How long does it take for space heater to heat your house?
Based on all the above factors you can search the market for a high review low power consumption space heaters to buy
Then you can try many combination of lowering your thermostat along with using your space heater in your room or main storey and monitor your electricity bill
Again there is a power watt consumtion to use that measures the consumption of any device you use at home
Also the above hybrid of thermostat with space heater work best with smart thermostat
Is it cheaper to run a space heater for the whole house?
First if you are living in area where the weather is not below zero in winter
Then it would be practical to use space heater alone
As you can wait for your space heater to heat your home and save money
Space heater is slower than central heating to heat your entire area
So small square footage home like 1200 sq feet can be heated with space heater alone
If you are living in a condo then you get a forced central heating system included in your building
So it doesn’t make sense to use a space heater in condos
How to save money using space heaters?
There are so many techniques you can follow to save money with space heaters
You have to try them yourselve and see if it impacts your power bill
1- Lower the temperature of your thermostat
Your body adapts to a certain temperature if you keep using every day
I used to setup my thermostat to 23.5 then I lowered to 21 c
Again it all depends on the outside temperature
For example, Toronto in December most of the times it is above zero
You can have your thermostat set to 21 c and you still feel warm
In January, if it hits -10 c or more then anything above 21 c would be better
2- Use a smart thermostat
I discussed before on my article about how to save on electricity? the benefits you get from using smart thermostat
There are many things to set in Smart thermostat that is impossible with regular one
For example, you can setup a night mode to lower your thermostat to 20 c as you will be under blanket and heat up again back to normal an hour before you wake up
You can setup a program when you are away and you can control it from your mobile if you decide to return home early
3- Look for energy efficient space heaters to save money
Almost all space heater models tell you in advance how much power they consume
There are so many energy efficient space heaters that can help save money
Take the value and apply it to weekdays as you will get a 3 rates of electricity (low, meidum and high peak)
You can apply it on weekend and see the consumption
Now you will be ready to estimate how much you will pay for your space heater
4- Heat only the area you stay most of the time
You can buy an easy to carry portable space heater and take it with you whenever you move at home
But the easy and convenient way is to locate it in an area like the living room where you stay most of your time
An open concept homes make it easy to locate a space heater in the middle of your main storey while having the fans distributed evenly across both directions
5- Shut registers in rooms you don’t access
This is very important to help you save money with space heaters
You definitely need central heating in area with very cold weather
If that is the case then think about shutting all registers in rooms you don’t access
For example, I had to count all my registers when I decided to change all of them with stylish look ones
I realized when I moved around my house there are many registers located in rooms like my closet and washroom where I barely need them open
Tips for using space heaters to save money
Few tips below when using space heaters to save money like
Safety comes first
Remember you decided to use space heater and this is not as safe an central heating
This is a source of heat and it can burn papers or clothes if they are put on top of it
I know this may sound obvious but if you have kids in your home they don’t know these rules
Don’t leave your kids alone with a space heater in their rooms or while playing alone
Save money by not setting space heater to its highest temperature
You may know that the more you increase your space heater temperature the more it will consume electricity
So try to set your space heater to a moderate temperature
Dress appropriately according to winter weather
I know some people like to stay with little clothes even in winter
This can be good if you don’t care about your heating bill
It is a well known issue that dressing heavy clothes while lowering your thermostat temperature can be something practical to follow
But it is impossible to do that while wearing light clothes
Try all possible locations and different settings
Always try different locations for your space heater
Especially if you are facing it you would feel hot
While it is not heating up your main living area
Also try different settings like setting up a duration to switch off automatically
Experiment different thermostat settings
As I mentioned above if using space heater and lowering your thermostat one degree
That would make a big difference in your heating bill
Use smart plug with your space heater to save money
I highly recommend to always use smart plug programmed to shut down at night
That is the case if your space heater does not come with a duration feature
Not only to help you save on electricity but it is for safety reason
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