ATLANTA — It is a cold week for metro Atlanta! Many people are trying to find the best and cheapest way to stay warm through these winter nights and mornings hovering around freezing.
Some people believe you could save a couple of bucks by using a space heater instead of your central heat system.
So, let's verify.
THE QUESTION
Can it be cheaper to heat a room with a space heater?
THE SOURCES
- Justin Berry with Berry Good Heating and Air
- Amanda Arnold with Georgia Power
THE ANSWER
WHAT WE FOUND
Basically, it’s hard to compare apples to oranges – there are a lot of variables – including how big a space you’re trying to warm, electric versus gas furnaces, and how many space heaters you’re using.
So let’s talk about heating just one room – the one you’re in.
"And if you're using space heaters, that's perfectly fine, but only use it in the areas that you're actually in the space that you're in," Amanda Arnold, with Georgia Power, said.
When you narrow it down – we’ve found it’s more cost-effective for you to run the space heater.
When you break it down by square footage, kilowatts and dollars – it costs about $1.74 per day – to run an average space heater for 8 hours.
Space heaters can warm the average bedroom in less than an hour. However, that's just to heat one room.
If you’re running multiple space heaters in different rooms of your house – it gets expensive.
"Your space heater. They cost a lot of money to operate. So you think you're making a savings? You're not," Justin Berry, with Berry Good Heating and Air Berry, said.
To heat your home with an electric central heat system – it’s just under $4 for the whole house per day.
And it’s not just about saving money. Berry laid out a few other reasons not to rely on a space heater
"The main thing is they overheat, they short cycle short out, cause fires also take a step further. You're not heating your whole home, so your pipes, you know, they have a possibility freeze so that really, you know," Berry added.
So we can verify: yes, it can be cheaper to heat one room with a space heater - but if you're heating the whole home, use your central heat.
Helpful links
A few links that can help customers cut down on their energy bills are included below:
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