natural gas vs space heaters price

[ram_man]

I have natural gas heat in my house. Well I ha e been thinking of buying a electric furnace. I turn off my gas during the year since I don't need a heater all year long. Well this year they have lost some of our payments. I'll even write down the confirmation numeet after paying the bill and still be sent a late payment notice. I'll then call and give said confirmation and they'll tell me its invalid.....
So next year I'll have a electric furnace installed but for this year to avoid the hassle I am considering using just space heaters. I have one radiator style and one baseboard style. They both do a good job. But cost wise i spend about 90 per month on natural gas. My house is about 1200 square feet So I wonder if using those electric heaters would work or save money or at least be the same as gas. That way I can avoid the hassle of the gas company. What do you guys think anyone thought about this at all?

 

[JustinH]

Gas is going to way cheaper to heat a house than electric space heaters.

How old is your furnace and is it correctly sized for your square footage?

 

[Quattro Pete]

Are you planning to heat the entire house with these space heaters? If so, you will need a lot of them, and you'll end up paying more for electricity than you had been paying for gas.

Now, if you only plan on heating one closed off room with one space heater and leaving the rest of the house cold, then yeah, maybe, just maybe you'll save money.

 

[hattaresguy]

Electric is about the most expensive kind of heat you can use.

 

[ram_man]

It's 13 but in good shape and yes it proper size. I also don't care for natural gas with the whole boom factor

 

[ram_man]

These are the bigger space heaters the one claims it can heat an area 700 square feet

 

[Quattro Pete]

How many watts does it say it consumes?

You have to be careful with these so called claims that it can "heat an area x square feet". It depends on a lot of factors... cubic feet of air in the room (depends on ceiling height), quality of insulation, how cold it is outside. It may be able to heat an area, but it may not be able to get it above 60F for example.

If you really insist on space heaters, those oil filled ones seem to be more efficient.

 

[Falken]

I love Forced Air Natural Gas heat. Cheap and efficient.

I had that when I owned a townhouse in Calgary.

Heated up the unit super fast.

Baseboards take FOREVER to heat a house, and it costs a lot of money.

 

[rjundi]

Did you pay with a check to gas company? Very confused how anyone could have problems like this who pays a check to bill sent?

The electric heat you describe is extremely expensive to run typically if you want the same comfort level.

Space heaters are hazards.

 

[JHZR2]

This sounds like a house fire waiting to happen. Space heaters? Yikes. At least electric baseboard has a chance of being professionally done to code, I'm not sure that even if UL listed. This situation will be real safe...

And far more expensive...

Obviously something's not right, and I guessing user error. Our utility has never once lost a payment.

 

[Wolf359]

Electric space heaters are considered a fire hazard, but I don't think natural gas space heaters are considered one although they aren't ideal. The real question is how much do you pay for electricity. I think those space heaters are about 75% efficient and natural gas is really cheap these days. Normally you have to burn 2-3x natural gas to make electricity which is why heating with electricity is usually more than natural gas, but in some areas with cheap electric rates from hydro or nuclear, it might make sense.

 

[NO2]

Look at a heat pump instead to replace your furnace and A/C. They are very efficient and will work well in your climate (but not in colder ones). You can supplement with a few space heaters and/or wood for the very coldest days.

 

[Brybo86]

Can you pay online or electronically? They get the payment either same day or next business day.. call your bank and check into it.... no way for them to "lose" it then.

 

[mtndew_dad]

What do you mean by: "I also don't care for natural gas with the whole boom factor"?

 

[MNgopher]

The answer here is easy. Natural gas is going to be cheaper than using space heaters period.

In addition, you state you don't like the whole "boom" factor with natural gas. Heating a whole home with space heaters sounds like a great way to overload the electrical system in your home, let alone having multiple potential fire hazards distributed throughout the home.

(I am not saying space heaters are bad - but they are not intended to be long term, primary heat sources).

Not even going to comment on the issues with your bills.

 

[strongt]

Natural gas is the cheapest and the only way to go. Only switch to electric if you like to drain your bank account.

 

[djb]

Electric space heaters are all 100% efficient.

No matter what type.

The only difference is where they put the heat. A specific heater might be able to keep you feeling warm without heating the room as much. A radiant heater can do this, but there will be heat "shadows". Heaters with fans are smaller and put the heat in a specific area, such as at your feet, but are noisy and may result in a cold-feeling draft elsewhere.

 

[ram_man]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
This sounds like a house fire waiting to happen. Space heaters? Yikes. At least electric baseboard has a chance of being professionally done to code, I'm not sure that even if UL listed. This situation will be real safe...

And far more expensive...

Obviously something's not right, and I guessing user error. Our utility has never once lost a payment.



Its not just me there has been numerous issues with them from other people as well. We call every month and use our debit card the money comes out of our acct but sometimes they lose it and sometimes they dont. Others have had the same thing happen. They even sent out letteradmitting they had an issue but refuse to reimburse everyone . Some people got all some people got some and some people received none of their money back. I got some and still owe them some. I even have bank statements showing it was taken from my acct by them. But they don't care.

 

[JHZR2]

Sorry, highly doubt this is the case from a regulated utility. But if you say so...

 

[Kuato]

Agree with above that electric will cost you. A LOT.

My question is...how are you paying...check in the mail, online, by phone? Maybe a different method would work better....cancelled check would save the trouble of lost payments.