How Space and Engine Block Heaters affect winter bills
Posted by Grant Bowman on January 17, 2018
With winter now in full effect, many of us adapt our ways of life to keep cars working and houses warm and comfortable for the winter. The problem is we forget how this may influence our pocket books at the end of the month.
Let’s take a moment and look at what the cost of these actions will have on your monthly electric bill this winter. While you do need your cars to run and your houses warm, do you need to operate these appliances all night or use them to spot-heat a cold area?
Most engine block heaters and electric space heaters are 1500 watt (1.5 kwh). In the table below, we use 1500 watts for cost calculations. Let’s look at how running a heater impacts your monthly electric bill:
| Watts | Hours per day | Cost per month |
|---|---|---|
| 1500 | 2 | $10.98 |
| 1500 | 8 | $43.92 |
| 1500 | 12 | $65.88 |
| 1500 | 18 | $98.82 |
| 1500 | 24 | $131.76 |
Do you see the impact that each heating period can have? How about the difference in using the heater constantly without any cycling, thermostats or timers?
You can gain control over your electric bill by turning the heaters off when you are not using the space, or by limiting the time they are on by using a set-back thermostat or timeclock that will keep it from running all day.
Don’t forget your furnace filter either! The filters can get dirty quicker this time of year. A dirty air filter will make it work harder and longer, both of which will cost you more at the end of the month.
Lastly, rather than plugging in your car when you get home and leaving it heat all night, try adding a properly rated timeclock that will start heating a couple hours before you need it in the morning. You could pay for your timeclock with a months’ worth of savings.
Hopefully these tips give you some ideas of how you can save this winter. We wish you a safe and enjoyable winter.
