Making House Heaters Work for You: Some Energy-Saving Tips

House heaters can be powered by different sources of energy: wood fuel, natural gas fuel, electricity, and the sun. Natural fireplaces that make use of logs have been replaced with natural gas to prevent suffocating fumes from getting trapped in the room. With the increasing cost of energy consumptions especially with the increasing prize of electricity and gas, people are finding ways on how to save on both energy and money.

Here are some tips on how to save energy with your house heater.

1. Check if the rooms/house is/are sufficiently insulated.

The house itself should have proper insulation. Check if there are holes and gaps between window and door hinges. If your house has many glass windows, heavy curtains drawn at night can help conserve heat. Leaks between windows and door hinges can easily cool a room by allowing cold air to enter. Holes in walls can also bring the temperature down. Bare, concrete walls are cold and can easily draw out the warmth away from any warm body that comes into contact with it. Carpets, as well as curtains help insulate rooms. Wooden panels or carpeted walls can also help warm the room. These though are costly so if the family cannot afford them, at least make sure that the windows and door hinges do not have gaps, and that the walls do not have holes where air can easily escape the house, or enter the house from the outside.


2. Check the status of your house heater.

Most house heaters are powered by natural gas. Natural gas heaters make use of natural gas, an odorless, tasteless, and colorless gas that is lighter than air. Natural gas heaters have pipelines that go through the wall of the house to find their way into your house’s furnaces. Make sure that the pipes do not have leaks for the family’s safety and to save energy. A simple way to test for leaks is to pour water on the pipes. If there is a leak, bubbles will form. If the pipelines are old and rusted, have them replaces. Also, check if your furnaces are also in order: the vents should not be blocked to allow fumes to escape from the room. Consider annual maintenance check-ups if you want to avoid expensive repairs and replacements.

If your house heater makes used of electricity, make sure that the wirings are not worn o. Look for signs of rusting and other physical damage. Clean the heater regularly like twice a year to make sure that every thing is in order. If the house heater has been working beyond the prescribed number of years, consider changing the unit. Older heaters eventually become less-efficient with wear and tear.

3. Consider newer model/units of house heaters.

There are more energy-saving house heater equipments, whether solar or electricity powered, available in the market. Consider buying one to replace an old existing home heating system. These heaters have been engineered to give maximum performance with the least energy consumption possible relative to their forerunners.

The following are some of the energy-saving house heaters in the market today.

a. Electrical-powered

Electrical-powered house heaters provide the advantage of safety (relatively safer than natural gas and wood fuel), cleanliness (no bad fumes and debris from burning), and versatility (can be programmed to adjust the temperature and the length of time it will be used), and flexibility (portable) over other house heaters. Moreover, no pipelines are required thus, easy installation.

Electrical house heaters may come in the form of a portable unit (e.g. Air King 8540 Ceramic Oscillating Space Heater) similar to a portable air-conditioning unit like the. They can also be in the form of heat convector panels (e.g. Elnur Panel by Elnur), and electric thermal radiators.

b. Solar-powered

Engineers and consumers are gradually looking into harnessing the energy from the sun to run appliances, warm water, and warm the house. Solar-collecting panels placed on the roof where maximum sunlight is absorbed, makes use of silicon tiles to collect heat from the sun. Solar air heaters (e.g. Ra240 Solarmax Solar Air Heater and Solar Max 240 Solar Space Heating Unit by Cansolair) provide the advantage of being a cleaner source of energy than electricity, more safe since the possibility of fires due to electrical shorting is eliminated and there are no fumes generated unlike natural-gas heaters. Although the initial cash-out is definitely higher than that of electrical and natural-gas heaters, the household is able save up on electricity in the long run thus monthly electrical bills eventually go down.

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