Do Space Heaters Save Money and Energy?

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Brrr! It’s been unusually cold in the Bay Area: I had to scrape actual ice off my car last week. (Isn’t that why I left the East Coast in the first place?) We’ve been cranking the space heaters all night at my house, lest we turn into icicles in our sleep. Since our central heat isn’t very efficient (it is itself kind of a giant space heater), I’ve assumed that the room-by-room approach is best. But our power bill soared last month, so I decided to do a little more research.

The short answer is that it depends on how much of your house you’re heating. In general, if you only need one or two rooms to be warm, space heaters will use less energy than central heat. (Unless your central heating happens to be wildly efficient: Geothermal users, I’m looking at you). “But in terms of energy per heat output, small space heaters will rarely ever be as efficient as a central heating system,” says Tom Simchak, a senior policy-research associate at the Alliance to Save Energy. “There would be few situations where putting space heaters in every room and turning them all on would be more efficient than a properly-operating and relatively modern central system.”

If you do opt for a space heater, make sure to get the right kind. If you’re just looking to heat part of a room, choose a radiant heater, which emits infrared radiation that heats up whatever is closest to the unit (i.e., you, your desk, etc.). If you want to heat up the whole room, opt for a convection heater, which warms up the air, suggests the US Department of Energy. Radiant and convection heaters are comparable in price; both can range from about $30 to $130.

Some models use less energy than others; this Eco-Heater, for example, uses only 400 watts, compared with the 1500 watts used by most convection heaters, though its reviews on Home Depot’s website are mixed. Models meant to heat larger spaces often use more energy, so if the room you want to heat is tiny, you could probably get away with one of the less powerful heaters. (Most labels include the heater’s estimated range.) Consumer Search has a straightforward review of various models here.

It’s also worth noting that if your house isn’t well insulated, you’re definitely losing money and wasting energy, no matter what kind of heat you use. The home-energy-savings wizard Michael Bluejay has some great insulation tips here. (Also, some cool miscellaneous heating information, such as why a ceiling fan can actually make a room warmer and how the Japanese heat themselves instead of their rooms.)

Lastly, remember that space heaters can be a fire hazard: According to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, some 25,000 house fires a year are linked to them. So make sure you read the safety instructions carefully before using any space heater. Check out Consumer Reports‘ safety tips here.

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

If you can, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones—that exists to make a difference, not a profit—with a donation of any amount today. We need more donations than normal to come in from this specific blurb to help close our funding gap before it gets any bigger.

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