I second the Vornado Heater it is by far the best space heater I have ever used. I have a large bedroom and it heats it up very quickly and is very quite also. As far as saving money, I dont know. But it is a great heater.
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Space heater or electric blanket?
- Thread starter Grim/Don
- Start date
I second the Vornado Heater it is by far the best space heater I have ever used. I have a large bedroom and it heats it up very quickly and is very quite also. As far as saving money, I dont know. But it is a great heater.
- Joined
- Feb 1, 2003
- Messages
- 1,221
Well...My wife picked up an electric blanket for my son (And he went to bed 1 1/2 hours sooner! 
) Only bad thing is, he unplugged it and brought it down to the couch when he got up, and has tried to use it a couple times since...
)
I told him that it he doesn't use it right, I'll confiscate it... (for MY bed!)
To the person who suggested an extension cord... I'd much rather have my electronics plugged into a power strip that has a built in circuit breaker...
Our bedrooms are over the unheated garage, and the doors aren't the best. I've worked on them some, and added glass to double pane the other windows, but it's always going to be colder, until I remodel the garage; which is a project for the far future.
) Only bad thing is, he unplugged it and brought it down to the couch when he got up, and has tried to use it a couple times since...)I told him that it he doesn't use it right, I'll confiscate it... (for MY bed!)
To the person who suggested an extension cord... I'd much rather have my electronics plugged into a power strip that has a built in circuit breaker...
Our bedrooms are over the unheated garage, and the doors aren't the best. I've worked on them some, and added glass to double pane the other windows, but it's always going to be colder, until I remodel the garage; which is a project for the far future.
Install zone valves for your hotwater heating system, there should be a zone valve for each floor or for separate living areas in your home. It will give you control in how you heat. That way you can heat the bedrooms/bathrooms only if you wish. You will save alot of money in the long run as electricity is very expensive in most parts of the country/world.
No, there are no "zone valves". You can sort-of regulate the heat from each radiator by closing or partially closing the incoming hot water line. We are able to totally turn off the heat in unused rooms this way.
The main 3" heating pipes run in a circuit underneath the house. And every radiator in the house, 16 total on all three stories, is tied directly and independantly into this main curcuit.
The main way of saving money is keep the boiler from coming on at all. After the boiler kicks on it takes at least 30 minutes before the radiators give off heat at all, using a ton of natural gas in the process. The pipes themselves hold who-knows-how-many gallons of water (hundreds of gallons*), plus the expansion tank, plus the water in the boiler itself, plus the water in any operating radiators. All of the water in the system must get hot in order to heat even one room.
We did install a programmable computerized thermostat. I don't know if it saved us any money, but it made the house much more comfortable for the same price. It 'learns' over the first four days how long it takes to bring the home up to temperature and adjusts the start time to compensate. It also learns to turn off the heater before the place gets too hot - after the radiators get hot, they continue to give off heat for over an hour and the house used to get severely over-heated using a standard thermostat.
We've also insulated the attic over the third floor this year. The first floor is solid brick walls, but the second floor (bedrooms) is uninsulated wood frame.
-Bob
*probably a chemical engineer could figure that out. ~150' of 3" pipe, plus ~280' of 1-1/2" pipe.
The main 3" heating pipes run in a circuit underneath the house. And every radiator in the house, 16 total on all three stories, is tied directly and independantly into this main curcuit.
The main way of saving money is keep the boiler from coming on at all. After the boiler kicks on it takes at least 30 minutes before the radiators give off heat at all, using a ton of natural gas in the process. The pipes themselves hold who-knows-how-many gallons of water (hundreds of gallons*), plus the expansion tank, plus the water in the boiler itself, plus the water in any operating radiators. All of the water in the system must get hot in order to heat even one room.
We did install a programmable computerized thermostat. I don't know if it saved us any money, but it made the house much more comfortable for the same price. It 'learns' over the first four days how long it takes to bring the home up to temperature and adjusts the start time to compensate. It also learns to turn off the heater before the place gets too hot - after the radiators get hot, they continue to give off heat for over an hour and the house used to get severely over-heated using a standard thermostat.
We've also insulated the attic over the third floor this year. The first floor is solid brick walls, but the second floor (bedrooms) is uninsulated wood frame.
-Bob
*probably a chemical engineer could figure that out. ~150' of 3" pipe, plus ~280' of 1-1/2" pipe.
- Joined
- Mar 14, 2006
- Messages
- 509
First of all, you can do lots of things to make a single room warmer, make sure that the room is getting the heat it is supposed to be getting by making sure the flow of heat, being forced air, hot water, or what ever, it going to that room, sometimes just making simple damper adjustments can make a huge difference. Reducing the amount of heat going up is the big thing, Make sure his attic is still insulated, we had a home that never kept the MBR warm, turned out the cable guy had pushed all the insulation way over to find the wall for dropping down his cable lines. We just pushed the insulation back, and the room warmed right up. Drafts are another big deal and often easy to fix, one poorly sealed electrical outlet on a cold wall can cost up to a buck a day or more in lost heat.
If the heat is not getting to the room and you have a boiler, consider adding a zone valve or a second thermostat and controller which allows you to literally pump more heat into just that room.
Other things to remember are either keeping doors open or shut, if his room is colder with the door shut, let him fall asleep with the door shut then open it for more heat circulation later.
Hold old the child is also matters, I would not add any supplementary heater to any childs room who is not old enough to understand about fire risks, a tee shirt thrown carelessly across a heater may start a fire.
My mother in law had great results with adding a heated mattress pad, that way the heat came up to her, not her waiting for heat to radiate down. She had it on a timer, it would come on about a half hour before her bed time and go off about an hour later, her bed would be warm, she was comfy, and by the time it went off, she was asleep and her body heat was enough to keep the covers and her warm.
If you can manage it, there are usually low cost "energy Audits" that are performed by your local utility. often they even supply a lot of the materials that fix the problems for free or reduced cost. Ours gives a few month discount on your power and heat bill if you take it and follow up on the recommendations. I got 30 compact flourescents, a case of caulking, some new ideas on damper settings and a water heater insulation blanket and some other things for free.
If the heat is not getting to the room and you have a boiler, consider adding a zone valve or a second thermostat and controller which allows you to literally pump more heat into just that room.
Other things to remember are either keeping doors open or shut, if his room is colder with the door shut, let him fall asleep with the door shut then open it for more heat circulation later.
Hold old the child is also matters, I would not add any supplementary heater to any childs room who is not old enough to understand about fire risks, a tee shirt thrown carelessly across a heater may start a fire.
My mother in law had great results with adding a heated mattress pad, that way the heat came up to her, not her waiting for heat to radiate down. She had it on a timer, it would come on about a half hour before her bed time and go off about an hour later, her bed would be warm, she was comfy, and by the time it went off, she was asleep and her body heat was enough to keep the covers and her warm.
If you can manage it, there are usually low cost "energy Audits" that are performed by your local utility. often they even supply a lot of the materials that fix the problems for free or reduced cost. Ours gives a few month discount on your power and heat bill if you take it and follow up on the recommendations. I got 30 compact flourescents, a case of caulking, some new ideas on damper settings and a water heater insulation blanket and some other things for free.
- Joined
- Jun 16, 2003
- Messages
- 20,207
You might consider one of the relatively new artificial down quilts. I have seen them at several stores. They insulate very well.
You could use an electric blanket/mattress pad to warm the bed before the child goes to bed, turning it off thereafter. (The kind with removable controls can be "safed.")
The two choices that you mention approach the problem from radically different directions: warming a relatively small space around you vs. warming the entire room. The first should be easier than the second.
You could use an electric blanket/mattress pad to warm the bed before the child goes to bed, turning it off thereafter. (The kind with removable controls can be "safed.")
The two choices that you mention approach the problem from radically different directions: warming a relatively small space around you vs. warming the entire room. The first should be easier than the second.
Bob W. How often do you service the boiler? Periodically check for scale build-up. Scale robs heat from the boiler by preventing conduction of heat between the combustion side through the shell of the boiler to the water side and can greatly, reduce the efficiency and life of your boiler.
The other thing is to check the water in the boiler itself. Periodically drop the system and wash out your boiler and fill it with properly conditioned water. This is a must for proper heat transfer and to prevent scale and rust from damaging the piping and boiler. Scale and rust will do horrors to a boiler system and greatly reduce efficiency even more.
Check your circulating pumps too. Over time impellers do wear and while the pump does run and may sound good it may not be doing a good job at circulating the water, thus creating cold room issues as well.
I hope this is of help, as there really is no mystery as to how these systems work, and when a hotwater heating system is set up well there is no other heating system that can compare when it comes to comfort and fuel efficiency.:thumbup:
The other thing is to check the water in the boiler itself. Periodically drop the system and wash out your boiler and fill it with properly conditioned water. This is a must for proper heat transfer and to prevent scale and rust from damaging the piping and boiler. Scale and rust will do horrors to a boiler system and greatly reduce efficiency even more.
Check your circulating pumps too. Over time impellers do wear and while the pump does run and may sound good it may not be doing a good job at circulating the water, thus creating cold room issues as well.
I hope this is of help, as there really is no mystery as to how these systems work, and when a hotwater heating system is set up well there is no other heating system that can compare when it comes to comfort and fuel efficiency.:thumbup:
Thanks for the heater tips. The boiler was installed in 1987 when the coal-burning boiler was removed. Interestingly, even that wasn't the original heat system in the house. When the house was first built in 1904 the heat came from two or more floor-standing coal or wood stoves. Our neighbors, and many people around here, still have coal-burning boilers.
The worst system I've seen set up, an ancient coal burning boiler that had been retro-fit for gas.
We have the boiler inspected occationally. Interestingly, when I asked about upgrading to a more efficient boiler, I was told that the new ones aren't much more efficient and that upgrading wouldn't be worth it.
The real problem is that the second story isn't insulated, so the bedrooms cool off very quickly at night. Wife and I don't use a heater in our own bedroom, but the Boy is only 8 months old and needs his room a bit warmer.
-Bob
The worst system I've seen set up, an ancient coal burning boiler that had been retro-fit for gas.
We have the boiler inspected occationally. Interestingly, when I asked about upgrading to a more efficient boiler, I was told that the new ones aren't much more efficient and that upgrading wouldn't be worth it.
The real problem is that the second story isn't insulated, so the bedrooms cool off very quickly at night. Wife and I don't use a heater in our own bedroom, but the Boy is only 8 months old and needs his room a bit warmer.
I don't know about efficiency, but it is the nicest heat system I've ever used. Steam radiators are the worse, and I'll never go back to hot blowing air either.
-Bob