Earlier this winter, I posted about 10 Ways to Lower Your Heating Bill. I took my own advice on the idea of “heating just the space you occupy”, by purchasing a used Infrared Heater as well as a DeLonghi Oil-Filled Radiator for comparison. How did they perform vs each other and do infrared heaters save money? Let’s find out.
Do Infrared Heaters Save Money ? Yes, they CAN!
The operative word here is CAN. First you have to understand the limitations of the heater. So, don’t expect a 1,000 watt heater to pump out the high BTU heat of your central heating system during the coldest winter nights. Ideally, you should set your central heat (remember, this is supplemental heating, not a replacement) to as low of a temperature as you can comfortably handle while moving about the house in your warm winter clothing. For us, this is about 62 degrees. You can then either place the infrared heater centrally in your home and put it on max heat which will keep your central system from turning on as frequently (this is useful for supplementing a higher cost energy source like heating oil), or you can place the heater in the room you will be using primarily throughout the day and aim the heater at yourself. Remember, the way infrared heat works is by heating objects rather than just circulating heated air (like your central air system does).
So, how much did we save this winter? I calculated we saved easily over $500 by using these two heaters. Here are very non-mathematical calculations:
- In December, we burned through 100 gallons of heating oil at a cost of $380
- I bought the heaters at the beginning of January and used them almost continuously in the manner described above. They added a mere $50 total to both my January and February electrical bills combined (yes, we have cheap electricity here in Pennsylvania).
- At the beginning of January, I also bought 150 gallons of oil for $570. Based on the very cold temperatures in January/February, I calculated we should have burned twice that much oil to heat our 2,000 square foot home. It is March 2nd, and we still have oil in the tank from that 150 gallon purchase.
- So, we saved $570 and spent $50 on electricity for a net energy savings of $525.
Now, you could argue that the capital expenditure on the heaters needs to be included in this cost saving equation. I paid $100 for the refurbished Infrared Heater and $75 for the DeLonghi Oil-Filled Radiator for a combined $175.
Infrared Heater vs Oil Radiant Heater
How did these two perform against each other? If I had to pick just one, I’d choose the infrared heater. I found the infrared heater was better at heating a larger space than the oil filled radiant heater. Why? Because, the infrared heater has a fan that pushes the hot air away from the infrared heating elements and circulates this heated air throughout the room, whereas the radiator simply uses the process of convection to heat the air and objects around it (a much slower process). What I ended up doing was to use eaach heater for different tasks. I placed the infrared heater centrally in my home to supplement my central heating system and used the oil-filled radiant heater to heat just one room (office or bedroom) which it did quite well. I never tested either unit, but I have a feeling the oil filled radiator actually uses less power than the infrared unit due to the fact that the infrared unit is always on (if set to maximum temperature) and the oil unit cycles off as the oil reaches a high enough temperature and subsequently cools down during the convection process.
Conclusion:
Infrared heaters will save you money, but don’t expect a miracle heater. And to be honest, if you have natural gas heat in your home your savings will not be near as pronounced as ours. As always, your mileage may vary. Many comfortable warm winters to you!
Flagship Admiral’s Club Lounge at ORD Food and drink options were excellent. I got in early enough to sample both breakfast and lunch offerings at the lounge.
Woke up early due to jet lag. Took first shuttle at 4:45 AM to ORD, only to discover that Keisei ticket counters open at 7. Bought round trip Skyliner and 48hr subway pass deal from 
Takeshita-guchi Street Shopping Area – What a name, right?! This was a fun side excursion as I started wending my way back to the airport. Ueno Park Shopping Area – I realized I hadn’t picked up any souvenirs yet, so I stopped by the ‘Japan Shop’ just outside the Ueno train station.
Stopover in LA – I had a stopover in LA, where I rented a car and drove around for a few hours. It was my first time in LA, so I went up to the Griffith Observatory, drove through Hollywood on Sunset Blvd and checked out some back roads in the Beverly Hills including Mulholland Drive. Then I finished up with a walk on the Santa Monica Beach before heading back to the airport to continue on my journey home.
Points & Miles Spent:
Roofs will all eventually wear out and need replacement. The question is, how do you know if your roof just needs a quick roof repair job or whether it needs to be completely replaced? If you replace your roof to soon, you might just be throwing money away. Alternatively, if your roof is in terrible condition and has multiple leaks over a wide area, you may end up spending more money in the long run due to water damage in your home’s interior. To know which decision is right for you, let’s look at a few key factors in deciding to repair or replace a roof.
Plan your meals – The first thing I advise when you are attempting to eat healthier is to plan your meals for the week. By planning out what you are going to eat you can make healthy, informed choices. You will be far less likely to splurge on a greasy hamburger and French fries if you have a healthy salad and chicken meal all ready to eat in your slow cooker at home. You can also buy all the ingredients you need for the recipes so that you do not get frustrated and give up. Planning meals also helps you to be more creative and varied with your cooking so that you do not get burned out on one meal or become nutritionally unbalanced. Meatloaf may be your favorite, but eating it three times a week will burn anyone out. By planning your meals in advance you can look up new recipes, try out new foods, and have more fun with your cooking. It is no fun to dig through a cookbook when you are tired and hungry, so save yourself the trouble and plan ahead.
It’s a question we ask ourselves when something major goes wrong with our computer — “Should I fix it, or just replace it altogether?” Purchasing a new computer is a fairly large expense, right up there with purchasing a flat screen TV or an appliance. Usually, we’ve stored all our irreplaceable pictures, documents, music and videos on the PC as well, now inaccessible due to something as simple as a cracked screen or a broken laptop power jack.
1. List Everything You Need to Purchase
We just paid for our first delivery of 100 gallons of heating oil, to the tune of $379. It is a temporary expense, since we hope to convert our 26 year old oil furnace to a gas burning one some time in the near future. Natural gas is probably the cheapest heat source in the US currently with all the shale explorations happening in the Midwest right now. Paying a lump sum like that got me thinking of ways to stretch those 100 gallons of oil to their maximum heating potential. Listed below are the heat and energy saving tips you can use to learn how to save money on heating your home.
We all have that friend. The one who turns every conversation about debt into a sob story. They can’t stop talking about their awful credit card debt and horrible student loans. Meanwhile, they’re burning through credit card-financed chai lattes at an alarming rate and always seem to have new designer clothes.