i have electric baseboard heaters and my electric bill is sky high. would it be cheaper just to buy a space?

Question

heater for the two bedrooms instead of the baseboard heaters

Answer 1

Yes you will save some money just using two space heaters instead of the base board heaters however the space heaters can be dangerous and the rest of the house will be uncomfortable at best and depending on how cold it gets where you are it is possible to freeze a water line. Have you tried setting your thermostat to a lower setting? I set mine to from 72 down to 70 and then down to 68 then finally on 66 over a four week period. Granted at 66 it can be a bit uncomfortable but I set my mind to wearing slippers and a sweater and was quite comfortable. Hope this helps, good luck.

Answer 2

If you are just trying to replace the baseboards with space heaters, but want the same temp in those rooms all the time, the cost will be the same. Space heaters are not cheaper to run than baseboard electric. Oil filled, quartz, resistance wire...doesn't matter.
If you turn down the heat in every room, and only use the space heaters in the rooms you want warmer, you can save some money.
But the best way to save money is insulation. If the sidewalls are not well insulated, that's tougher to fix, but if the attic isn't, that is doable by the average homeowner, and will pay for itself in saved money, comfort, increased home value, and it's quieter, too. Easier to cool in the summer.

I shoot for "R-60" in the attic when I'm doing it myself, because if you take the labor costs out of insulating, you can afford a LOT more.

Answer 3

If you have currently have baseboard heat thru the house, and want to turn it off at night and only use the space heaters, then yes, you'll probably save some money.

Be careful, though. Keep the space heaters away from curtains and blankets.

Answer 4

Baseboard electric heaters are very expensive to run because they warm the air with resistance heat. A quartz type heater warms people not the air using infra red..

Answer 5

try turning down the bb heaters some, put plastic insulation in the windows to keep out drafts and either roll up towels for draft stoppers under doors or buy some of those draft stoppers that look like little critters if you don't like the look of the towels on the floor. Add a warmer blanket to the beds, that will help at night as well.

Answer 6

it's probably because you have inadequate wattage for the space you are trying to heat. I have about 3500 Watts to heat a 350SF room, the thermostat is set at 68F, My electric bills didn't go up dramatic, I've watched it since we remodel the area we are heating with the BB heaters... insulation makes the biggest difference for the efficiency of a heating unit of any kind.. The greater the amount of insulation in the walls and ceiling the lower your bills will be. Generally you can recoup any cost of additional insulation in one year of heating bills, if you have 6" in the ceiling put in 12" just my 2 cents.

Answer 7

The answers are accurate, however you can drastically increase the efficiency of baseboard heat by having ceiling fans to circulate the accumulation of hot air at the ceiling level AND increasing the R Value of the insulation in the attic area above. These two things will reduce the bill considerably. Be sure the fan rotates counterclockwise in the winter so as to send the warm air out towards the walls.

Answer 8

An oil filled radiator type of heater would radiate heat longer therefore it is more energy effecient. Another thought would be a Kerosene heater might help but you do need fresh air at all times. So you would not want to use it in a tightly sealed home.

Hope that helps.

Answer 9

Yes, but make sure that you use a good space heater with a strong fan.

Answer 10

The best thing to do is get a good thermostat and set it at a temperature your comfortable at and leave it there. If you insist on varying the temp never vary the temp. more than 4 or 5 degrees.