Portable Electric Heaters

As home heating costs continue to creep, or maybe more accurately, leap upward, many families have begun to use portable electric heaters to heat rooms individually, or only the rooms they use most, and only when they use them. We are past New Year's Day, and so far, we have not turned on the central heating unit in our home, and we do not intend to. Instead, we heat with three small electrical heaters, the rooms in which we spend most of our time. So far, this approach has reduced our heating costs by more than fifty percent over last year. Electrical heaters are not the power hogs they were when I was a growing up years ago.

The cost of electrical heaters is surprisingly low. My wife and I both work at home, and keep our office cozy and warm with one small heater that cost less than twenty dollars at a local home supply store. The heater has two power settings, with the temperature thermostatically controlled. For safety, the unit has an automatic cutoff switch on the bottom. If the heater should get tipped over, or if we want to readjust the position of the heater, which stays cool on the outside, by the way, it immediately shuts off. What convenience!

We have one of these heaters in the office, and an additional one in the living room that heats the living and dining area, plus an oil filled heater in the kitchen. While we have not reached the coldest part of the winter yet, we have already had a few days when the temperatures did not get above freezing, and lows that dipped to twenty degrees on several nights. These three electric heaters have done their job, and our electric bill for the past month was $166.00. I awoke this morning at just before seven, the temperature outside was 37, the house was warm, and neither the heater in the office nor the one in the living area were running. I am not claiming that we can necessarily heat the whole house this way for the entire winter at half the cost than the central unit, because we still have the coldest months to go. But I am sure that by selectively heating rooms we are going to save money all through the winter months.