Ways to heat your home on the cheap???

Be sure you have a separate generator for when the power goes out.

candles work fine also,

some work 12 hours, and it is warm enought to keep at least one small oom confertable.

google econo-heat and take a look.....I also found you can buy them from amazon but the shipping is twice what direct was.....I then found that ACE is getting them this friday and I will only pay sales tax and not have to wait for them to be shipped.

I read everything that people that have already used them said and found them to be very good.

any and all ideas will help us all if this winter turns as bad as some say it might!

***I found a new electric heater that says it only costs 3 cents a hour to heat.....wow***

How much heat does one get for 3 cents an hour?
That is the question.

I live in north colorado and learned many ways to stay warm from a old lady that lived in leadville

She would section off the main area she spends most of her time in with clear thick plastic and heat tape on the pipes. If she lost power her wood stove would keep her warm and she would shut her water main off and drain the inside pipes right away.

She hung the plastic from the ceiling and made a small room around the wood burner.

go look at their site all the answers were there........this heater heats to 165 and can run 24/7 and just plugs into wall.......it is 24x24" and hooks up to your wall with four screws and sets about 1/2" from the wall.....the site really tells it all.....old folks homes and hospitals are using them ......one lady was about to spend thousands to replace her heater and tried 2 of these and soon bough enough of them to do her house and said she was never going to replace her heater for thousands and was shocked that her bill was never lower the whole winter and she was warmer than with her whole house furnace.......

I was looking to buy oil filled heaters and found out about this 3 days ago off another site.....Most oil filled cost around 8 cents a hour to run....

these econheaters have no moving parts and even can be apinted and make no sounds.....

Got wood?

I have no need for a generator as gas would be a problem and not safe.....I also have a wood burner and about 4 years worth of wood. I bought a newer wood burner and it uses very little wood to heat and doesn´t smoke like the old fireplace box I had before.....

I also use clear plastic on all windows inside and bought that warm window stuff for all windows and doors if it gets below zero for long periods

Oh those econoheater run $80 per and use 425 watts

someone posted that they ordered 3 and the company called them back and said they could get a price break if they bought more.......I have not checked with that company yet but will do so tomorrow for sure.......I only wanted to buy 2 first and see for myself how well they work

my house was built in 1980 and has them baseboard heaters that run 220 volts and they cost way to much to heat the whole place in the winter......plus the warning that our electric rates are goin up 16% in October and 46% in Dec......and even more after that got me to rethinking everything......9news said tonight that rates may double and double again along with natural gas.......crapola!

my Maaaaaa is making dog coats for both dogs soon......poor little boston terrier gets cold when winter comes BIG time

Bump for economic heating. Now if we all heated this way...

14279, Just exactly how much wood is four years worth...? And 1405, isn´t lining the cieling with plastic a fire hazard...? What kind of plastic is it?

FOR SURE WOOD,

ESPECIALLY IF YOU LIVE SURROUNDED BY AN ALMOST DEAD FOREST, LIKE I AM IN NORTHERN ARIZONA.


ME AND MY HACK SAW, AND MY AXE, AND MY WOOD BURNING FIREPLACE..........


FUCK (THE) BUSH...........


I´LL CUT IT DOWN!

Peltier, thermo-electric is a cheap and safe alternative.

ahhhhhh about 6 cords of wood maybe more based on the newer wood stove burning the last 2 winters

the plastic is not covering the ceiling......it is hooked like walls from the ceiling and hangs to the floor......she used news paper rolled up to press the bottom of the plastic tight against the floor......it was the thick clear plastic you can buy large rolls of at walmart or hardware store.......think of it as a in house tent if you will.....she did this to contain the heat in a smaller area.....one thing is she did NOT seal it tight near the door opening so as to not risk dying from carbon dyoxide poisoning...but I can tell you one thing I have never sat on a colder toilet seat in my entire life......I stayed ther 2 nights and it felt like camping in many ways.......but then it was -25 to -40 at times so with the winds you can figure out how nasty that was!!

She had a old railroad car on the back of her house that she used for all her firewood.....she never had to go outside to get wood...or worry about snow all over it or ice.....she was something to see .......I think she was in her late 70´s and had lived most of her life up in leadville colorado......it gets nasty cold way way up there........!!

she even had the old wood cooking type stove

she had all these cardboard things made from old boxes and beer flats that she set in her windows to make them much smaller for winter and then used real clear plastic just over the center of the winter window so she still could see out and get light in. The cardboard was a good 4-5" thick and the thick clear plastic went over all or it except the center where she had the real clear plastic.......it was funny as she painted deer and trees on the cardboard so it almost looked like a summer shot out a big window......this old gal went to work at a motel and cleaned all them rooms each day also.......she was a very hard working women......it has been over 14 years now that I was up there but can still se everything she had going on in that little house......she was a friends mother and she would not move away ever......

she had all kinds or things to keep her car warm so it would always start and so she wouldn´t have to scrape alot of snow and ice off it.....as it sat outin the weather with no garage ha ! a monarc with hundreds of crosses on the dash

~ 14279, 25 to 40 degrees below ZERO....? Do you mean actual temperature wise, or AFTER the Wind chill....? Whew...I don´t think I will have to contend with quite that, but it does regularly get down to Zero degrees where I am, but that´s BEFORE windchill....after spending quite a few years living in the South, when January rolls around in the Northern Catskills...that´s the time when I miss Southern winters the most !!

she like my own grandmoter had grown up living in a house that had dirt floors and no inside plumbing.......she said to us all often we had no idea what hard times were!!

oh what a veiw she had from her house it was breath taking......I have learned a bunch from older people that live in the mountains in colorado and new mexico

~ 14279, that Ol´Gal sounds like one tough Bird... ~ Here´s to that tough Pioneer SPirit....that´s what ultimately is going to get us through in the times ahead, oh yeah !....

nope that was the temp and don´t know what it was with the wind.....I just know it was a bad bad cold that 2 days.....it isn´t always that cold but a nasty storm blew in right before I got there.....you had to cover your face and it was very hard to breath BIG time outside......it really hurt to breath being that high up and with that dang cold I thought I might die just going to my car ha !

heck it has got down to -40 and even -60 some times in north lower colorado......before.....it was like 5-8 years ago I think and man pipes were bustin everywhere that winter.....I saved mine by shutting the water main off and draining the whole house.....I even emptied one toilet tank as it sat against a outside wall and we had so many long power failures up here that time......I was one of the only ones to get my car started.....I had used a oil dipstick electric heater and to flood lights and a radator heater.....Plus I took the battery out and kept it in the house.....it was so painful just installing the battery in the wind and cold......It took a few trips in and back out to gether done....it reminded me of the visit to leadville fer sure

~ Yeah, Winter sure can be painful...but I think it gives us stronger character when we find ways to deal with it.... Not to mention, makes us REALLY appreciate the Spring when it rolls around again ...!! ...My biggest concern is driving on the icy Mountain roads.... I dress warmly enough and keep my face covered so I can make it to the car without crying !

all it takes is a nasty cold front to roll down from montana or canada and look out big time.....

I am thinking we all maybe in for a nasty winter this year.....I am saving cardboard boxes every trip to town.......they make good firestarter along with newspaper.....plus you can always use it to cover windows if things get real bad......

ha! I wish I had a old railroad car to store my fire wood in......she did that also to stop it from gettin burnt up if a fire came along in the warmer months........and she said it was a safe place to hide if a bear ever broke in or a bad fire came through.....she had a couple shot guns but she said she never shot one.........bear that is........she only would scre them if she thought they were getting to brave...she also kept her trash in the railroad car......and would burn what she could but sved the other for her garden pots in the short summer....it is cold up there even in the summer.......burrrrrrrr

It would require one unit per 100 square feet.

A 1500 s.f. home would require 15 units at approx $100 each.

The cost per day based upon this premise at .03/hour is 10.80 plus tax and fees

thats a whopping 308.00 per month.


I think they are useful only as a remote heater or supplement to a "cold" room such as a bathroom

well i learned to run snow tires with steel studs on all four tires from the police and medical people years ago.....I have a full set for spring summer without the studs.....I don´t have 4x4 and often see so many turned over every winter.....I tell them all four power tires still sping if you don´t get traction on them curves so slow the hell up!!

I also bought one of them remote starters so now in my older age I just point down the mountain from my living room and the old car starts up with the defrost running......saves me from going all the way down and up twice.....I can also set it to start it´s self at temps. that might get to cold for starting......it cost me $50 at Sam´s club but $200 to have them install it.....no one steal the car as it turns off if they touch the break to put it in drive and no key is in so they are not going anywhere.....I love that sucker....never have to scrape ice and always get into a nice warm car.....plus you can se it to run for as long as 20 minutes before it shuts back off on it´s own......I think it was bulldog company.......I wish I had bought it the first time I saw it

Everyone has great tips for heating your home on the cheap.

You can tape emergency blankets to the walls and windows(at night) to keep in the heat and reflect it, I would do this in a main room or bedroom. It may look space age but it will work great to keep your room warm with the heating you decide. Even if power goes out, candles with the emergency covered walls will retain the heat. keep flames away from E-Blankets.

You can buy them at dollar stores or anywhere retailers sell camping equipement.

well I guess you didn´t read what a lot of the people said on that site or amazon site about the econheater......you can buy then for 79.99 and also buy controls that use timer or temp....you don´t have to run that many as 15 for a 1500 sq foot house.....and I sure would not......I will just see how it heats my elderly Maaaaa´s 15x25 room and go fom there.....if it is cheaper than the furnace and baseboard heaters I am ahead of the game.

I think you shouldn´t just go selling them short until yu have tried one youself.

I bought two of the electric foot warmer matts last year and I am telling you that was the smartest thing I ever did. Old Maaaaaa was always cold and now she is warm from foot to head. It is sorta the same idea as these econheater things.

It only uses 90 watts of power on high and less on low. She can´t take high and I can´t either.

I focued on reports from people in cold areas and

Important, sealing up any home or living space so there is little or no infiltration is asking for big trouble, including but not limited to moisture and dangerous mildew, carbon monoxide buildup(even from a gas kitchen stove or electrical appliances).

Air circulation is important year round.

Just one thing. In the flash presenttion, it states that you run these units for several hours to maintain temp, assuming it wants to be constant. I don´t think this is an instant heat unit. I plan on buying one for my back bathroom, which doesn´t get steady heat, but it´ll probably have to run all winter without a thermostat so I will need one of them too

and they were saying good things like it was better than they thought.....they had doubts as I always have until I try something first hand.......I just wanted to share what I found for someone that stays in one area and can´t afford heating a 15x25 room to 75 for like 187 a month >>>me

They make a smaller one for 69.99 for a bathroom that is like 265 watts i think it was

nuttin works real good when you go below 20 outside or into the -10 -20 except a good old wood burner......well that isn´t correct but you get what I am saying >>it would cost tons of green cash to heat a whole house to 70-75 in real cold temps.

some said they got better results with a celing fan also......so I sure am not telling anyone to go buy 15 or the suckers or I would call you a sucker!

I will report back on how mine work out.....but it is something like a oil heater or other portable heaters for sure......I just like it because it says it is 3 cents to run per hour while most other little heaters are 8 cents or more to run,,,,,plus no major cost to install and you just pulg it in and sue four screws and you can even paint the thing to match your wall.....it only heat up to 165 so I will see and for $80 I can´t see any harm in telling people about it.....it is something new and fun to try I think and cheap to run

You need fresh air and circulation.

You should wear warmer clothes, especially fleece materials like polar fleece sweaters and trousers.

Most important : good socks and hiking shoes.

100% wool socks with cotton socks beneath is the most comfortable combination.

Don´t shave, it´s cheap and comfortable as long as you´re clean.

Don´t sit all day, move at least every 10 minutes for 1 minute.

Store vegetable oil instead of protein when things go wrong, especially sunflower and olive oil.

Together with sugar, salt and water you could live for a year without normal food.

Stock multivitamins to compensate.