During the winter, homeowners living in cooler climates are often challenged with paying their heating bills without going broke. Depending on the size of one’s property, a single month’s bill for heat alone can easily run $100 to $1,000. And while some people are able to tolerate the cold during limited moments of outdoor exposure, most would agree that walking around a perpetually chilly household is not a pleasant way to live.
Of course, there’s a good way to increase one’s household comfort level without spending a fortune on heating costs overall. Thanks to a nifty little invention known as the space heater, people are starting to realize that there’s an alternative to pumping up the heat throughout the house on those cold winter weekends. A space heater is an electric apparatus that works by passing electricity through its heating coils and then circulating hot air in the immediate vicinity. As its name implies, a space heater will only warm the areas directly around it. Therefore, if a person is planning to spend a cold weekend morning doing things all over the house, then a space heater is unnecessary. However, if that same person wants to simply curl up in the den and indulge in her favorite novel, then a space heater might come in handy.
The great thing about space heaters is that they work quickly and efficiently to heat areas that are actually being used. If a person is planning to spend a significant amount of time in one particular room of the house, then from a cost perspective, it makes much more sense to run a space heater for 20 minutes to warm up the area rather than raise the heat throughout the entire house. However, some homeowners are concerned that space heaters could result in household fires, especially given the number of such incidents that have been reported in the media. Therefore, as handy space heaters might be, one can’t help but wonder whether or not they are actually safe.
Patrick Dennis is the owner of Priority Aire Cooling and Heating, a Las Vegas company dedicated to serving all of its customers’ heating, cooling, and ventilation needs, and according to him, space heaters can be perfectly safe provided that they are used correctly. A big reason why so many people have run into problems with space heaters in the past is that they failed to follow instructions about proper placement and use. Therefore, if you’re going to run a space heater, then pay close attention to the directions included in its packaging.
The problem with running a space heater is that if it were to get knocked into something flammable (such as carpeted flooring or a wooden furniture piece), then it could potentially cause a fire. By using caution and logic when setting up your space heater, you can enjoy the benefits of instant heat while avoiding injury and the potential for property destruction at the same time. When positioning your space heater, try putting it in a clutter-free area where it has room to stand freely. Avoid positioning it next to curtains, upholstered furniture items, or stacks of paper. It’s also best to plug your space heater directly into the wall rather than use an extension cord.
The safest way to go about using a space heater is to only turn it on while you can physically watch it. Therefore, you should make a habit of turning off your space heater before you get ready to leave the room that’s housing it. Additionally, it’s important that household pets and children be kept away from your space heater at all times. Infants and animals alike have the potential to cause accidents and injure themselves by contacting space heaters.
One thing to know about space heaters is that while they can help by significantly lowering your heating bill, they can also be rather expensive to run. Since space heaters need a fair amount of electricity in order to operate, what you save in heating costs might be somewhat offset by a higher electric bill at the end of the month. Therefore, the smartest way to use a space heater is to run it in moderation. By turning yours on for 15 minutes and closing doors to lock in heat, you can effectively warm a room without spending too much on electricity.
While a space heater can definitely save money on the heating front, it can also be dangerous item to operate. Therefore, if you’re going to use a space heater in your home, then make certain to do so with the utmost of caution.
