Or just move south

No WAY the wife would survive 64F temp in the house.......

operating cost: 15 bucks a month for two units.

not bad, but does the gas bill equal at least -16 bucks a month.

I could see that working for you.  I have one of the oil filled electric radiator type heaters in my bedroom, 12x14 with a 10ft ceiling and 2 huge windows.  I turn it on medium 900 watts and set the thermostat to 1 1/2 of 6.  At that setting it not only keeps the room a constant temp but it increases the temp about 2 degress over 6 hours.  If I cranked it up it would probalby run me out of the room.

My MSEE says .
However, it was a state school.

I've heard a couple of people I know endorse these things.

I live in a apartment.  I have yet to turn on heat if cold.

Solution?  Drink and sweats.  Unless it will be below freezing I do not turn on the central unit.

Yes I'm cheap.  I need the rum and ammo money.

warning long post

those are sort of a copy of a european radiant heater design. the idea of how the air flows is correct but, now for the bad part. electric heat per btu is not cheap.  400 watts of heat is 400 watts of heat, electric heat is 100 % efficent, so using several oil type heaters set on low ( about 500 watts ) would put out basicly the same amount of heat as those heaters ( same number each )

those heaters do not make more heat per watt than any other heater per watt. next time you go to the hardware store go look at the electric heaters, they all have the same btu output ( at the same wattage )

the only advantage is that they get spread around the room so the heat maybe a little more even and spread out, but this can be done with several heaters ( any other one ) set on low wattage and spread out

now for the math for cost reasons

okay they are 425 watts
and lets say they run 18 hours a day...

so   425
  X    18
--------
7650 watts

or 7.7 kilowatts per 18 hours, at the electric prices where i live about 9 cents per kilowatt

   7.7
x  .09
-------
70 cents per day

   30 days a month
x  70 cnets per day
-------------------
21 dollars per month per heater, and if i had 5 of these it would cost 105 a month to run them, and i already use electric heaters. and at 1500 watts ( when they run ) it does not always keep up, so the old oil furnace kicks on every so often. right now my electric runs aout 150 bucks but thats for 5 electric heaters, 2 computers and 3 tv's that are on 12 hours a day, plus light ( comp. flo. )

now before you ask why i said 18 hours per day, i figure they wont run non stop all day but they will run most of it. the idea of lower wattage is so they dont cycle as much, nor get as hot. why they wont cycle as much is simple... they dont put out 1500 watts of heat so they are closer to the true heat loss of the room, so they dont over heat the room then wait for it to cool down.

now for a funny heat fact... if you have equally insulated walls as the ceiling ( or close ) you have less air currents in the room. air currents are caused by the cooler walls ( less insulation ) cooling the air in direct contact with the wall falls to the floor, then the warm air rises to the ceiling where it cant escape due to more insulation. bascily you get graduants in the air temp. they have found that lowering the insulation on the ceiling can be more efficent  ( not always ) due to removing the air currents, basicly what happens is the cooler air by the wall stays there, becuase the whole room is closer in temp and you have no air current spreading the cool air at the wall surface. now with no air currents the wall does not asborb as much heat from the air, or basicly the oppisite of the way those heaters work

done

It's always more energy efficient to only heat the room you are in. The problem with forced central air systems is that they can be damaged if you close off too many vents. But if you spend all your time in one room, just use space heaters with the central air off.

The propane Portable Buddy by Mr. Heater has a significant lower cost and is great for zonal heating. Just don't use the disposable canisters ($$$) We keep our thermostate at 65° during "at home hours" and augment with the heater. Put it away in the spring...and I can take it with me camping...

tag

I wont buy anything from someone that uses the word "whilst" in the advertisement.

So what do they cost?

70 plus shipping each

or just put on a sweater

Quoted: or just put on a sweater

works for me.  When stepping out of bed in the morning the cold may be uncomfortable, but sure as hell wakes me up.  Plus if things get to cold, I can just throw on my hoodie.

tag

What Scotty1911 said.  

Quoted: operating cost: 15 bucks a month for two units. not bad, but does the gas bill equal at least -16 bucks a month.

Before they went back to wood, my patents were paying SEVERAL HUNDRED dollars per month for gas heat.  We go and cut/split our own wood, so now our costs are almost zero.  This year my Dad and I split enought that he was able to sell quite a bit too.


-K

Corn Stoves work pretty good too.
Corn-generated heat costs less than a fifth of the current rate for propane and about a third of electrical heat. Homeowners report savings of anywhere from 600 to 1,500 dollars a year