Are space heaters ok to use for 2 months instead of central heat? - Page 3

[annekevdbroek]

I keep our heat at 55 or 60 most of the time and cart a little space heater around with me. I can heat up my little area w/o spending a ton of money heating the rest of the house. It seems to work well for us and is less costly then setting the thermostate at 65 or 70 or whatever.

[kittywitty]

Originally Posted by mnnice

Most fireplaces are pretty but not real functional. We have a woodburning fireplace. We lit it the other night because it was really at an optimal temperature outside (25-30 degrees) for it. If it's colder than that we ended up with the furnace running while the fire is lit because so much heat is going up the chimmney. This is in a modern well insulated house (circa 1995)There probabily a reason previous occupants of your house stuffed it full on insulation.

Do you have a source of free or cheap wood?

I don't take the previous owner's opinions on it for much. They kept the house at 74 in the winter and never worked on/used the fireplace. They basically remodeled and moved on.

It's an old, wood burning fireplace with glass doors. We used to have one when I was younger and loved it. Hopefully next year we can figure it out.

[HeatherAtHome]

We plan on keeping our electric heaters at a low temperature then heating with a wood stove. As for whether or not you need ductwork, it depends on the shape and layout of your home. Will hot air be able to flow naturally to your living spaces/the rooms you want heated?

We have a smaller 100+ year old home that we should be able to heat easily with a stove. It has a fairly open floor plan on the main floor and a grate going to the second floor hallway that can be open or closed depending on if we want to heat the upstairs.

We're hopefully putting in a wood stove next year. Our hydro bill is outrageous... but at least we don't heat with oil! It'd be in the thousands for sure!