Heating with electricity when there is no furnace or perhaps when your basement is too cold is a perfectly viable alternative. Many homes with basements and forced air furnaces are usually very cold in the winter time. It can be almost impossible to keep them warm without spending a lot of money changing the duct work of the furnace. You may need to add hot air ducting and cold air ducts just to get the basement a little bit warmer in the winter time. There is an alternative and it can make sense heating with electricity. We purchased and electric heater like the one in the picture.
It can be moved around, it is on wheels and plugs into a wall outlet. Oil is heated inside to heat the vanes on the outside. Simple air convection causes the air to move and heat the rest of the room. This heater is the one we choose. However any heater is good for heating with electricity as long as it has the capacity you need. They can be great for just taking the chill off the room without having to heat the rest of the home just to get the basement more comfortable. Heating with electricity can make sense in this situation.
Heating with Electricity
In fact if you keep the temperature of your home low and only heat the room that you are in with one of these heaters, it can result in a net savings in total cost. You are burning less fuel to heat your home since it is being kept at a lower temperature overall and you are only heating the room that you are in with the electric heater.
Buying a home and Heating with Electricity, does it make sense?
The real answer is that it depends. In most areas, heating with natural gas, propane or oil is cheaper than heating with electricity. However there are some locations where electricity is relatively cheap compared to the cost of other fuels. If you are considering purchasing a home with electric heating, ask the homeowner for copies of their heating bill for a year.For more information on managing energy use, click here.
Next quiz them about the temperature setting they use in the winter. You will have some idea about how warm they keep their house compared to the temperature you prefer. You can compare the numbers to other homes in the area, your current home etc. Taking into account personal preferences regarding the temperature you prefer in your own home.
Remember not everyone uses electricity the same way. So take into account how much energy conservation you practice vs. the person your buying the home from. All of these factors will impact the cost of electricity in the home and your overall electric bill.
