Our Experiment: Did Using a Space Heater Instead of the Gas Furnace Lower Heat Costs?

When it comes to saving money, I think it's worth trying something different at least once. It is by experimenting that we discover if "house brand" foods are is as good as "name brands, if driving 55 mph instead of 65 mph really does improve our gas mileage, and if using a space heater is more efficient that using a gas furnace.

if you are trying to get a handle on your high winter heat bills, a space heater can help when used wisely. Here's how our experiment in lowering our winter heating bill panned out.

1. Cranking back the furnace really does save money. Most of us keep our homes at a balmy 72 degrees when everyone is around, and crank back the furnace to 65-68 at night. According to my natural gas carrier, for every degree we lower the thermostat, the bill is lowered by 3%. By turning back the thermostat by 8 degrees, our gas bill ~ in theory ~ should drop by 24% (multiple 8 x 3%). On a $200 a month gas bill, this would lower the bill by $50.

What happened in our home? I pushed the thermostat down to 55 degrees, only raising it to 65-68 between the hours of 4pm and 10pm and on the weekend. Our consumption dropped by a whopping 50% when compared to last years average. Wow.

2. The cost of running a space heater. Of course, a home set at 55 day & night and 65 evenings is a little too chilly by anyone's standard even when dressed in extra sweaters. To keep my office warm, I used a 120V oil filled radiator type of space heater during my working hours. And the few times that the family room seemed too cold for TV viewing (especially when having guests over), we rolled the radiator into the room to warm things up.

How did our power change? It went up about $20 for the month which isn't much when compared to the $100 savings we saw on the gas bill. Wow again.

The conclusions to be drawn from our energy experiment is that turning down the furnace and using a small space heater only in the room we're using can save some serious money. According to Mr. Electricity (at michaelbluejay.com) an average family can expect to save up to $1023 in winter heating costs using this simple heating strategy.