Would it be a good idea to put a 30,000 btu heater in the 1st floor dining room to cut back on the huge heating bill of about $300 ,instead of using the furnace with a total of 3 rooms on the 1st floor about
12x12,and 3 rooms upstairs about 9x9,the only other gas is the water heater,the basement will have heat from the apt next door,its a double house,also whats better the 3 brick units or the blue flame units?Would this save on the heating bill?thanks for any advice,dan.
No matter how "clean" the ad says it is there are always combustion byproducts present when you burn fuels. I have never been in a house with an unvented unit where I didn't feel right or get a headache. Do yourself and family a favor a look into the high efficiency vented units that are available.
To answer your question can you address the heat loss issue by adding better insulation, more efficient windows etc ?
Depends on how you run it. Buying electricity for space heaters and propane for room heaters is usually more expensive than buying bulk oil or natural gas. If you attempt to heat the house to the same temperature as usual, it will cost more to do it that way. If you are going to heat just one room and leave the main heat off for the rest of the house, it may be possible to save.
we had a unvented gas heater and hated it. it will cause some soot, and if use paint and use mineral spirits for example, the fumes are terrible. i went with a direct vent heater. it takes in outside are for combustion and exits the fumes. in my opinion much better. good luck.
The problem with unvented heaters is that they use up the oxygen in the room. When the oxygen becomes scarce enough, they start generating carbon monoxide unless they have some sort of sensor so they shut themselves off.
back on the huge heating bill of about $300? Here are the steps I should take in order to reduce my $300 bill: I should 1st insulate (even super insulate) the ceiling, then the walls & then the floor. The return on investment is substantial & most rewarding.
If your area permits air exchange, ie, there are drafts or areas between doors & between windows, & cracks through which air flows into the area, then an unvented heater would be a good idea as the oxygen used in combustion would be replaced by the air that is entering through the points of ingress mentioned above. Furthermore the moisture from the unvented heater released into the area will also dissipate through the same points of egress. The other advantage of consequence that will cause you to realize savings is that the usual 30 to 60% "stack & transmission" loss you currently incurr in getting the heat from your furnace to the area that you are actually in, will be eliminated.
All said & done, the brick or infra red units are desirable rather than better. In real terms the 2 types of heaters serve different functions. The blue flame units heat the air, which in turn heats you. If you are moving around the area that you are heating, then the blue flame unit is indicated, because no matter where you are in the area heated, you shall be warmed by the heated air. But if you are like me & sit in front of a computer, then the the brick infra reds that heat people & objects in front of them as well as the air, are desirable. If the heater is pointed at the person who might be sewing, cooking at the cooking range or sitting in front of the computer or standing in front of & operating a machine, then the infra red heats that person as well as the air. So that is the difference between the infra red & the blue flame. Your use will dictate which one to obtain.
Now, if your area being heated is of 'tight' (permitting no air exchange) construction, then you may not use an unvented heater. You shall now need to turn your attention to vented, or sealed combustion or direct vented units. You may go to heating.products.bz/vented.html for detailed explanations of these types of heaters. Hope this helps. Ashoke.
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