energy efficient humidifier?

[gentlemango]

The humidifier kills our electricity bill. It's a small Vicks steam humidifier. We need it out here in cold dry NH, we use it for heat, it brings the temp in our living room from 50 to 65.

Anyone know another way of heating a room and adding moisture? We used to use an oil filled radiator space heater but that was an even worse electricity suck. And the dryness sucked. Ideas, rec's?

[annethcz]

Boiling water on the stove.
Keep pans or dishes of water throughout the house, if possible right next to or on top of heat sources.
Open the bathroom door whenever some one is taking a bath or shower, to let the humidity escape into the house.

[gentlemango]

Would a hot plate with a pot of boiling water be cheaper in KW than a humidifier? We don't have heat sources other than space heaters or the oil furnace, I'm trying to find a way to bring the heat up from 50 in the room that we spend the day in. Humidifier works great, but $300/mo in electric (on top of $500/mo oil) is hard to swallow.