Space heaters can be an effective way of warming up a small part of your house or keeping your feet toasty and warm during the cold evenings. However, they aren’t created to be the primary source of heat. Most people attempt to save some cash on their home energy costs by heating a room or two using a space heater then decreasing the temperature of the furnace thermostat. But does doing so make any financial sense? The answer to this question will depend on your circumstances.
This post will discuss whether or not a space heater can help you make some savings on your heating costs. Keep reading to find out more.
The Size of the House
Space heaters are best suited for enclosed spaces. If your house has an open floor plan or the place you intend to hear is more than 50% of the house, then a space heater won’t save any significant costs. When you heat a place where the electricity costs are more than half what heating that same area with propane or natural gas costs, then when you use an electric space heater, you won’t save energy. Actually, you will end up spending more on energy costs.
The Temperature Settings of the Space Heater
The majority of space heaters are equipped with several settings that are controlled by a thermostat. When in full power, many space heaters can use about 1,500W every hour and can use as low as 300W when they’re running on low power.
How you adjust the thermostat will determine whether a space heater can save you some cash on energy bills. To make substantial savings in your energy bills, you have to turn back the thermostat on other parts of your home.
Hours of Use
The number of hours in a day that you run your electric space hater plays a crucial role in determining whether or not you’ll make significant savings You’re unlikely to make any savings if your space heater runs all day long at full power to keep the living room toasty and warm.
The Bottom Line
Several factors have an impact on the savings you can make with an electric heater—the size of the house, the temperature settings, and the number of hours it operates. If you want to determine the amount of savings you can make with your space heater, follow these steps recommended by Consumer Reports:
- Take the number of use hours and multiply them by 1,500W (or KW)
- Multiply the result by your cost of electricity (in KW per hour)
- Divide the result by 1,000 to obtain the running costs of your space heater every day.
If you need to calculate your monthly or weekly costs, multiply the running costs by the number of days in the month or the number of days in the week. Once you’ve done so, compare the costs you obtain against your usual energy costs to know the amount of savings you’ll be saving with your space heater.
If you’re looking for heating repair in Frederick, MD, then you need to consider Tuckers. At Tuckers Air Conditioning, Heating & Plumbing, we pledge to exceed expectations at every turn!