Space heaters!

QuantumTurk

So, due to my power bill getting redonko huge to move my gas heat around in the apartment, I am thinking of getting a space heater, as I mainly occupy one small room anyway. In the kitchen I am active enough/ the stove is on, and my bed has many blankets. But, what are good ones, how do I get one that is energy efficient enough, how do I make sure it does not burn down my house? I know the obvious stuff like do not put it near hanging drapes etc., but was wondering about things I may not have thought of. It should only be on when I am home, so it being unattended is not really an issue.
So, brands? Personal experiences? Horror stories?

bowen

What's your price range? That don't really make them like they did 10 years ago, they're fairly safe now and I'm assuming you want an electric one.

QuantumTurk

Yes electric, as I will be heating a small room, price range is...I'd like to stay under 100$ and home depot is making that look reasonable, but I have no idea if those are worth the box they are shipped in.

Djeet

If the object is to save money you should also look into wearing warmer clothing. Just wearing socks or fuzzy slippers and a beanie helps a fair amount. Another thing that's helped me run the heat less is installing new weather-stripping, door shoes, and thresholds, so the house is a lot more airtight (my house is rather old though).

The rest is just common sense stuff.

If you do decide to get a space heater placement can influence effectiveness. I noticed my oil heater seemed to be more effective when I placed it between the bed and the window at the foot of the bed (though I've old, thin, single-pane windows). I elected for the oil heater as it was 900 watts (as opposed to 1500+ watt fan/heating element ones, which are basically hair-dryers) and had thermostat and timer functions for auto off/on. I don't really need it running all night, just for a couple hours before I go to sleep and then to come on again maybe an hour before I wake up.

If you've just one room to warm you'll probably want to leave the heater in that room and close the doors if you can.

bowen

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-100520364/h_d2/ProductDisplay?selectedCatgry=SEARCH+ALL&jspStoreDir=hdus&catalogId=10053&navFlow=3&keyword=HM2-15R-32&Ntpc=1&langId=-1&Nu=P_PARENT_ID&storeId=10051&Ntpr=1&ddkey=Search

Try something like that maybe?

Lindsay Lohan

Hit Home Depot and ask a worker there - they'll probably be pretty picked over at this point. We chose between a $39.99 one that looked like an old fashioned radiator on wheels, the one bowen linked to and a $55 little wood fireplace one with a fake fire/logs. It was just for my basement gaming room so I did the fireplace one because I'm cheesy like that. It does a good job though - on 1500watt mode (called "turbo") it heated up my room in about 30 min to feel noticeably warmer than the rest of the basement.

Rye

1) No matter what kind of safety features it has, you still shouldn't be running it when you're not in the room. By that I mean don't leave it on while you go to work or whatever. It should heat up fast and the heat dissipates quickly, so it'll save more energy to not keep it running.

2) Make sure the room can be effectively sealed - a snug fitting door is usually enough.