Using oil filled heat as auxiliary heat for electric furnace.

threehill

I have a 700sqft house with an electric furnace. Every room has a register except the entrance. I figured if I heat that room that the heating should be more efficient (there is no door between the entrance and the rest of the house). I bought an oil filled radiator heater and It seems that the furnace doesnt turn on quiet as much but I'm not sure. My question is what will save me on my power bill, should I keep the oil heater on full heat or just enough to keep that room hot or is the oil heater going to just make the bill go up? The oil heater has a light so you can tell when the element is on and when its turned up halfway it cycles on and off. On full heat the light is always on.

motoguy128

Directly, there’s no difference in efficiency. However Radiant electric will make a room feel warmer at a lower temp so that will save you energy. Also, if the ductwork for the electric furnace has any leaks, you are wasting heat.

Overall the best way to save energy is a heat pump if you currently have a central air unit.

pecmsg

700 Sq Ft get a small mini split for primary heat. 

Jamie Hall

It is important to note that the oil heater will use almost exactly the same amount of energy for a given amount of heat output as the electric furnace will -- so it's a matter of comfort.

EBEBRATT-Ed

Using the oil filled heater is fine. Just make sure it's plugged into an outlet that is properly wired and you are not overloading a circuit

bburd

And feel the heater’s plug every now and then when it’s been running for a while. Warm is OK; hot is not.

To safely power a heavy load like a heater, the receptacle must tightly grip the prongs of the plug. If it doesn’t, replace the receptacle.

If you notice excess heat where the cord enters the plug, replace the plug with a 15 amp industrial grade one. 

I have seen plastic electric heater plugs melt from excessive heat due to a poor connection.

Steamhead

bburd said:

And feel the heater’s plug every now and then when it’s been running for a while. Warm is OK; hot is not.

To safely power a heavy load like a heater, the receptacle must tightly grip the prongs of the plug. If it doesn’t, replace the receptacle.

If you notice excess heat where the cord enters the plug, replace the plug with a 15 amp industrial grade one. 

I have seen plastic electric heater plugs melt from excessive heat due to a poor connection.

THIS!

I cut one of those plugs apart once to see what was inside- the wires are just crimped to the prongs. No solder, nothing to keep them from working loose over time and overheating. Can't believe they passed UL.

JUGHNE

Anyone inquiring about using electric space heaters, I advise them to use the lower heat setting, maybe 750 watts, then set the tstat so the unit cycles on and off.
But on high, bells to the wall, the cord and outlet (which are in free air) will usually overheat. So just imagine wire and outlet connections, inside the wall, buried in insulation.
These are all economical "import" materials made out of a special material called "Chinesium", a new element I learned of by watching Utubes.

Jamie Hall

Quite true. If the assembly passed the UL or CSA inspection, the wires and plug -- if really in free air -- will get hot on full power. They won't get hot enough to be damaged or melt, at least not in any short time frame. Note that that is in free air. They must not be under anything at all, nor placed where anything (such as it might be a coat) can interfere with air flowing around them -- including the plug.

There is another consideration: what is the wiring in the wall going to the plug? These things are designed to draw less than 15 amps at full power. Just less, if they are rated at 1500 watts. 14 gauge wall wiring will handle that, but that's it -- nothing more. Be certain that either the circuit which they are on is wired with 12 gauge or, if it is 14 gauge (many older installations are) that the circuit breaker or fuse is rated for 15 amps and no more.