During cold weather, many
folks use eclectic space heaters to keep comfortable. One of the most
frequently asked questions I get is from folks wanting to know how much their
space heater will cost on their electric bill.
Most household electric
space heaters in the
Why is 1,500 Watts the maximum?
A single 1,500-Watt
electric appliance is the most you can use on a single circuit in residential
housing. If you plugged in anything more powerful, you will blow a fuse or pop
a circuit breaker.
In fact, you can only use
two or three plug in electric space heater in a typical house because of the
limited number of circuits. If you use your hair drier or electric fry pan on
the same circuit as an electric space heater, you will knock the power off for
that circuit.
Do not be frustrated by
this. Remember electric circuit over load protection is there to prevent house
fires.
It does not mater if the
heating element is a heating coil, a light bulb, or any other device. Plug in
space heaters are all made to use 1,500 watts or less.
They are all about 100% efficient so efficiency claims
do not matter
Since 1,500 watts is the
power input limit, the heat out put limit is about 5,000 BTU (British Thermal
Units) per hour. All of the different heating elements are about 100%
efficient.
An old fashion light bulb is
only about 90% efficient as a heater. However, after the 10% that is light
energy bounces around through the air it too becomes heat. Fan motors are only
about 80% efficient but the energy wasted is in the form of heat, so it is not wasted
when you want heat.
How do I estimate how much my space heater will
cost to run?
To figure out how much
money your space heater will cost you need to know what you will be paying for
your next kilowatt-hour of electrical power. Not easy because the price is
different for every utility company in
Check your bill. It may
say right on it what your cost of a kilowatt-hour (kWh) is. My home electric
bill gives me very limited information, but it says the electric rate is 6.42
cents per kWh.
That number is not the
whole story. It does not include taxes, the customer charge, distribution
charges or cost recovery charges.
They way to get a good
estimate of your cost per kWh is to divide the total dollar amount of the bill
by the total number of kilowatts that they are charging you for. On my last
bill I was charged $87.47 for 741 kWh used. That divides out to 11.8 cents per
kWh.
Rounding that to 12 cents per
kWh and looking at the chart above it would cost me about 18 cents per hour to run one space heater.
Doesn’t sound too bad for the comfort it gives.
If I used that space
heater 10 hours a day the cost per day would be about $1.80. Most of the time there
are 30 days in a month, so at most
one space heater running 10 hours a day would add $54 to the electric bill. Since
my total bill from just after thanksgiving to just before new years was $87,
you can tell we do not use a space heater very much.
Actually, my wife uses one
for about an hour in the bathroom to boost the temperature while she takes her
shower, but only on very cold mornings. I dare not complain.
The $54 a month is most it
would be. If the thermostat on the space heater is set right and working, it
should not be heating all the time. It should be cycling on and off. It should
heat the room, shut off, and then wait while the room cools, and then heat
again.
It may be on only 60 or
70% of the time. That means the monthly cost might be more like $35. Reducing
the time that you use the heater will reduce the cost.
Folks who live in parts of
the country where the electric prices are higher will pay more. Check the chart
for how much per hour.
Remember this
A $250 electric space
heater rated for 1,500 Watts and a $20 space heater rated for 1,500 Watts both
cost the same on the electric bill and both produce the same amount of heat. One
looks like a piece of furniture and the other looks like a space heater. Choose wisely.
Click here for a free money saving report written by the Energy Boomer titled HOW SAVE MONEY ON YOUR NEXT HEATING BILL
Related Posts:
Are Electric Space Heaters Energy Savers or Money Wasters?
10 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT ELECTRIC SPACE HEATERS
SAVE ENERGY WHEN IT GETS COOL OUTSIDE?
.
