Submitted by Salty_Kangaroo_4522 t3_10m3qyh in Pennsylvania
I just moved to a home using oil heat, I was wondering if anyone had luck using electric space heaters to keep their oil bill down? I understand electric rates are at historic highs right now so wondering if it will be worth buying a few space heaters?
Yeah, we got new windows and insulation, and now we are paying the same for heating as we did 2 or 3 years ago (plus a tax write off).
But, I have been hearing that an Electric Blanket is a good investment to save money on heating. At least compared to a space heater.
I have an older house using oil heat. Few winters ago was paying $600 a month in oil to keep the pipes from freezing.
Bought two $40 oil filled radiator heaters to use in the 2 rooms I'm in, and a little $20 space heater for the bathroom when I take showers.
I save about $500 a month in the winter now.
Thank you. Sounds like it’s worth a shot then.
I am in a similar situation, but the house costs roughly half that to heat. I also only use two rooms and the bathroom throughout most days, so seems like a waste to heat the rest of the house.
I was worried with electric rates seemingly outpacing oil it would’ve led to a similar price plus the upfront investment for some space heaters.
As long as the temperature doesnt drop to freezing or below, its a total waste. I'm gone all day, so for me to run one space heater in a bathroom for 30 mins, and another in my home office for 4-5 hours an evening, and all weekend have saved me a ton of money.
If the temps drop to below freezing for more than a few hours though, fire up that oil burner, cause paying for oil is WAY better than paying for all new plumbing!
I bought both oil-filled and a standard 3' baseboard type. PPL blew up any savings I was making.
Thanks for sharing, that’s what I was worried about. Had a historically high electric bill running just one small oil filled recently out of state.
Not sure if it is cheaper.
To prevent fire, only buy the kind that shuts off automatically if they fall over and always plug them into the wall, never plug into an extension cord.
Your best option, if you own, is likely a heat pump install with aux heat coil (maybe solar also), financed.
My mil just moved in with us, she’s 88, and we’ve added safe space heaters to her new bedroom and bathroom.
Our electric bill more than doubled. Usually I save money in the winter over the summer cause we have natural gas, but I’ve never had an electric bill this high.
She’s constantly cold, even wearing sweaters and such, so we have to keep it warm for her.
Yes. It helps. We use oil filled radiators at night set on low in the bedrooms., an oil filled radiator in the living room, and a space heater in the bathroom for showers. Then we heat up the house in the morning and afternoon with oil, then turn the heat down, and the space heaters help to maintain the warmth in the house.
The electric bill went to$175 this month , but we only used 1/3 tank of oil.
Wanna burn your house down? Buy a space heater.
Got downvoted but in college my best friend burnt his house down with a space heater
Space heaters, only in individual rooms at night. I set the house to 55 (no real cold spots to worry about), and keep space heaters in the bedrooms.
If you own, by far the best bang for your buck now is an electric heat pump and solar, which has a longer payback period, but I highly doubt we are going to see electric go down at any point, but even a heat pump is a great starting point.
Other then that, wood stoves if you have land, but not my cup of tea.
I think 55 on the oil heat and space heaters where needed sounds perfect. Thanks for sharing.
Yep. Honestly it's probably hit or miss which is cheaper to run all the time right now. If possible, I would do anything I could have changed your heating situation
You're going to pay either way. Electric space heaters are very expensive to run. Keep the heat at 68. Also have the furnace serviced. It needs the fuel filter changed yearly and burner/burner chamber cleaned. A good oil furnace tech can get that thing running in the high 80s for efficiency. Look into HEEHRA. They are offering big incentives for heat pumps this year which are way more efficient than resistive heat space heaters.
Mini splits can make it so you don't need to run a ton of duct work if there isn't any.
Have you tried the oil heat yet? It probably costs me about $1500 per winter with current oil prices to heat my home. I turn it on in October, off in April unless it’s extra chilly. It’s on 68 when I’m home, down to 62 during the day.
The electric will probably cost you more depending on your supplier.
Oil is insane rn tho. When I moved in five years ago it was like in the $1.50 range. This year I think we bought around $4.60? That shit adds up quick, and I always buy bulk in the summer
My last fill last winter was almost $1000 at over $5 per gallon. I got a refill on my partially filled tank a couple months ago and it was $4.25. I’ll probably need one more fill this year, but that will last me into next winter.
I’ve had oil for 4 years. It was $2-something the first year. Winter of covid (2020-21) it was barely over a dollar.
I think the shock of oil is that most people pay per tank, not per month. Divided up monthly, it’s not more expensive than my neighbors who have natural gas heat.
I switched from oil to natural gas about 10 years ago.
Would go through just about 1000 gallons in a year and it cost over $4k to fill up the summer before I switched. It’s costs less than $2k to heat the exact same house with gas.
And that’s after a decade of gas prices going up.
Yup it’s just a different way to pay. I am fortunate of course, but we can afford to buy when the price is at its lowest in mid summer and fill the tanks. This year we screwed up bc we sold the house and I didn’t want to overbuy
Thank you. That’s quite fair, the previous tenant was paying around 310 a month, which scared me but maybe they were heating excessively.
$50 on a programmable thermostat can save you a lot.
Also see if the furnace has been maintained. Getting it cleaned annually helps it burn more efficiently which saves money.
Great tip, just saw PPL is offering a 50 dollar rebate on the Google nest.
If spot heating key areas while they are in use allows you to set-back the whole-house temperature, that can save a good bit. Electric heaters, pellet stoves, etc. can all be used that way.
As others have said, electric heat pumps tend to be much cheaper than oil and there are potential tax incentives or rebates right now that can make them more affordable.
I was going to ask but saw from one of your replies what your living situation looks like. It’s only me and my 2 cats in a half of a double (common in my part of the commonwealth) and I use oil I keep the temp pretty low but use space heaters to keep the chill out. An oil filled radiator style downstairs and a knock off edenpure up in my bedroom. I only really use the upstairs one when I have, um, “company.”
Thank you, a little of both sounds like the way to go.
We got a pellet stove, no chimney (pipe goes through the wall) in 2005, refurbished and installed from a stove store. Came here to say I love it. It nicely heats the living areas and I love how the cat drapes herself over it, the dogs lay in front of it and how nice it is to warm my cold butt!
We burn 2 to 4 tons pellets a year. Prepay $325 a ton for 2 this season, stored free at the store. I refill the oil in the summer, usually 3/4 tank. Cleaned and maintained by a tech yearly, we turn it off and vacuum it once a week (shop vac). Had to replace a couple parts that wore out over the years, not bad.
The forced hot air oil heat thermostat is set at 52. The pellet stove is in the family room and we run it from 5:30 am until 9:30ish pm. We have a Quadri-Fire 1200 and they still make the same unit- no upgrades for fashion.
just an FYI, The High Efficiency Electric Home Rebate Act (HEEHRA) was included in the Inflation Reduction Act that was passed last year and it includes direct rebates for low and moderate income homes for electrification projects for your home. Some of the rebates include heat pump HVAC and weatherization (sealing leaks, insulation, etc., as someone mentioned below).
I don't think full details for the plan/funding are expected until mid to late 2023, but might be worth it to utilize that program if you qualify.
I've been checking this website for info and updates. Hope this helps!
boringreddituserid t1_j60y8b1 wrote
Best bang for the buck is sealing air leaks, then add insulation (assuming it’s not already decently insulated).
As for space heaters, you will save on oil, but your electric bill will skyrocket. Unless you lower your oil heat temperature and use a space heater in the room you are occupying.