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Micro heaters cut 87% off my electric heat bill
11–20 of 276 posts
Re: Micro heaters cut 87% off my electric heat bill
#12A similar approach works in hot climates. A friend of mine saved a substantial amount of money by getting an efficient portable AC unit for his bedroom, and shutting off the main air conditioner for the house at night. In a southern summer, the savings add up quick.
How does he purge the heat?
Re: Micro heaters cut 87% off my electric heat bill
#13Why not use the reptile heater instead of the incandescent globe? Having a light shining right in my face would end the experiment in minutes.
Re: Micro heaters cut 87% off my electric heat bill
#14This is where I really prefer the European model[1] - you heat the whole house with hot water. You make hot water with cheap natural gas. If you're lucky enough, you can even use geothermal. Then you use insulation. This especially is something that feels nobody in the US has heard of. At least in California. As a result, your radiators are turned down to 2 out of 10 all day (heating turns off automatically overnight…
This is common in the Northeast and Midwest.
Also, if you're in an apartment your place might be so hot because you have a neighbor that has cranked the heat. I used to be able to keep the heat off in a place I lived at because the person that lived below me had their place like a sauna.
Re: Micro heaters cut 87% off my electric heat bill
#15Just install radiant heat everywhere in your house ya cheap bastard
Re: Micro heaters cut 87% off my electric heat bill
#16>In June of 2010 I moved to a place in Montana with only electric heat. Living that far north and depending on one heat source is crazy! Think about the power going out when its -30 out... or if you used gas, running out or having your furnace break down. (Not to mention electric is usually the most expensive way to heat). Most houses where I live have 2 or 3 heat sources. I have wood, LP and electric...
I live in the northernmost large city in Canada (where we get -40C pretty regularly for a while in the winter) and every apartment I've ever lived in has only one heat source, and usually it's either electric or water pipe.
If your power goes out long enough for all the heat to leach out of your apartment or house you probably have some serious problems with either the electric company or your insulation.
Re: Micro heaters cut 87% off my electric heat bill
#17This is why changing out incandescents for CFL's in a heated house does almost nothing for saving energy... and if the heat comes from electricity, nothing for saving money, either.
Re: Micro heaters cut 87% off my electric heat bill
#18This is where I really prefer the European model[1] - you heat the whole house with hot water. You make hot water with cheap natural gas. If you're lucky enough, you can even use geothermal. Then you use insulation. This especially is something that feels nobody in the US has heard of. At least in California. As a result, your radiators are turned down to 2 out of 10 all day (heating turns off automatically overnight…
Crappy insulation is the norm here in Australia as well, which is more of a problem down south where it gets cold in winter. I used to work with a Scot who highlighted the issue, saying that in a Scottish house, the insulation was good enough that you could basically heat a room with a candle.
I once asked him if there were any wooden houses in Scotland, he replied "Yes, we keep our lawnmowers in them".
Re: Micro heaters cut 87% off my electric heat bill
#19> The bathroom is the one room in the house that is heated normally.
You can get heated toilet seats - they're quite common in Japan. One example: http://www.heatedtoiletseat.com
Re: Micro heaters cut 87% off my electric heat bill
#20A similar approach works in hot climates. A friend of mine saved a substantial amount of money by getting an efficient portable AC unit for his bedroom, and shutting off the main air conditioner for the house at night. In a southern summer, the savings add up quick.
How does he purge the heat?
Usually those units come with a window attachment to vent the heat outside