One often comes across difficult situations in day-to-day life and gets prompted to look for different solutions to that, as in our case of domestic heating expenses that ran abnormally high. Five years ago we bought an old farmhouse and wondered how the previous owner managed to take care of his heating needs. During the first winter that we lived there, we had to spend an unbelievably seven times the amount of fuel for keeping ourselves warm. Though oil was not as expensive so many years ago, we had to bear quite a big expense.
In our attempt to reduce heating expenses we took quite a few measures. First we installed replacement windows on all the windows of the home, followed by improved insulation of all the doors and insulated the basement too. Finally we insulated the four external walls that we had redesigned. All these proved to be steps in the right direction and our expense dropped to five times from seven.
This September we realized how shockingly high the prices of oils had gone up. So, we took the next step for cutting on heating expenses by keeping the thermostat low, till we could find other economically efficient means of keeping ourselves warm. We considered pellet stoves and wood stoves, but soon discarded the idea because of the labor costs involved therein. We also realized that we would be incurring expense on buying fuel to burn, though cheaper than heating oil, it would be an inconvenience. Over and above all this, our priority was to have some device that would be safe for our four-year-old son and our Labrador.
Electric chimneys also caught our attention for a while and they appeared slightly better till we found that they were not as efficient for their cost and size. We found them quite large and their installation too seemed quite an effort. Economically speaking they didn’t make a viable proposition. The other alternative was to use small portable ceramic or convection heaters. Having already used them, we were reminded of their becoming too hot to touch and we didn’t consider it worth taking chance with a child and a pet around. Moreover we had experienced that such heaters caused the air to dry and were really better suited for smaller areas.
Finally, we were introduced to infrared heaters, and to be honest its features intrigued us. We understood it never becomes hot to touch. Further, it did not burn any oxygen, thus maintaining humidity at comfortable levels and saves the users from the affects of dry air. EdenPURE is one of the leading brands of infrared heaters. Apart from being economical, they are comfortable and safe to use. The three factors that govern its design are comfort, economy and safety.
This heater uses electricity to produce infrared heat, the safest form of heat as does not heat the surface of the heater in the process. Moreover, this technology uses less energy to produce a given amount of heat. That makes it very affordable, compared to other forms of producing heat. It is learnt that even if such a heater is left on the whole day, it costs less than two dollars a day, though one may not require its working for so long. We bought one that heats up to a thousand square feet. Its action is fast as it heats within about five minutes after being turned on. My son, who usually develops problems of sinus and nosebleed during dry winter months, had no such complaints. Ever since we bought this heater, our electricity bill has dropped by about $0.30per day, with our oven thermostat set to 60o now.
Another helpful feature of this heater is its size that offers easy portability. Weighing less than thirty pounds, it moves on castors and is so convenient to shift from one room to another. Its operation is noiseless and you won’t hear it working. It comes with a plastic exterior in black with a wooden façade. You may not even notice its being in the room. We have the heater COMFORTzone 1500P, which can be accessed here. Taking into consideration its present working, it should pay for itself in one season only, and perhaps next winter we can have one more for our smaller room. Infrared heaters really make a safe and effective proposition as a supplementary heating system for your home at very affordable price.
