Cheap heat ideas | |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 78035445 United States 10/04/2019 09:54 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | I use a 99.9% efficient radiant gas space heater (wall mount). They can be used with propane also, manual or thermostat control. They also have built-in CO shutdown. Have one in the basement that handles most of the house, one other for backup on really cold periods. Gas bill went down, and of course electric is way down since I no longer use the gfa central furnace. Stay away from Kozy World brand, they don't last a year and the company doesn't honor their warranty. Brands I have are ProCom and Glo-Warm. .. and the new Kozy World in it's box, for parts I guess. My house has never been warmer, or the bills lower. Yeah, I did wood too, but no more. Gas is cheaper for me, all things considered. |
boo radley User ID: 73300687 United States 10/04/2019 10:14 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | I'll share my little success with helping the upper level stay cozy in the last house i lived in. In the unfinished cinder block basement, i installed a simple plastic petition system to funnel the woodstove heat up the stairs. I used 2x2s as top bottom plates, and wedged 2x2 studs to hold in place. An occasional screw here and there. Put zippers on any needed doorway. (The zippers stick on the plastic sheeting, then you just cut the plastic. ) staple the plastic on. It worked very well, didn't need to be perfect, just create a barrier to direct the heat. This keeps the basement walls from soaking up the heat. I was surprised how well it worked. |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 77903846 Canada 10/04/2019 10:18 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | You need to install a vent direct to the outside that feeds the fire burn chamber with air. That way it doesn't pull cold air through your air leaks at windows and doors in your house. It will draw air directly from outside to fuel the burning process, keeping the warm air in your house and not causing a negative pressure that pulls cold air in. |
Vision Thing User ID: 78040932 United States 10/04/2019 10:33 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | I like this company and their product Wall Mounted Panel Heaters - MADE IN USA [link to www.eheat.com (secure)] I had a couple of them years ago and I liked them much better than the baseboard heat. Since then the company has improved the design many times over. In the future when I move I would consider these heaters for a main source of heat or supplementary heat. Edit: I found out about that company here on GLP ages ago. Also if you sign up for their promotional emails they run deep discounts sometimes especially in the off season. Last Edited by Vision Thing on 10/04/2019 10:35 AM |
Icey User ID: 77119763 United States 10/04/2019 11:16 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 75332091 Canada 10/04/2019 11:19 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | |
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Anonymous Coward User ID: 78044546 United States 10/04/2019 11:31 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | I installed three mini split heat pump units in our house so far that we have been remodeling for a few years built in 1950, we have a electric furnace that is ducted through part of the house that we don't use. I'm a firm believer in the mini split units, you have zone control and they are inverter driven.....they ramp up and down when needed. Very cost efficient and good down to single digits, after that turn on your other furnace or grab another blanket. |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 49476008 Canada 10/04/2019 11:32 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | |
7kq201 User ID: 74633081 United States 10/04/2019 11:32 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Move south. Once upon a time, there lived a magnificent race of animals that dominated the world through age after age. They ran, they swam, and they fought and they flew, until suddenly, quite recently, they disappeared. Nature just gave up and started again. We weren't even apes then. We were just these smart little rodents hiding in the rocks. And when we go, nature will start again. With the bees, probably. Nature knows when to give up. The radical left religion of climate change advocacy is rotting your brain, but that's what happens when one is intellectually inbred. Your ass has been pumped more than the Saudi oil fields! Trump is a giant wake up call to all those idiots who has been told they are special and has been raised in a childhood full of participation medals. Beware of anyone who says they can predict earth's future climate. You must have a circumcision scar on your neck. Everyone dies alone. But if you meant something to someone, if you helped someone, or loved someone. If even a single person remembers you, Then maybe you never really die. And maybe, this isnt the end at all. The climate change cult is so important to socialist politicians, and so protected by the media, that it survived the massive Climategate scandal, which featured the publication of emails that demonstrated climate scientists were conspiring to suppress inconvenient data. Leftism is low hanging fruit for political idiots. |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 78054253 United States 10/04/2019 11:53 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 25500044 United States 10/04/2019 12:19 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Supposedly candles under terra cotta planters offers heat in smaller spaces. Dogs and cats sleeping next to you or person. I will turn on an oven and open it for about a half hour to heat a small place. Living in Florida, its harder to find ways to cool down but occasionally it gets cold and no space heaters to be found. |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 78035445 United States 10/04/2019 12:33 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Infrared is the term I should've used, not radiant. Personally, I wouldn't use the "blue flame" type, I think you get more heat from the infrared. See if this link works, an example of the type, but I know nothing about this particular brand: [link to www.google.com (secure)] They come in single burner, 3, or 5 burner. Wall mount or legs to stand on the floor. Some can have a blower attached. Manual or thermostat controlled. Propane or nat gas. I think mine are something like 66,000 btu each, five burners. The one in the basement will heat the whole house until temps drop into single digits. My floors are always nice and warm, the bathroom is toasty, and the water heater doesn't have to work as hard. |
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Anonymous Coward (OP) User ID: 49557904 United States 10/05/2019 09:53 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | I installed three mini split heat pump units in our house so far that we have been remodeling for a few years built in 1950, we have a electric furnace that is ducted through part of the house that we don't use. Quoting: Elect-Trick I'm a firm believer in the mini split units, you have zone control and they are inverter driven.....they ramp up and down when needed. Very cost efficient and good down to single digits, after that turn on your other furnace or grab another blanket. Good stuff looking into it |
Red John User ID: 63495242 Canada 10/05/2019 10:31 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 78002311 United States 10/05/2019 10:52 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Heat the one room that you spend 90+% of your time in with a gas unvented wall heater or electric heater attached to an off-grid solar system(or both.) Either use a central system to maintain everything above freezing only, or turn it off completely. Have insulated exterior doors between every room so that you keep the heat where you want it. Unless you have a family, heating the entire house is just stupid. Wood heat works when it gets really cold and you have free wood on the property. |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 77642378 United States 10/05/2019 12:20 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Had wood for years. Someone showed me the stove takes more heat away from the farther reaches by pulling cold in. Also they absorb heat and send up chimney when not fired. I am using oil filled electric backed by propane. Ideas? Quoting: Anonymous Coward 49557904 These are best things in the world, bar none. Not necessarily cheap up front to install, but by far the most efficient way to burn fuel for heat. [link to www.tulikivi.com (secure)] 1. Soapstone absorbs the heat and SLOWLY radiates it back out. 2. Provides and even, gentle heat. Doesn’t go from sweltering to ice cold. 3. Safe for the little ones. A baby can put their hand right on the soapstone, and there will be no burns or blisters. 4. COMPLETE combustion, every time. Even if you are using a shitty pine log, the only thing you will find afterwards are clean, white ashes. 5. Water filled units do all of the above on steroids...8 hours of fire will and they will continue to heat for 48 hours. I’ve got a friend In Michigan’s UP...he put one of these in his basement and now gets 2 YEARS out of his propane tank instead of 4 months. He keeps the thermostat set to a balmy 72 and even in the most bitter winter conditions that the Northwoods has to offer of 20 below air temps his forced air furnace will only kick on from about 3:30am to 5am tops working more as a backup than anything else. That being said...the home is of a newer construction in the last 10 years or so, and about an 1800sqft ranch... but he does have an exposed basement too which results in more heat loss than one completely below grade. He also took a jigsaw and cut out 4 additional “dummy” heat vents in the floor of his main level. Meaning that there is no ductwork/fans/etc...but just 4 additional good sized holes around the walls and his kitchen island for the heat to naturally rise through. It should go without saying...but individual results would vary based on the home. He probably wouldn’t have quite such incredible results in a 100 year old home, nor in one that was 4,500sqft. It’s the way to go, if you can swing it. |
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Vision Thing User ID: 78040932 United States 10/05/2019 04:53 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | |
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Anonymous Coward User ID: 78002311 United States 10/05/2019 05:56 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Cut construction foam to friction fit into window frames. Make sure it's at least 2" thick. Put it in all the window openings unless a window works to gain solar heat - then just do it at night. Windows are the biggest heat loss per square foot. I've removed all the unnecessary windows in my house. |