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Live in harmony with the planet
Live in harmony with the planet
How we reduced our heating costs this year- Last year, we heated a second floor apartment with the built-in forced
hot air furnace and we paid up to $450 per month for oil during a winter where the price of oil was around $2.50 per gallon.
We have learned from experience that, basically, a forced hot-air system is inherently inefficient because the hot air from the furnace loses most of its heat as it travels through the ductwork that runs through cold spaces to reach its destinations.
We realized AMAZING savings this year by making one simple change. We set the hot-air furnace's thermostat on 50 degrees and we simply heated individual rooms with the most efficient electric heaters we could find. This turned out to be MUCH cheaper than heating with the forced hot air oil furnace. It was also interesting to note that it has been cheaper to heat these rooms electrically than it is to cool these rooms in the summer. Average electric bill for heating per month is about $120 (heating about half of the 1800 sq. ft.), while the A/C electric bills averaged about $145 during the summer months.
Our heater recommendations- Here are some suggested electrical heaters based on our trial and error. We use all three of the heaters below. One thing to note about the mica panel heater is that it seems to work better for us if we put a small 9-inch fan near it to disperse the heat better. We run the small fan on its lowest setting. It is just helping to move the heat around the room.
We have learned from experience that, basically, a forced hot-air system is inherently inefficient because the hot air from the furnace loses most of its heat as it travels through the ductwork that runs through cold spaces to reach its destinations.
We realized AMAZING savings this year by making one simple change. We set the hot-air furnace's thermostat on 50 degrees and we simply heated individual rooms with the most efficient electric heaters we could find. This turned out to be MUCH cheaper than heating with the forced hot air oil furnace. It was also interesting to note that it has been cheaper to heat these rooms electrically than it is to cool these rooms in the summer. Average electric bill for heating per month is about $120 (heating about half of the 1800 sq. ft.), while the A/C electric bills averaged about $145 during the summer months.
Our heater recommendations- Here are some suggested electrical heaters based on our trial and error. We use all three of the heaters below. One thing to note about the mica panel heater is that it seems to work better for us if we put a small 9-inch fan near it to disperse the heat better. We run the small fan on its lowest setting. It is just helping to move the heat around the room.
For garages and work spaces that are not so airtight- The "Mr. Heater" is a great and inexpensive
little unit. It runs with either propane or natural gas. Keep a couple of gas grill tanks filled up and you are ready for heating that cold workshop or garage or attic. You can also run this unit with the small propane
torch bottles from the camping section of your local Walmart or other department stores. There is a small "Mr. Heater"
unit that requires no electricity at all and a slightly larger BTU unit that has a fan that can run from batteries placed in the heater unit or by plugging into a wall outlet.
We like that his unit is portable and can heat a fairly large space. But you can also choose to mount these units on a wall in your garage or workspace.
We like that his unit is portable and can heat a fairly large space. But you can also choose to mount these units on a wall in your garage or workspace.
Warm up the night on your patio- We use these units outside when the night air is too cold for comfort. They
work better than we expected (except if the wind is blowing too hard).
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