Exploring how much electricity space heaters can use, how to calculate how much you will pay for your electricity bill, and the ways you can avoid wasting electricity.
Through chilly winter days, nothing will beat keeping warm in your home with the help of a heating appliance such as a space heater.
Should you be thinking of investing in one, one of the biggest questions you might be asking yourself is whether it will be worth the purchase, as you may be concerned with the amount of electricity it could use. Keeping warm could come at a cost, so determining if a space heater will use a lot of electricity will help in deciding.
Does a space heater use a lot of electricity?
The answer to this question is yes. A space heater can use up a lot of electricity, which is one of the drawbacks to owning one. The key to ensuring that you do not find yourself with hefty costs to your electricity bill is to manage your usage properly.
You can determine the amount of electricity your space heater could potentially use by looking into your mode’s precise wattage. Amounts will be different for each heater appliance and how much you could be using it.
How to figure out how much electricity a space heater will use
When it comes to determining how much electricity a space heater will use, you will need to find out the appliance’s wattage. This information can be found written somewhere on the heater or in the user manual, with detailed instructions and specifications in it.
The wattage will be the amount of electricity that the appliance will need in order to operate the space heater. Most space heaters are said to use 1,500 watts of electricity to function but depending on yours it could be less.
Assuming that your heater does indeed use 1,500 watts of electricity, 1,000 watts is equal to one kilowatt, which means that your heater will use 1.5 kilowatts of electricity.
It is important to note, however, that your electricity bill will not be measured in those kilowatts but in the kilowatts used per the hour, which is the amount of energy consumed while running a one-kilowatt appliance for one hour. The formula to calculate this is not hard.
You should multiply the number of watts stated on your space heater, by the amount of hours you are intending to use it for. In the case that you are thinking of using it for eight hours, your calculation would be; 1,500 x 8 hours = 12,000.
You would then have to divide the number by 1,000 (12,000 / 1,000 = 12), take that amount and multiply it by how much your electric company would charge you.
You can then calculate the electric company rate by the rate you had calculated (12), and this will give you the right answer for how much money you will be spending for the number of hours you intend to use your space heater.
So, how can you conserve electricity when using a space heater?
Just because using a space heater might use up a lot of electricity, this does not mean that there are no ways to reduce the amount of your electricity by not wasting.
There are certain tips to consider to not waste electricity with a space heater and these include, making sure you get the right sized heater for you and your space. Be sure you do not purchase one that is too big for your space.
Look into getting a unit with energy efficient benefits such as a timer, that will make sure to turn off the heater in the case that anyone forgets to do it.
Look for a digital thermostat feature to be able to set the heat to a temperature you prefer so, as to avoid overheating a space and in turn, wasting precious energy.
You can also look into the economy mode feature for your space heater, also referred to as eco mode. Eco mode means that you will be able to set your space heater on two heat settings that will mechanically switch to the lower setting when the thermostat has reached a set temperature.
When the room cools down, the heater will switch itself back on to the higher setting to warm it up again. Wearing warmer sets of clothes can also aid in keeping warm without having to resort to using the space heater.
So, space heaters will most certainly use a lot of electricity, but if you are mindful of ways to reduce usage, you can conserve some.