Heating only 1 room in the winter (fireplaces, insulate, bathroom, kitchen)

[Harpaint]

I've heated several bedrooms with space heaters at night over the years. They all worked. If you turn it on and close the door 1-2 hrs before going to bed, you can turn the thermostat down when you do turn in. Then use the remote if you get cold later. I usually fold the blankets back when I first turn it on so the sheets warm up too. They raise my electric bill about 25/month, but cut back MUCH more on the gas since I turn the furnace down at night.

[jelenap]

We have down comforters and like to keep the bedroom cold at night. When our kid was a baby, we used Vornado heater in his bedroom. It heats up the room very fast, goes on and off automatically and is quiet enough (it has a fan though, so it won't be completely silent). Now I use it in my office when working from home. It heats up the whole room very well because it circulates the air.

But for the bedroom, as others suggested, you might want to invest in warm bedding. Our heat rarely comes on at night and we're in NC too.

[JonahWicky]

An electric blanket or mattress pad will only cost pennies a night to use. It only warms you and the bed so no wasted energy heating the whole room.

[ss20ts]

Originally Posted by JonahWicky

An electric blanket or mattress pad will only cost pennies a night to use. It only warms you and the bed so no wasted energy heating the whole room.

And then what do you do when you get out bed? It's freezing in the room. Changing clothes would be awful. Unless the OP lives in a warm climate, I don't see an electric blanket or down comforter as realistic options.

[turf3]

Interestingly enough, a humidifier (the hot type, not the cold type) will add a surprising amount of heat to the room.

[Coldjensens]

Any of them will work well, they just take a while. Do not get an electric one with resistance wires (like a toaster), they are too dangerous. DO not get an expensive one. None work any better than others. Their power draw is limited by law, so paying $200 will not get you a better heater. Just get a little one.

When I used to have an office in our carriage house, I heated the whole thing with one or two little quartz heaters. It is 18' x 36', so pretty good size. It would take a while (like an hour or two), but once it was warm ir kept it comfortable all day even when it was below 0 and windy. However the carriage house is well insulated (ICYNENE foam). On the other hand the stairwell is open tot he entry room which attaches to the garage and has only fiberglass batt insulation between the entry room and the garage. Since heat rises, the heat did not escape and the carriage house stayed warm. We even let one of the kids sleep out there for a time.

We have tried all kinds of electric heaters from 300 fancy packing and marketing heaters to the cheapest little quartz heater you can find a Home Depot (on sale in the spring for $20 - $30). The all work the same. If someone tries to tell you otherwise, they have been snookered by clever marketing.

One difference with types, i radiated heat is slower, but it heats the walls, floor and furniture rather than the air. If only the air is heated, the heat blows out when you open a door. With radiated heat, the recovery time is much shorter after a door is opened. Also heated air escapes trough chinks in your insulation easier than heated furniture. Because of this, they can be a bit more efficient, but unless you are heating the whole house, you will likely not notice the difference. However figure three to four hours rather than one or two for radiated heat to fully warm up the room.

[johngolf]

I have a Lasko, Walmart # 552104215 ceramic heater. It is tall and rotates back and forth about 120*. Also has a remote control. Works quite well.

[Javacoffee]

Electric heaters cost a lot to operate. Consider an electric blanket instead.

[turf3]

When I was a kid, back when people had sense, we just used natural gas space heaters. Now they are supposedly illegal because I guess too many people didn't have good sense and gassed themselves or set the house on fire. I still have two of them stashed but when I was renting out the house I had all the gas jets disconnected for safety and liability reasons. Every bedroom had a gas jet when I was young.

There's nothing that provides heat like setting something on fire.

[bbtm100912]

Thanks for all the input everybody! When I'm home in the winter I tend to nest in the bedroom because I've got my computer in here and my books and hobbies, so why heat the rest of the house? I'm not made out of money! So anyway, I just ordered a little heater from Amazon. I wish I'd gotten the one with the remote but there were several one-star reviews mentioning the words "burning" and 'sparks' so I think I'll try this $21.00 heater first. Thanks again!!