Re: Space heaters v/s whole house

Sewmaster <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message news:<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>...

> Natural gas has doubled, then doubled again here.
> Electricity, in the form of several space heaters, 
> is how we are heating half our house.  The bill went
> up, yes, but not as bad as the natural gas.

I've been heating my house pretty much the same way for the last five
years; using the gas wall-mounted forced air heater with a fancy
digital thermostat that really cut the heating cost in half, and
boosting that up with a fake-o natural gas converted fireplace in the
living room. I was absoultely shocked to see that this year my gas
bill more than doubled for heating the house for the winter, driving
our energy bill into the $175 range, which is totally unacceptable. So
I called for cutbacks, and the SO got lightly miffed when I blamed the
gas fireplace, and said we needed to stop using it. I figure that the
forced air wall mounted unit was more efficient, as it isn't just a
bunch of flames burning endlessly. It goes through a cycle, and forces
air through a heated chamber, where I see the gas fireplace as mostly
sending the heat up the chimney. It is almost more for decoration than
for heat.

Not being cold-hearted (pun intended) I have been looking into ways of
keeping the house a little cozy, but without wasting so much energy.
So we have started closing off the bedrooms we don't use much, and
that forces the heated air into the areas that we use more. But it
still doesn't heat the living room well, unless we crank up the wall
heater for a good hour or two.

So I was wondering if it would make sense to get some kind of heater
for the living room. What would be the most efficient? An electric
heater, one of those jobbies with the ceramic elements? Nick? Others?

Thanx,

Deadend