A Hot Topic!

OhDear · 11-18-2007, 04:55 PM

Well I am hoping by my title : A Hot Topic, that many will read this and weigh in with some advice, opinions and their experiences.

Last Friday in the wee hours of the morning, I woke up, freezing my palookah off. I was sooo cold, I was nearly afraid to brave the elements to get out of bed to check it out, but I pulled a sweater up from off the floor and wrapped a blanket around myself, and headed out to the kitchen where the thermastat is.

I had it cranked to 72 cos I was sick in the first place and running fevers and not wanting to be cold besides.

Well it was still set to be 72 but the temperature was only in the 50's.

I went to my children and made sure they were tucked in snugly.

And I went back to bed, lying there listening for the furnace to kick in that never did. In the morning at a more respectable 8:00 a.m I called the landlord. Well later in the morning, a furnace guy came out to have a look/see. And then the landlord came too and they told me the furnace was broken and would need replacing.

The landlord then bought four electric space heaters to serve us til the gas furnace be put in, "hopefully" this coming week!!!

Well, I wonder how this might be comparing cost-wise on my energy bill. I have to say that I find that the space heaters are wonderful! The house is warmer now than it was when the furnace was working.

I do get a bit afraid though they say they shut off automatically. I don't want a fire. I lost everything in a fire only two and a half years ago. So not up to toughing that experience again. I do let the heaters run for an hour or two and then shut them off and at night, we don't even have them on at all...

What does everyone think? Even after the furnace is fixed, would it be economically sound and safe to keep the furnace off and run space heaters? I priced them online and Circuit City has some nice ones for $65 with free shipping.

Thanks in advance to any who share.

OhDear

CrazyFlamingos · 11-18-2007, 05:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OhDear

Well I am hoping by my title : A Hot Topic, that many will read this and weigh in with some advice, opinions and their experiences.

Last Friday in the wee hours of the morning, I woke up, freezing my palookah off. I was sooo cold, I was nearly afraid to brave the elements to get out of bed to check it out, but I pulled a sweater up from off the floor and wrapped a blanket around myself, and headed out to the kitchen where the thermastat is.

I had it cranked to 72 cos I was sick in the first place and running fevers and not wanting to be cold besides.

Well it was still set to be 72 but the temperature was only in the 50's.

I went to my children and made sure they were tucked in snugly.

And I went back to bed, lying there listening for the furnace to kick in that never did. In the morning at a more respectable 8:00 a.m I called the landlord. Well later in the morning, a furnace guy came out to have a look/see. And then the landlord came too and they told me the furnace was broken and would need replacing.

The landlord then bought four electric space heaters to serve us til the gas furnace be put in, "hopefully" this coming week!!!

Well, I wonder how this might be comparing cost-wise on my energy bill. I have to say that I find that the space heaters are wonderful! The house is warmer now than it was when the furnace was working.

I do get a bit afraid though they say they shut off automatically. I don't want a fire. I lost everything in a fire only two and a half years ago. So not up to toughing that experience again. I do let the heaters run for an hour or two and then shut them off and at night, we don't even have them on at all...

What does everyone think? Even after the furnace is fixed, would it be economically sound and safe to keep the furnace off and run space heaters? I priced them online and Circuit City has some nice ones for $65 with free shipping.

Thanks in advance to any who share.

OhDear

Bonnie,

I live in an older house without central heat and air or a furnace. It was built in the 50s with built-in electric wall heaters. They still work but they suck up electricity like a dry sponge sucks up water -- electricity was cheap in the 50s.

So I quit using the wall heaters many long years ago.

I used to use regular space heaters but a sometime in the 90s I found a Delonghi oil-filled radiator at a remainders store.

Since then my six space heaters have been replaced with 3 radiators. They heat extremely well, use much less electricity than space heaters, are not hot enough to burn anyone who touches them and are much safer than space heaters.

Like any other small appliance, it is possible for a shorted switch to start a fire but, unlike space heaters, if someone sets them too close to a curtain or sofa, they will not set it on fire.

Here is a link to some info about the Delonghi radiators.

Delonghi Radiator - Small Appliances - Compare Prices, Reviews and Buy at NexTag - Price - Review

They are not the only brand out there. But I have bought a couple of others and their switches burnt out in about five years whereas my Delonghi lasted for over ten. But any brand is going to save you money on electricity over a space heater.

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