as 50 cfm or 50 cubic feet per minute. These heaters are also known as radiant heaters and heat people or things.
Ceramic heaters are also known as convection heaters which warm the air. These feature temperature controls that can adjust the heat to maintain an even temperature in a room. These can be fan-less or have a fan. These include Pelonis Sate-T-Furnace, Lasko Ceramic Tower heater, or the fan less radiator-type heater which are oil or water filled. For more information try these links;
http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/article
http://bestspaceheatersinfo.com
http://www.electricfireplacesdirect.com/powerheat
www.realsimple.com best space heaters
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