Home Heating Costs: Which kind of space heater is the best?

[rbajai]

We are considering purchasing a space heater this winter to offset high energy costs. Already it is gettin' chilly here in the Big D!

Which is better - the radiator kind or the kind with the fan? I am looking at one at Bed Bath Beyond called "Vornado," which is a fan-looking thing that appears to be pretty good.

Recommendations?

[Armstead]

1. Fan heaters are better for quick concentrated warmth

The radiator kind are better for long-term heating of a room because they supposedly are more energy efficient.

[notadmblnd]

2. this is what I'd like to get

http://www.portablefurnace.com/estore/index.html

[Extend a Hand]

12. wow, I want one of those too!

[Matariki]

25. any idea what those cost?

i'm leary of products without a price. (as in: 'if you have to ask, you can't afford it')

it looks good though, better than oil heat this winter.

[notadmblnd]

26. 599.00 US

although I did see an add for another infrared heater in a local paper that was around 300.00. so look around, you might be able to find a better deal.

[NNN0LHI]

35. How long do the bulbs last and how much do they cost to replace?

I couldn't find anything about that at the link.

Don

[notadmblnd]

37. If you look at the web site FACS

it will pretty much answer your questions. This one I believe has a 3 year warrenty including the infrared bulbs. I'm not a sales person, it's just something I stumbled upon that I like.

[notadmblnd]

38. I imagine you might be able to buy infrared bulbs at places like Lowes

I got the impression, this is the same sor of heat that I've seen in bathrooms of old houses and hotels.

here's a link to a site that sells bulbs.. prices look reasonable to me

http://www.bulbs.com/products/product.asp?page=products&class=696&keyword=googleheat

[Coventina]

3. Just be really careful. I saw my neighbor dying from burns/smoke

inhalation last winter.

Her townhome caught fire from a space heater.

I will never forget seeing her lying on the sidewalk, gasping her final breaths, completely blackened.

It was horrible.

Buy the safest - rated model you can find. And NEVER EVER go to sleep with it running.

[NNN0LHI]

36. Sage advice n/t

[Tommy_J]

4. Depends...

If getting the most BTU/dollar is the main criteria then a kerosene heater beats all electrics. They can get smelly and have a small CO risk however.

[ClintonTyree]

10. Plus you house smells of Kerosene.........

no matter how careful you are, lighting it outdoors and extinguishing it outdoors, there's always going to be residual odor. That's been my experience anyway.

[Tommy_J]

40. Right

We only use ours during power outages. The rest of the time its a high efficiency furnace and passive solar.

[flying_wahini]

5. I know that some will disagree but I love the standup

gas connected Dearborns. You can buy them cheap, but get some new
ceramic pieces, and Never use them if the ceramics are broken or missing. They use very little energy, heat well and if used properly, they are very safe.
also, a caveat; know what you are doing when you use them.
Keep the flame on low, where the flame is blue.
I used them for over 25 years and never had a problem.

[ClintonTyree]

6. I'd say the one with the fan.........

I have one of those electric faux fireplaces with a fan and I can actually heat my entire apartment with it. I owned one of those oil filled radiator types years ago, they're OK for a very confined space, say a bedroom, but not for heating a living room or anything like that.
Vornado products are pretty good. I have a Vornado tower fan and it's worked wonderfully for years.

[porphyrian]

A dog.

I like dogs.

[Clark2008]

17. Yep... a three-dog night means it's so cold that

you need to sleep with three dogs to stay warm.

I have two dogs, a small child and a fiance. I think we'll be fine. :)

[garybeck]

7. button up your house first.

every dollar you spend in closing up places where air can escape, adding insulation, getting better windows, will stop you from throwing money out the door, regardless of what kind of heater you have.

[Atman]

8. I burn the New York Times in the waste basket next to my desk

Sure, it's sooty, smelly and dangerous, but it provides an inner warmth and degrees of satisfaction which no space heater can match.

[ClintonTyree]

13. It's smelly and dangerous in any case, even when NOT burned..

the sooty part.....you only get that when you burn it. I personally collect my neighbors old NYT and like the bird cage with them. The birds particularly like to dump on anything written by Judy Miller.

[Atman]

14. I considered wiping my ass with it...

...but I didn't want to end up dirtier than when I started.

[happyslug]

9. Constant heat, instant heat or what?

The oil filled electric radiators are the best if you want constant heat in a certain area. If you want to heat up an area quickly go with a electric heater with a fan. If you want your surface of your body to be warm go with one that radiates heat.

The differences is based on the intended use. For example in a bathroom you may want to have an fan electrified heater to heat up the room while you take a shower and than turn it off when you are done.

If you are worried about sub-freezing temperatures in a certain area (For example the Bathroom) you should opt for an oil based radiator type heater. It will heat up the room nicely at the lowest cost.

You may want to get both, one as a constant heat source, the other as supplement while taking a shower.

The only type of electric Heaters I would avoid is one that radiates heat. They can quickly warm up your body as you stand close to it, but once you are away it is incapable of warming up the room for the heat radiation needs something to heat up. I have not seen this type in recent years, popular in the 1970s and 1980s but most people found out how in-effective they were and stopped buying them.

[idiosyncratic]

11. I have used the oil-filled radiator kind for 15 years

They don't heat up a room as quickly as a fan-enabled one, but they are very safe. On cold evenings, I roll it next to me and put my cotton thrown over it, and me.

I bought one of those timers rated for enough amps to handle the wattage. I set it to turn on the heater about 1/2 an hour before I get up in the morning to take the chill off the room.

The other reason I like that kind is because they are silent.

[rbajai]

15. Thanks everyone!

That helps.

[Dangerously Amused]

16. I don't like the radiator ones.

I've had both the radiator and the fan propelled heat kinds. I don't like the radiator ones because, well, because I'm a princess. I HATE being cold, and when I want heat, I want it NOW. The radiator ones just took too long to warm the area for me. Though to their credit I think they are more energy efficient, and once the room was warm they did a good job at maintaining the warmth. But the fan propelled heat kind are nice because I can point the thing right at me and get immediate heat. I like that.

Right now I have a Holmes tower heater (model HQH307), in fact it is sitting a few feet away from me. I've had it for a few years now and I love it.

I also have a smaller ceramic heater that I keep in the bathroom. It is a Lakewood, model C-32/A, and I like that one as well. Years ago, a friend who works as an electrician and also knows all about thermodynamics and stuff told me that ceramic heaters are the best. I have had a few ceramic heaters through the years, and man, those little things kick out a LOT of heat! They are also pretty cheap to pick up on a clearance sale in the late spring, especially after the warmer winters we have been having, when the demand isn't so high. I got mine for $3 marked down from $15 two years ago.

Hope this has been helpful. Good luck and stay warm!

[radwriter0555]

18. I have to say I was really pleased with my little radiator one, especially

to use at night. I felt it was a LOT safer, I didn't worry about it blowing a fuse or catching fire and I didn't see a rise in my electric bill.

Granted, it is for small spaces, but that's what we had. I put it in the hallway between our bedrooms and it kept us warm enough at night.

[bunkerbuster1]

30. The radiator models are best used with a timer.

We have a large bathroom off our master bedroom that is poorly served by our HVAC system (hot in summer, cold in winter.) I found using a standard-issue light timer so it'd start up an hour before we'd awake, would make a big difference in what would be an otherwise very chilly morning.

Also, that way you never have to remember to shut it off.

[Dangerously Amused]

34. Good idea! Thanks.

[ArbustoBuster]

19. We like the Vornado

My wife and I use a Vornado in our bedroom at night. It works quite well.

[lutefisk]

20. Are the oil radiator types dangerous for kids or pets?

Do they get very hot to the touch? The tall ones look tippy, too.

[Ksec]

23. Mine isnt. It gets warm but not hot

and it shuts off if knocked over. I use it every winter and my electric bill doesnt run much different when I run it.

[bunkerbuster1]

32. We've got one in our kid's room.

You won't burn your skin on it, like you might with a steam-filled radiator. They just don't get that hot to the touch.

[Ksec]

21. Im thinking of buying a coal furnace

as a supplement to my gas one. You throw a shovelful of coal into it every so often and you get a really hot heat. Ill just hook it into my ductwork already installed.

When I was a kid we had a coal furnace. I remember waking up in the morning, running down to the basement and quickly throwng a shovelful of coal into the furnace. Then running back up and jumping into my warm bed. In ten minutes the entire house was toasty warm.

[lumberjack_jeff]

22. If you're good with tools - a waste oil heater.

http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel_library/ethanol_motherearth/me4.html

[NV Whino]

24. I use Vornado to heat my livng room and office

The house came with those radiant things, which although effective are enormously expensive. I tried lots of things and ended up with Vornado. they heat well and they are cost effective. And I only heat the room I'm in. They also have a thermostat and tip-over safety feature.

[Skidmore]

33. We have radiant heat in the ceilings as well.

We use them for a brief period each day after we've been gone to take the edge off until the furnace can get up to full speed again since its been kept a little cooler during the day when we are gone. We have a programmable thermostat. It does help cut down on the run time of the furnace. We don't use the radiant heat for more than an hour.

[Reciprocity]

27. I use a oil filled radiator for safety.

[Village Idiot]

28. I would recommend hydronic heat.

There are a variety available now that just tap into and return to your hot water heater...since you already are heating the water, and it is still fairly hot when it returns, it's pretty efficient...

[Oilwellian]

29. I live in a big ole farmhouse....

in VA and as you can imagine, the "headlights" are on for 3 months straight in the winter. We first began using heaters that used propane but the costs were outrageous over the last few years. We switched to the ceramic, fan blowing heaters but that did NOTHING to heat this big ole home. So we then switched to the oil-filled radiating heaters, and closed the doors to each of the rooms to retain the heat. They do a decent job but it's still as cold as a witches' tit in a brass bra during the winter, especially on windy days. I highly recommend you purchase a couple of electric blankets...one for your computer chair and one for your couch. They definitely help as well.

[catmandu57]

31. Whichever way you go be safe

Plug the heater directly into the wall, never use an extension cord unless it carries the same or a higher gage as the heater. Those little house extensions are fine for fans and radios, but an electric heater draws too much amperage for them and that's how fires start.
The cord overheats and the next thing you know the house is up in flames.
You're not supposed to run them at night while sleeping, I have but tossed and turned all night and woke up everytime it kicked on.
We got an electric blanket so we can turn the heat down at night, that works pretty good.
One of the best things you can do is to seal up your house, it doesn't cost much to cover your windows, and apply weather stripping.
The little cans of foam insulation are great if you have cracks and holes that need sealed.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

39. Get a humidifier, too

Raising the humidity in the room will make it easier to heat. We use the oil filled radiator space heaters combined with a fan powered a Honeywell cool mist humidifier we bought at Home Depot or Lowe's. You fill the humidifier once a day and position it to blow moist air between the vanes of the radiator. This will raises the room humidity from its normal 20% (we live in a desert) to 50%. It takes a lot less electricity to heat a room and feels better, too.

Also, we zone off the house and only heat the rooms we use (bedroom, television room, bathroom, etc.).