Heat Your Home for Less with an Electric Heater

Using an electric heater to supplement the heat in your home can save you a lot of energy dollars, especially if you do so thoughtfully. As a general rule of thumb, using electricity is usually the most expensive way of acquiring heat, but when used as supplemental heat, electric resistance heaters can help reduce overall costs.

Before plugging it in, however, be sure that:

• You’ve plugged all the air leaks in the room where you’ll be using the heater. To stop drafts, you should seal any leaks you see around the frames and exterior with caulk.
• If you use a space heater in the bathroom, close the door while the bathroom is heating to contain the warmth. Avoid using the exhaust fan until you’re finished. Exhaust fans can pull significant amounts of air from the room.
• Some resistance heaters put out a good deal of heat, but pose a fire hazard. Make sure there are no fabrics or other combustibles within three feet of the front of the heater.
• You should place the heater in a location where children and pets can’t reach before plugging the electric heater directly into an outlet. If you must use an extension cord, be sure it’s rated to handle the same wattage or a slightly higher rating. Plugging a heater into a cord that’s too small to handle the load can be a fire hazard.
• Make sure to turn off the heater and unplug it before leaving for the day or going to bed. Although many heaters are safe to use unattended, it’s an avoidable risk.
• Consider installing a radiant floor heating system for a space that’s hard to heat any other way, or an exceptionally cold bedroom. Radiant floors can be installed in existing homes and provide even warmth from the floor up.

For more information on how to use an electric heater in your home, contact the pros at Stack Heating & Cooling. We’ve been providing exceptional HVAC services for Greater Cleveland homeowners since 1976.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Cleveland, Ohio about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about electric heaters and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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