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Micro heaters cut 87% off my electric heat bill

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Re: Micro heaters cut 87% off my electric heat bill

#71

Post by jessaustin »

Swizec wrote: post #61
curun1r wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Then you use insulation. This especially is something that feels nobody in the US has heard of. At least in California. In defense of Californians, most of us rarely, if ever, turn on a heater and most homes here don't have AC. Our heating and cooling costs are a small fraction of those of you who live in places that have seasons.

> In defense of Californians, most of us rarely, if ever, turn on a heater and most homes here don't have AC Then why on earth was I freezing my balls off in Menlo Park this November? The weeks before we realised our house even had heating were miserable. And even afterwards, as soon as the heaters weren't blowing hot air, or you were more than 3ft away, you were instantly cold and miserable.

Had you previously lived in more equatorial climes? Temperature preference really is about what you're used to. Some years ago when I visited India in January/February, my friends' relatives in Rajasthan were shivering in sweaters and coats while my friend and I were perfectly comfortable in short sleeves.

Re: Micro heaters cut 87% off my electric heat bill

#72

Post by ars »

stormbrew wrote: post #16
voidlogic wrote: post #7

>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.

If you have any kind of heat other than electric you by default have two kinds since you can always fall back on electric.

Re: Micro heaters cut 87% off my electric heat bill

#73

Post by WalterBright »

bluthru wrote: post #29
lutorm wrote: post #17

This 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.

Of course it does. Heating up a hole in your ceiling does not efficiently warm the occupant. You want to introduce heat low and near occupants. Also, changing out multiple incandescents means more manufacturing, more truck deliveries to the store, more manufacturing, etc. vs. using a single LED bulb for two decades. If you live in coal country, then you definitely want to reduce your electrical load and instead rely…

Two decades? My experience is LED bulbs last about a year.

Re: Micro heaters cut 87% off my electric heat bill

#74

Post by ars »

bluthru wrote: post #52
lutorm wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most heat from incandescents is infrared radiation, which travels. If you get useful light from the bulb, you also get useful heat. Plenty of rooms are heated with one big, honking radiator, which certainly is no more effective. That said, it's true that some of the heat ends up not being useful (just like a lot of the light from the bulb doesn't either) -- unless there's a heated story above, of course. And I never…

What's the attenuation of the UV from a light bulb in the ceiling?

what UV?

Re: Micro heaters cut 87% off my electric heat bill

#75

Post by jqm »

arh68 wrote: post #53

Imagine how much more they could save by keeping the heated mattress pad on and never leave the bed! I mostly jest.. The author seems totally unaware of the efficiency gains that a heat pump can provide. A 300W space heater will be easily outmatched by a heat pump that consumes 300W (unless we're dropping way, way below 0C). The efficiency is likely ~3x [1]. I hope the author isn't making this mistake out of disdain…

I found this out the hard way one winter.

Without looking into specifics I decided that a couple of small well placed space heaters (in rooms with traffic) might save electricity over the whole house heat pump.

I had 3 small space heaters that ran most of the day and night and I turned the heat pump down to 50. I was wrong. My electric bill was higher than just running the heat pump, and most of the house was cold most of the time.

Re: Micro heaters cut 87% off my electric heat bill

#76

Post by themodelplumber »

cma wrote: post #44
p_eter_p wrote: post #8

A 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.

Depends where you live--a house with no air conditioning generally won't suffer mold, and neither will one with air conditioning. But spotty air conditioning without something like a dehumidifier will breed mold and warp floors.

A friend of mine has been complaining about his rental's warped kitchen floor and mold (or the fact that mold forms easily). His windows are mostly painted shut. Can you elaborate on this? What kind of a dehumidifier should he look at?

Re: Micro heaters cut 87% off my electric heat bill

#78

Post by maxerickson »

jessaustin wrote: post #68
maxerickson wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He mentions homesteading at the end. I guess he doesn't have a natural gas supply available. Propane and fuel oil aren't the completely obvious win over electric that natural gas is.

We haven't found natural gas on the retail level to be any less expensive than propane. Perhaps it depends on where you live.

I'm talking about utility supplied natural gas vs truck delivered liquid propane in the U.S. I'm pretty sure the natural gas is consistently cheaper (frequently to the tune of 50%, my experience of it is in northern areas where the propane trucks are busy all winter).

Re: Micro heaters cut 87% off my electric heat bill

#79

Post by jlebar »

balfirevic wrote: post #26
raverbashing wrote: post #5

Yes Most people want "summer inside the house" which is absurdly wasteful Of course, it sucks when changing clothes or taking a shower, but there are ways of heating locally.

I don't know how people's desires can be "wasteful". I find that "summer inside the house" during winter is absolutely wonderful from the comfort standpoint and certainly wouldn't trade it for the saving that I would get on electric bill. Of course, I realize that many people don't care for that. More power (and smaller bills) to them.

> I don't know how people's desires can be "wasteful".

In a world where people paid for the true cost of their energy use, this argument might fly. But in most of the world today, this isn't the case, not by a long shot.

If you heated to "summer inside the house" and bought high-quality carbon offsets corresponding to your increased energy use, I think most people wouldn't call that "wasteful". "Warm" might be the adjective I'd use. :)

Re: Micro heaters cut 87% off my electric heat bill

#80

Post by superuser2 »

mangecoeur wrote: post #28
lutorm wrote: post #17

This 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.

Wrong. Does plenty to save energy. Reasons: - for half the year, you don't heat but you still light, so you automatically gain savings for that whole period. (also if you have air conditioning, in summer you heat the house with lights then have to cool the air again) - Lights are on the ceiling. Hot air rises. Therefore heat coming from lights does almost nothing to improve your thermal comfort. - If you are heating…

This is likely mitigated somewhat if you have good natural light sources. The warmer it is, the less you need to run artificial lights (assuming a "normal" sleep schedule.)

Not to say that it makes sense, but still.

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