I live in an older house built in 1903, it is very drafty and cold. It was never upgraded over the years and kept up to date like it should have been. Now, I have the house, but haven't got the money to pour into it, to bring it up to standard, as I see it should be. Cold weather is a killer and very hard to keep warm. I bought a smallish cabinet model space heater a couple of years that certainly helped out. Since that time the cost of electricity has slowly crept up to where it is hard to pay at times. I am not looking for a handout or money... Just information.

I have seen small space heaters that the say they will heat up too 200 to 300 sq. ft. for a very reasonable price. It would be a heater I could take from room to room. I spend most of time at; the computer, sitting in my chair watching tv or working on my fur projects, taking a shower, or in the cellar skinning and fleshing with my tanning. If I had a small portable heater, I could easily take it with me from to room.

NOW... my question is how do I tell from the information on the box or online how much current the equipment will draw that would drastically affect my electrical bill. I know when I used the cabinet model I have, it was an appreciable amount. Some of the info that is available is like... 5100 BTU, 1500 w, 750 w, one said 2 settings 1300w or 1500w. What do I need to look for that will keep my costs down. My electricity has increased by almost 50% in the last year and half, and my soc sec has increased only a few percent.

Thank you for any help you can give me. I have done a lot of wiring and other electrical jobs, but don't know the technicalities, when operating costs have been thrown into the works.

Garry-

Look into a Government program to weatherize your house or your just throwing money out the window. If that is not available weatherize a few rooms you use the most for the winter months.

Just spent 3 weeks in a cabin in MO about the size of a 1 car garage that was very well insulated (the guy worked for Owen Corning) it was heated by a fireplace looking electric heater and a oil type electric heater. One heater heated it most of the time at times I had to turn both off it was so warm.

Here’s a link that can help.

https://www.calculator.net/electricity-calculator.html

I know I don't need to tell you this, but I'm going to anyway just as a reminder. Please be careful with space heaters. Some of them are tremendous fire hazards.

I've been in a few of those old homes over the years. One of note was a big 2 story antebellum mansion built around 1840. Exterior walls solid brick.....an well over 1 foot thick. Magnificent home......in winter, cold as scorned lover's heart.

Old couple that owned it simply lived in two rooms of it when weather got cold. Small wood stove kept it downright balmy in the part they lived in. Cheap and highly effective.

Making heat with electricity is expensive, "low cost" heaters use less electricity cause they put out less heat.

In a well insulated space it may be reasonable to use, otherwise you will be losing that expensive heat fast. Hard to defeat physics....

The watts drawn is the key and the site Iowa Bob sent you will tell you exactly what the cost will be. Electric resistance heaters, whether they be the type that look like an old fashioned radiator and are oil filled, electric fireplaces, hair dryers, toasters, or hard wired baseboard, all work the same and are a very expensive way to heat. Have you considered kerosene?

Have you considered a wood stove?

When I was a kid, the house my grandmother lived in was not much tighter than the barn. They had a propane fired "warm morning stove".......what they called a floor furnace. Basically similar to one of the modern high efficiency gas fireplaces.....vented style. That thing sat out in the living room and would kick on and off. Some of them had a low speed blower......but they pumped out the heat. Need a propane connection and vent stack to the roof.....about the same as what a gas hot water heater would use. Will run you out of there if you crank it up and let it perc.

Have you priced kerosene lately?
WOW!

With current inflation,might be cheaper to burn dollar bills!

We have a couple of these, Lasko ceramic heaters. They seem to be fairly efficient and much safer than the old milk house style heaters. I can easily keep an average sized room heated with one.

Generally using an extension cord with a space heater is a bad idea. This is the cause of most fires with them. If you absolutely have to , use one of the short beefed up ones designed for an A/C. Definitely do not put the cord under anything like a carpet.


Using no extension cord is best.

Best heater I know of is insulation it will be well worth it otherwise all forms of heating will be expensive.

After read everything and given considerable thought... I guess I will just put on another layer of clothing... Thanks guys for the info.

Garry-

There are laws of physics that can’t be denied. Beware of claims that an Amish made electric heater can work wonders for the price of a 100W light bulb. Can’t be done. All energy forms contain a fixed amount of energy.

Insulation is your path to savings. I grew up in a house like you described. It was cold in the winter and impossible to cool in the summer. We did lower the ceiling height in the rooms we used most.

I'm thinking about doing something like this to see if it helps any. https://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/SpaceHeating/mssun

I haven't ran any dollar costs for this project yet, I know everything is high right now.

Warmest insulation for cheap is a cap/hat on your head.

I put an additional R20 in my attic pushing it to R60! Best money I’ve ever spent!

Well, went to state agency today and filled out application for assistance... to see if I could get some help to tighten up this old house. They said, I should know something in about a week.

I don't know that much about it, but not sure they can pump insulation into the walls... The construction is old horsehair mortar or lath and plaster. House constructed in 1903. The man that built it owned most of property around it. It still has the pipes protruding from walls where the gas lights were attached. I think most of windows need replaced,

Well... we will see. THANK YOU to those of you my friends, that gave me some guidance on researching it further and the inspiration to rise above my pride and ask for help.

Now if I could just figure out how to sew these darn muskrat hats together. ...

Garry-