Using the oven to heat the kitchen?

Question

My mother used to turn on our oven on cold mornings to heat the kitchen a little bit. We were arguing about it this weekend, because she said that she did it because it was less expensive than turning on the electric baseboard heater in the kitchen.. I said it wouldn't use any less electricity.. and wouldn't be cheaper. Who is right?

Answer 1

I will admit that , when I get up at 3:30a.m., during the winter, the first thing I do is turn on all 4 burners on the stove. I use one to boil my water for my instant coffee. It doesn't take long for it to get nice n' toasty. Although I will admit that electricity is cheaper than gas,hands down.....so you are correct.........sorry Mom...on the other hand if you are talking yrs ago when you were a kid....Mom might be right as gas was cheaper then........good day... ;)

Answer 2

If it was a gas oven, it would definitely use less electricity.... But seriously, the cost would be very similar. Try turning each one on in turn, then see how fast your billing meter ticks over. Leave the oven door open if you want to heat the room. If there is nothing on or in the cooker, then there is no danger. If you're worried, just set the timer to switch off the ove after 15 mins. I used to do it all the time at university, with no ill effects. It works well. We had no other form of heating in our kitchen then.

Answer 3

Power is always an equation. An oven can give higher heat than the baseboard which just uses more electric.

Heat will always be measured in $$$$, it's all a matter of an individual's comfort zone.

Their is nothing wrong heating a kitchen with an oven, it's all thermostat controled anyway.

Answer 4

I'll assume that the oven is electric. Using an oven to heat the kitchen is an inefficient way to heat a room.

The electric baseboard heater goes directly to the room. The oven - by design - is meant to keep most of its heat in the oven, though some heat does seep out and thus warm the room slightly. But the baseboard heater is far more efficient.

Answer 5

oven with the door open will only cost as much as it does for the oven to heat up normally. Because the oven will never get to a switch off temperature as it thermostat is set to cooking temperatures not room temperatures the oven will run all the time so you could be spending money on over heating a room.

Answer 6

Whoa...that is dangerous. I will turn the oven on when it's cold to bake stuff, like cakes or special meals. But it goes off when I'm done. It's dangerous, because when yo use it just to heat the house, you will forget to turn it off. Don't you watch the news? That's how a lot of fires start in the winter.

Answer 7

It depends on how long she left the oven on, the amount of time it took to reach the temp. it was set on. VS. The temp. reached by the heater, and how long it took to reach that temp. The volts/wattage of the heater used vs. the amount used by the stove. She could be right, or you could be. But since she got the bills each month I'd put my money on mom.

Answer 8

its an old fashion way of heating up the kitchen my mother still uses hers all though she has central heating
you are right the heater is more efficient as that is what it was designed for.

Answer 9

Your right,cos it would be dearer if anything ovens use more electricity thats why they have own fuse....

Answer 10

That's silly --- and might be dangerous too....