Are Radiators or Space Heaters a More Economical Way to Heat My Home?

With the current rapidly fluctuating prices on the energy markets, it has become increasingly difficult for the average person to be able to keep their homes warm during the winter months.   One of the most common ways that people are cutting down on their heating bills is by using electric space heaters so that they do not burn as much gas or heating oil to keep their whole house warm with a radiator system that’s constantly running. Whether or not this is a viable solution depends on several factors including the type of space heater being used and the current cost of the other fuels.

When Heating Oil Prices are High

How your local prices for both electricity and heating oil are currently sitting will have a significant impact on whether using that electric space heater or turning on your oil fired boiler central heating system will be cheaper choice to run. Typically, if your heating oil prices are running high, it will save you a fair amount of money to use space heaters to keep the rooms you are actually using comfortable.

According to the latest research and loosely based on the national average prices for both electricity and gas, an electric space heater will cost you between $0.10 and $0.25 per hour to run whereas your gas or oil fired heating system will average around $1.80 and $ 3.10 per hour to run. 

When Oil Prices are Low

When the cost of oil goes down, it can actually be cheaper to use your central heating to keep your entire home warm and comfortable, rather than trying to do so with a series of space heaters. From another point of view, trying to keep only certain rooms heated and having to move them around as you change rooms can be a major hassle. Space heaters can pose a serious safety issue if you have small children or pets and there is always the risk of fire if they are left unattended for long periods of time.

Keeping Your Heating Bill as Low as Possible

If you are going to use space heaters as way to keep your heating bills down, it’s important that you know how to get the most out of each space heater you use. There are two basic types of electric space heaters, quartz heaters and convection heaters.

Quartz heaters  are better suited  for large rooms that have high ceilings and are usually kept occupied with several at the same time, while the convection heater is ideal for smaller rooms that can be sealed off from other areas of the house that are not being used.

By choosing the right type of space heater,carefully sealing off the parts of the house that are not going to be used and doing everything you can to prevent heat loss, you can stay warm even when the price of heating oil and gas are very high. One word of caution is to make sure that the space heaters you buy are fitted with shut off switches and alarms, in order to reduce the risk of fire and keep your family safe.