Good portable heater for really small home?

annieJ · August 26, 2011, 10:42:48 AM

My husband and I are living in very small home, approx. 500 square feet. Our last heater apparently died out over the summer. I'd like to find something that can easily heat the home pretty quickly, but I dont' want anything big and the quieter the better. Any recommendations? Wall heater/baseboard heater doesn't really matter, it can even be a space heater; looks aren't as big to us as function

I've been shopping around online a bit and have been leaning towards a space heater, some like these [URL removed by MD] -- have you tried any of these brands?

What do you use to heat in your small homes? And if any of you can tell me what you generally pay a month, that would help even more.

Thanks

OlJarhead · August 26, 2011, 12:43:42 PM

Quote from: annieJ on August 26, 2011, 10:42:48 AM
My husband and I are living in very small home, approx. 500 square feet. Our last heater apparently died out over the summer. I'd like to find something that can easily heat the home pretty quickly, but I dont' want anything big and the quieter the better. Any recommendations? Wall heater/baseboard heater doesn't really matter, it can even be a space heater; looks aren't as big to us as function I've been shopping around online a bit and have been leaning towards a space heater, some like these [URL removed by MD] -- have you tried any of these brands?

What do you use to heat in your small homes? And if any of you can tell me what you generally pay a month, that would help even more.

Thanks

Small wood stove (Vermont Aspen) is one way. I stay away from electric heaters since they are so inefficient and while I use a Kerosene heater at the cabin to help warm it in the winter when we arrive, I don't much like them either (potentially dangerous and all). I suppose a small heat pump might work but I think you'd have to give more details on your home like location etc.

August 26, 2011, 01:29:57 PM

What are your climate needs for heating vs cooling? What is the insulation level of the building and what are local fuel and electricity costs?

All these factors are needed in order to narrow your search.

NM_Shooter · August 26, 2011, 05:17:22 PM

Hey wait... it depends where you measure efficiency. Electric radiation heaters are darn near 100% efficient.

rick91351 · August 26, 2011, 05:47:18 PM

Quote from: NM_Shooter on August 26, 2011, 05:17:22 PM
Hey wait... it depends where you measure efficiency. Electric radiation heaters are darn near 100% efficient.

Wow Shooter that Electric radiation sounds sort of freaky! This is not the same stuff they are selling in Japan is it?

That is right I am only kidding.....

August 26, 2011, 06:04:19 PM

100% efficiency, or very close to that, as far as the electricity you buy goes. But how does one factor in the cost of burning gas or coal to make heat to make electricity, rather than use the gas for heat directly?

Native_NM · August 26, 2011, 07:23:47 PM

I'd think a wall-mounted, natural gas, direct vent, electronic ignition, would fit the bill perfectly. About 18K BTU or so, depending on your floorplan, location, and construction quality.

NM_Shooter · August 26, 2011, 08:06:26 PM

Quote from: MountainDon on August 26, 2011, 06:04:19 PM
100% efficiency, or very close to that, as far as the electricity you buy goes. But how does one factor in the cost of burning gas or coal to make heat to make electricity, rather than use the gas for heat directly?

I'm not sure. Only because a lot of the heat goes up the exhaust, and it is cheaper to deliver electricity to a house than it is gas or coal. I think if you are getting your electricity from nukes or hydro, you are pretty close to as good as it gets in terms of efficiency. Good thing about wood is that you can always haul your own!

MountainDon · August 27, 2011, 08:11:49 AM

Well, I hate to spoil the party but anniej is what is known as a comment spammer. I had a feeling the original post was spam, but the OP was written in a clever manner and I had to give the benefit of the doubt to anniej. I left the message but deleted the link. Last night I had a closer look.

First, a comment spammer is someone who (a) asks a question or makes a comment in an existing topic, or starts their own new topic, and (b) includes a link to another website that is selling a product or service. Sometimes there is almost no connection between the topic and the question or link; very obvious spam.

The idea is to get that link posted so the Google, Bing, etc. search engine robots can find and index the link. That will supposedly raise the linked to website to a higher place in the results of a search. That's the main reason for the message and link to be posted. If someone visits the website and buys something, that's good for them too. Most of these members never return or if they do it is only to post another link.

This message was better crafted than many.

I could explain how I know for certain that anniej is a comment spammer but that would be foolish to do in a public place. If you are curious, PM or email me. I'll only answer long time active members.

August 28, 2011, 05:24:59 PM

Well crap. I'm always interested in small heater solutions.

MountainDon · August 28, 2011, 07:08:12 PM

considerations · August 29, 2011, 11:41:14 PM

Gads. That is a pretty weird thing to do. She spammed, I'll highjack....thinking about how easy it is to invade on the internet. So many of the new cars have things like On Star or an app you can put on your smart phone to turn the car on and off, lock and unlock the doors, etc.

I found out today that this really means the car has a cell phone number all its own, and this system can and has been hacked. So you could be driving down the highway in your new fancy car, and some hacker turns the engine off...or worse some hacker turns all the engines off. Creepy.

OlJarhead · August 30, 2011, 12:06:47 AM

Quote from: considerations on August 29, 2011, 11:41:14 PM
Gads. That is a pretty weird thing to do. She spammed, I'll highjack....thinking about how easy it is to invade on the internet. So many of the new cars have things like On Star or an app you can put on your smart phone to turn the car on and off, lock and unlock the doors, etc.

I found out today that this really means the car has a cell phone number all its own, and this system can and has been hacked. So you could be driving down the highway in your new fancy car, and some hacker turns the engine off...or worse some hacker turns all the engines off. Creepy.

Yup -- as a geek I DO NOT want any such option on a vehicle of mine but manufacturers are often forced to put things in cars you aren't even aware of....wait until the new 'black boxes' come out!