With the rising costs of home heating, everyone is looking for more cost effective ways to stay warm in the winter. High efficiency heating systems, programmable thermostats, increased insulation and weatherproofing windows and doors all help in reducing your heating bill. But have you ever considered using a space heater to help lower your heating bills further? Using space heaters as a supplement to your regular heating system can not only help lower your heating bill, but it can also help the environment as well. By lowering your thermostat by just 5 degrees and using space heaters in frequently used rooms, you can eliminate as much as 800 pounds of CO2 emissions annually.

Today’s space heaters are far safer than their predecessors. Take a look at these little heaters at your local stores and you will find that these are not your father’s space heaters. Most modern heaters are equipped with auto shut-off switches that turn the heater off when tipped over, and some are encased to prevent accidental burns. Also, many have built in thermostats that help regulate the heat and save energy. Some have blower fans and some even oscillate. With so many choices, you may wonder which space heater is the best to use. And since the object is to reduce your overall heating bill, you might also ask which is the most energy efficient. Coil heaters are what most of us think of when talking about space heaters. These are heaters that have a coiled heating element inside and normally use a built in blower that moves the air over the coil to heat it. Though this is old technology, they are still very popular. They do heat a space fairly quickly but from an energy consumption point of view, they are not particularly efficient. There are also space heaters that use fuel such as Kerosene or propane. The fuel to operate these heaters can become expensive and if the heater is not properly used and maintained, they can give off noxious fumes and may also pose a fire hazard. Then there is the oil heater. These look similar to the old steam radiators and use a heating element to heat oil contained in the unit. This type of space heater is slow to get hot and takes longer to heat a space. If you have young children or pets, this type of heater could pose a burn hazard, as they get very hot when in operation. The new kid on the block is the Halogen heater. These space heaters use a halogen element to heat the air and may also have a fan built in as well. Also many of these heaters are also oscillators, meaning they swing from side to side like an oscillating fan does. A side benefit to these heaters is that they also provide a degree of light as well since the halogen element is quite bright when running. These units are sturdy and will generally outlast most other types of space heaters, making them a cost effective choice since they do not need to be replaced as often. From an efficiency standpoint, this type of heater will generally use less power to operate than most other space heaters as well. For my money, the halogen space heater is the most efficient and safest choice in space heaters. One final note on heating your home. Putting a humidifier in you home can help with the heating process. Here in the Midwest, we have a saying about the sometimes stifling hot summer days. “It’s not the heat that gets you, it’s the humidity”. Humid air will feel warmer than dry air will. If you maintain a relative humidity level of 60% in your home, you can lower your thermostat and feel just as warm.