Of course you've already had your home heating system tuned up. You've also sealed and insulated your home and have made a commitment to checking your air filter every few weeks.
But still: the chill remains.
You can warm up to a previous Experts in Your Home article: “Save Money & Stay Warm: Home Heating Efficiency Tips,” which focuses on home energy tips. But if you're still feeling chilled, it's time to take matters into your own hands. The only question is, Will you stop at some quick “self-winterizing” tips or call the Experts to make some more permanent changes to your home?
Home Heating Tip: Increase Your Body Heat
Try ratcheting up your internal thermostat in mere minutes by:
- Dressing in several light layers, which holds the advantage of giving you the ability to add more layers or take away some as needed.
- Trading your favorite sandals for a pair of socks. Keeping your extremities warm makes a big difference (and it beats wearing gloves around the house).
- Consuming warm food, such as soup or chili, or spicy food, particularly peppers.
- Applying hot water bottles or (for more fun) putting rice or dried beans in a bottle and heating it up in the microwave.
- Capitalizing on the science of body heat – and not just with a significant other but by pulling the little ones close, too.
Other Home Heating Possibilities: Warm Up to Supplemental Home Heating Options
An electric space heater is an obvious way to keep warm since it projects heat precisely where needed. It’s an especially good option if you have a large home but don’t want to fully heat it overnight. In this case, a space heater can allow you to keep the thermostat turned low throughout your home and use the space heater to heat your bedroom.
But not everyone is a fan of space heaters. Even after following safety tips in a previous Experts’ article – “Electrical Safety Tips When Using Space Heaters” – some people prefer not to take chances with them, especially if they have small children or pets.
For these cold-blooded people, some supplemental home heating options might be the best bet, and Experts in Your Home can help you with each one:
- Electric toe-kick heaters, which might be dismissed by the same people who underestimate the value of a warm pair of socks. Installed in the hollow space under cabinets and vanities, electric toe-kick heaters can be valuable in bathrooms and kitchens, where cold tile is commonplace. To power the heaters, the Experts would have to run a dedicated circuit from your main electrical panel.
- Cove heaters are radiant panels that radiate heat downward. Mounted near the ceiling, the panels are both unobtrusive and remain safely out of the way of little hands (and paws). The panels typically range in length from 34 inches (nearly 3 feet) to 132 inches (11 feet) and are operated by a thermostat. Cove heaters also require a new circuit.
- Radiant ceiling panels are similar to cove heaters in that they heat a space from above. The inch-thick panels hang from the ceiling or from a suspended ceiling grid. They provide “spot heat” where needed, firing up to 150 degrees within five minutes and cooling down just as fast. A smaller panel and thermostat can be wired to an existing circuit, like a light fixture. Larger panels require a separate circuit installation.
- A ceiling fan heater consists of three parts: a light, ceiling fan and space heater. The blades spread the heat evenly over a large area. In the summer, the fan works as a conventional ceiling fan.
Call Our Home Heating Experts
There is more than one way to stay warm while you set your thermostat lower to keep your energy bills in check this winter. Call Experts in Your Home for a home heating consultation and let us help you warm up to the possibilities.
