OzBargain Winter Heating Tips

AlienC on 29/05/2017 - 20:05

So with winter coming along what are your current Ozbargain winter heating tips.

I have a room with a window that leaks cold air (need to get that fixed) but other than that I don't use any sort of heating equipment besides extra blankets and extra layers of clothing.

What have you found is the best way to keep warm.

I am considering trying a hot water bottle/electric blanket or heater but don't want to use it too much as last winter our electricity bill went up three fold during winter.

So have you crafty sneaky Ozbargainers for any cool tips for keeping warm for winter.

Am in the blue mountains katoomba to be exact so yeah I bet three will be snow again this July.

Home & Garden

Comments

        • AlienC on 30/05/2017 - 15:44
          +1

          Question : do you sleep on top or below your electric blanket

        • Moose-au on 30/05/2017 - 17:05
          +1

          @AlienC:

          LOL, what ? Are you serious ? Electric blankets go on top of the mattress but under the bottom sheet and under the mattress protector - so there is 2 layers of cotton (or whatever) between you and the eb.

        • Shame on 30/05/2017 - 17:41
          +4

          @AlienC:

          Electric blanket goes below the bottom sheet so it doesn't get dirty. I think in the USA they sleep with it on top? I normally set it to maximum (150 watts) before bed and then turn down to 15-30 watts while sleeping. For reference, a human gives out about 100W of heat and so 15W is equivalent to sleeping with a severed arm in the bed.

        • Tasmaniac on 30/05/2017 - 18:27
          +1

          @Shame:

          15W is equivalent to sleeping with a severed arm in the bed.

          So a 1000w heater is the same as sitting next to 66.6 severed arms !?!.

        • Shame on 30/05/2017 - 22:02
          +2

          @Tasmaniac:

          Yes… but an electric heater is easier to find

        • conan2000 on 30/05/2017 - 22:56
          +3

          @Shame:

          If an arm is severed, probably won't stay at 15W of heat generation for very long ;)

        • montorola on 31/05/2017 - 12:50
          +1

          I've slept with an electric blanket

          Tmi mate

        • abm77 on 01/06/2017 - 12:34
          +1

          @Tasmaniac: That's too gruesome! just 6 severed arms and you're all set.

    • [Deactivated] on 29/05/2017 - 22:06

      wow 1k for power in winter, and i complained when i paid $800 for summer AC and $680 for winter AC.

      • mskeggs on 30/05/2017 - 07:05

        Big, old house with sub-par insulation in a cold area. On the bright side, we don't need aircon in summer.

    • BluebirdV on 30/05/2017 - 21:21

      How many watts is the heater that runs at a cost of 60c per hour? Would the cost be similar in Victoria and Queensland? Does power cost vary by state or council area?

      • mskeggs on 30/05/2017 - 22:02
        +1

        2.4kw fan heater or column heater using 25c per kWh power. That is the basic price in NSW where the OP is.
        SA is higher, I think Vic a touch lower and QLD about the same.

        • BluebirdV on 01/06/2017 - 12:15

          Guess my 750w/1500w would be significantly cheaper then.

  • idonotknowwhy on 29/05/2017 - 21:34
    +22

    Replace the heater with a bitcoin mining rig

    • AlienC on 29/05/2017 - 22:24

      Funny you say that.. if i ever get a new pc it will become my 2 in 1 heater and multi purpose device.

      • xoom on 30/05/2017 - 00:31

        i can lend you my p4 prescott rig. it doubles as a room heater.

    • outlander on 30/05/2017 - 00:27
      +4

      I actually did that for a while in 2013. Spent $2000 on second hand graphics cards. Fan noise was excruciating.

      • idonotknowwhy on 30/05/2017 - 07:44
        +4

        Yeah, it worked well for alts in 2013. If you tried to do it now, it'd only be an inefficient heater lol

      • Scrooge McDuck on 30/05/2017 - 13:19

        What was your mining revenue?

        • AlienC on 30/05/2017 - 15:45
          +3

          Tree fiddy

    • ian895 on 31/05/2017 - 08:24
      +1

      I have recently started mining again. my house is a balmy 25 degrees whilst earning over $100AUD/day after power cost is considered. Not bad at all.

      • kiitos on 31/05/2017 - 08:58

        Not bad! Which coin are you mining?

        • ian895 on 31/05/2017 - 09:34
          +2

          Currently mining ethereum, but being paid in bitcoin (using nicehash). But am thinking about mining directly on half of my machines (have 6 in total at the moment…)

    • tommy-darko on 10/06/2017 - 11:23

      Second hand Plasma TV would also work.

  • jason andrade on 29/05/2017 - 22:25
    +14

    1) Electric blankets, particularly combined with a timer are very efficient

    2) As already mentioned, using a heating source for brief periods of time (perhaps not as low as 5 minutes though!) can be quite efficient. For example a 1500W heater running for 1h will use 1.5kWH which is effectively 45c.

    30 days of that would be $15.

    3) fixing your insulation is a long term proposition but greatly complements any active heating you are paying for and it adds up over years - not an immediate significant saving e.g. if you save 30%, then perhaps you pay $10 instead of $15.. over 10 years that's $50 worth of savings or enough to cover 90 days of running a heater…

    4) Get a cat. The right one under the covers is much better than any hot water bottle (I have two curled up next to me now). They have multiple other advantages not least of which is they are unlikely to repeat the same behaviour in summer..

    5) The order of insulation for a house is usually: roof, walls, floor (if i remember correctly) in terms of heat loss

    6) A set of heavy curtains across your window can also reduce heat loss through the window

    7) Ensure your bedding is aired. A quilt or doona is much more effective when it has been 'fluffed up' and has multiple layers of air, compared to when the contents have been compressed.

    • MrTweek on 30/05/2017 - 09:41

      3) fixing your insulation is a long term proposition but greatly complements any active heating you are paying for and it adds up over years - not an immediate significant saving e.g. if you save 30%, then perhaps you pay $10 instead of $15.. over 10 years that's $50 worth of savings or enough to cover 90 days of running a heater…

      Did you mean to post these numbers? If you pay $15 per year on heating, you don't have a problem at all, really.
      That's what I spend in 3 days right now :(

      • jason andrade on 02/06/2017 - 22:35

        You need to look at 2) and 3) together. The example was for $15 to run a bar heater for 30 days, not 365 days. Not many places in Australia need heating to run for a year either.. I had picked 30 days as a low end example.

        Lets assume winter lasts for 3 months (90 days) instead and you intend to use a bar heater at 1.5kW for 8 hours a day for all 90 days.

        That would be more like 1.50.308*90 = $324 to run it for the whole winter. If you had 2 of them, that's $648.

        I was trying to point out that putting in insulation can lead to significant savings over a period of time. In the new example above, if you can save 30% of the usage of a single heater, that's saving $66 in a year. over 5 years that's $330. Almost a whole extra year's worth of running that heater which the insulation will give you 'passively'.

    • alizzan on 30/05/2017 - 12:37

      Number 7 is on point. I bought a down doona about ten years ago for my wedding. It's the lightest thing I've ever had, but incredibly warm. Fluffy as all get out, and I'm sure the down plays a part in it. One of the best things about winter is getting to swap the summer doona for this.

    • Scrooge McDuck on 30/05/2017 - 13:24
      +1

      Get a cat. The right one under the covers is much better than any hot water bottle

      Aren't you concerned for their safety in the event that you roll on to them? 🙊

      • Euphemistic on 01/06/2017 - 08:59

        and you don't need to feed a hot water bottle and it won't get fleas either.

      • jason andrade on 02/06/2017 - 22:36

        Nope. Had cats for a while and they move… and you get used to not rolling on them.

        You do have to remember they also have claws and if you pin a cat down you'll be waking up really quickly with an angry cat trying to get out of the way..

  • tajid on 29/05/2017 - 22:37
    +11

    Find a bf/gf or something warm to cuddle….

    • AlienC on 29/05/2017 - 22:42
      +15

      Got any good tips? My last attempts have all failed miserably

      • tajid on 29/05/2017 - 22:43
        +5

        Don't be picky haha.

        • SpaceFrog on 30/05/2017 - 21:58
          +8

          BBW Hug for warmth in Winter, Good for shade in the Summer

        • kiitos on 31/05/2017 - 08:59

          Yeah, "must have a metabolism" is pretty much the only criteria you need.

        • mousie on 31/05/2017 - 14:53
          +1

          @SpaceFrog: Offset by KFC 9 pieces for 9.95 dealz

      • [Deactivated] on 29/05/2017 - 23:29

        An indoor igloo made of packaging foam.

      • Euphemistic on 30/05/2017 - 11:39

        swipe left, or is it right?

        • AlienC on 30/05/2017 - 15:46
          +1

          Depends I guess which way you are facing

      • Scrooge McDuck on 30/05/2017 - 13:28
        +2

        Have lots of money.

      • abm77 on 01/06/2017 - 12:40

        They weren't warm? You should really pick only bf/gf that era alive, and preferably not the ones with severed arms as someone proposed earlier.

  • PVA on 29/05/2017 - 22:47

    Haven't used one for years but I found a good oil heater was great to take the chill off the air inside. Won't make the room hot.
    We had a good delonghi the temp and timer control.

    • macrocephalic on 30/05/2017 - 12:17
      +3

      Oil heaters are very inefficient. Better off getting a fan heater, or radiant (bar) heater. If you want to warm a whole room then a reverse cycle AC is more efficient than all the other options.

      • PVA on 30/05/2017 - 19:23

        We found them really good.

      • zappy32 on 30/05/2017 - 21:19
        +1

        Oil heaters aren't inefficient at all. It converts nearly nearly all electricity in to heat as opposed to light and kinetic energy as a fan heater would. Also if you have poor seal and no double glazing on windows you will probably want to reduce air movement so an oil or convection heater would be a good choice for a bedroom because they're silent. We use one for the bedroom as the split system is only in the living room, set on the 700 watts and nearly the lowest setting on the thermometer it runs about 1/4 of the time so uses about 40 or 50 cents of electricity a night to have a warm bedroom.

        Using electricity a split system AC is the most efficient if you have one or if not I'd suggest an oil heater for a bedroom if you are finding the air too cold to breath when sleeping, otherwise just an electric blanket.

        The cheapest and best thing you can do is stop any draughts and if you own the house install insulation.

        • macrocephalic on 31/05/2017 - 09:30
          +1

          What type of energy you convert the electricity into isn't really important - seeing as it all turns into heat eventually. Fan heaters and radiant heaters are directional. I agree with your point about drafts though; stopping energy loss should be the first priority.

    • Sensiekatie on 31/05/2017 - 09:56

      Yes. We attached ours to a thermostat plugged into the wall socket before the heater plug. It was turned on less, much warmer as it controlleded the rooms temperature with disk tap accuracy. Reduced the bill heaps and Room was warm in this cold house.

      I think it was called Heat Mate.

  • KaTst3R on 29/05/2017 - 22:49
    +15

    For the techies, you can probably use an older AMD graphics card to keep the room nice and warm.

    • ChillBro on 29/05/2017 - 23:25
      +7

      You'll keep the whole suburb warm too.

    • decr on 30/05/2017 - 17:44

      Hahah was waiting for someone to say this.

  • tsunamisurfer on 29/05/2017 - 23:17
    +4

    There is no need to spend any money on heating.

    Put on more clothes ffs, wear 2 layers, a scarf and a beanie to prevent heat loss from the head.

    I absolutely hate it when the heater is put on in my house.

    • orly on 30/05/2017 - 01:51
      +6

      Hate is such a strong word.

    • mskeggs on 30/05/2017 - 07:11
      +4

      To be fair, it will be below 2 degrees many mornings in July and August where OP is.
      And sitting in front of a PC screen or telly doesn't keep you warm, even with plenty of layers, beanie and blanket around you.

      • PJC on 30/05/2017 - 07:51
        +2

        It was already -0.8 when I went to bed last night - Lower Hunter.

    • anastasiastarz on 04/06/2017 - 23:19

      Not a fan of being all wrapped up and weighed down, when we already do that traveling to work.

  • GreatTurkey on 30/05/2017 - 00:04

    Get a wood heater. In your area there should be plenty of old wood around the place. (obviously don't burn treated wood)

    • xoom on 30/05/2017 - 00:34

      yeah some numbnuts decided to fill their fireplace with hacked up treated pine furniture. thats a no no.

    • jacross on 01/06/2017 - 12:08

      Wood fires are bad for the environment and wood smoke is much worse for you than tobacco smoke (which is an extraction issue but plays into point one).

      Far be it for me to stop anyone though. I love wood fires but you need to understand the costs as well as the benefits.

      • Xizor on 06/06/2017 - 15:44

        Wood smoke is hardly an issue. Pollution, meh. Most wood heaters we'd be talking about slow combustion heaters, once you get a good coal base you restrict the air greatly and can have a piping hot slow burn that is incredibly nice. Open wood heaters however are pretty rubbish, most of the heat goes up the chimney. I used to have both in my old place. Now i am resigned to a bloody electric throw rug and blanket in a crappy apartment. The things we do to be employed.

        • jacross on 06/06/2017 - 15:49

          Like I said, I love wood fires and knowing very well the risks, accept the risks. I invite everyone to do the reading and decide for themselves whether the risk meets the descriptor 'hardly an issue' and whether the pollution should invite the response 'meh'.

  • cardboardbox on 30/05/2017 - 00:06
    +6

    You don't need an electric blanket. Get a down (85%) blanket. They're very warm and don't require electricity. They're worth the investment - I was terrified I'd freeze in the Canberra winter but I was snug as a bug in a rug.

    I used to have electric blankets but since I've discovered down doonas, I've stopped using them entirely and probably never will again.

    Downia make a 4 seasons blanket (2 differently weighted down blankets clipped together) so you can unpin or pin together depending on the season.

  • Tasmaniac on 30/05/2017 - 00:42
    +5

    Your welcome !!!

    http://www.kmart.com.au/product/heated-throw-dot/1300323?gcl…

    These use about 100w and work really well.

    • Blahness on 01/06/2017 - 13:38
      +1

      Thanks! I've never heard of electric throws before!
      It's really cozy for using the computer or watching tv, don't have to turn the heater.

      I got a sunbeam one on sale for $52 though. It's machine washable.

  • eggboi on 30/05/2017 - 01:33
    +1

    Heated floor mats (for under your desk), heated throws for the couch, electric blankets are all way more efficient than regular air heaters. To give you an idea, an electric mat / throw / blanket uses about 1-3 incandescent lightbulbs worth of power, whereas any heater designed to heat a room will chew power at a rate of about 15-25 lightbulbs.

    • eggboi on 30/05/2017 - 01:35

      I've also found those cheapo ugg-style boot slipper things from kmart are ace for keeping your feet warm around the house. Or you could just wait for the next Aldi snow gear sale ;)

    • pandabun on 30/05/2017 - 07:36

      Do you know where I can buy heated floor mat here? I first saw it at a friend's place but they bought them from Korea.

      • mskeggs on 30/05/2017 - 07:39

        Try ebay search for heated pet mat.

        • eggboi on 30/05/2017 - 09:23
          +2

          If you buy any electrical appliance from ebay make sure it's passed Aus certification. All the horrific electrical fires you see in news articles are from non-certified crap being peddled direct from china.

      • eggboi on 30/05/2017 - 09:21
        +1

        I swear i saw one advertised at target / kmart / big w recently..

    • Rodo on 30/05/2017 - 17:50

      Yep a heating floor mat is great. We bought ours from Korea. Not sure if they can be bought here. We have a large one (about 4 x 3m) in our living area which heats up the space very nicely and does not cost to much to run. It runs on electricity but you can get others that run on water that is heated and then pumped through the mat.

      • ylangylang55 on 03/06/2017 - 05:48

        Whats brand have you used? Hanil?

  • Donaldhump on 30/05/2017 - 01:47
    +5

    Dutch oven

  • neonlight on 30/05/2017 - 07:04

    Aircon with heated air better than oil heaters more efficient. Use hot water bottle bags, or electric mats before sleep

  • affable on 30/05/2017 - 07:56
    +1

    3 words - Jindara Cottage Cooker. Heating and cooking solved!

  • captobvious on 30/05/2017 - 08:12
    +2

    Spooning.

  • Hirolol on 30/05/2017 - 08:25
    +6

    Install split system.
    Way more energy efficient than the ones you plug into the wall.
    I looked into it and got some info from this site too.
    But basically a wall plug heater converts energy to heat at a 1:1 ratio but a split system converts energy at around 1:3 ratio.
    So you will still notice a slight increase in your power bill but not as much as with a wall plug heater, maybe 3 times less?

    • Lastora on 30/05/2017 - 09:53
      +3

      This. Fork out some money now to invest in a couple of good reverse cycle air conditioners, these have the best efficiency compared to other heating solutions (such as electric heater and gas).

      Most people tend to think gas is cheaper, but it is not the case.

      Example Hirolol provide is correct, a split system with a 1:3 ratio would in fact be only a 1-star rating in today's standard. You can easily find units with a 1:5 ratio, which would be ~5 stars rating. Example would be a 2.5kw heating output using only 0.5kw input.

      • Hirolol on 30/05/2017 - 22:10
        +1

        Well I didn't know about the 5 star being 1:5 ratio
        Good to know, we will be getting a new split system soon as ours is on its way out so will be sure to keep that in mind.

  • Sensiekatie on 30/05/2017 - 08:39
    +2

    Last year my husband found a very small digital thermostat device (? Heat MAte but not certain) At that time the cheapest was at the Good Guys.

    It goes into the power socket and then the heater is plugged into it. There was a timer somewhere to turn on at required times. However the digital thermostat ensured the heater was only working when temperatures required it.

    We found the heater was on much less and the room was warmer and better controlled.

    We have had the column oil heated for years - has a timer and came on and off to a point. The device was better control.

    We live in Brisbane but this house is a very cold house.

    If you own the house, insulation a must.

    The new houses being built where my brother/-in-law lives around Arrowtosn/Queenstown are using something new. They are not using heating at all - with snow on the ground. It gets pretty cold there with ski-fields in all directions.

  • [Deactivated] on 30/05/2017 - 08:52
    -1

    drink plenty of water throughout the day so you can urinate in an empty coke bottle. gatorade bottle if your packing. this will keep you warm throughout the night, also be sure to have an extra bottle for the morning.

  • MrTweek on 30/05/2017 - 09:00
    +15

    What I find surprising since I came to Australia is that nobody here ever seems to consider insulating their house properly.
    Fix all the leaks and get some double (or triple) glassed windows and it will be a lot warmer inside with a lot lower heating costs.

    I grew up in a place where it snows every winter and -5 degrees is pretty common. But that is much easier to cope with when it's constantly 21 degrees inside every single house, cafe, restaurant, …
    And you need so little heating to achieve this that even the average ozbargainer wouldn't worry about heating costs a lot.
    I didn't even know electric blankets were a thing until I came to Australia - the country that everyone thinks is super warm and many people have never actually seen snow in their lives.

    Now here I am, struggling with the mild winters in Melbourne. It hasn't even been below 5 degrees yet this year, yet I'm freezing every morning and my electricity bill has gone through the roof already.

    Seriously people, if you are cold inside, fix your house.
    If you own a place and plan to live there for another 5-10 years it's absolutely worth it. It won't only make your life a lot more pleasant in winter, but also save heaps of money in the long run.

    It'll obviously also reduce the need of using the A/C in summer drastically.

    • billy77 on 30/05/2017 - 15:28
      +5

      100% agree on the first part. I came from -40 degree winters. Never heard of single glazing and bed socks until I came to Australia. Used to have going out clothes and shorts and t-shirts at home year around… But now, nooooo, your going out clothes are the thinner ones.
      Considered replacing the windows to double glazed windows but every single darn thing related to buildings and tradies are so horrifically expensive, it makes lot more economical sense to just run the AC all the time. Couldn't even source just a plain sheet of glasses, so I could'nt experiment with making my own windows… yet endless DIY home fixing shows on TV.

      • lainey13 on 30/05/2017 - 15:58
        +2

        Overseas I've noticed the walls are SO much thicker than here. So unless you build from scratch you're already coming off a pretty low base since nobody here will build thick walls, the best done here is fill thin walls with some insulation.

        • freddofrog42 on 30/05/2017 - 17:46
          +3

          All a bit pathetic really isn't it.

          I'm ex-UK and whilst it never gets truly cold or hot there it can have it's moments. Insulation just helps every time, be it double glazing, roof or wall.

          We stayed near Bowral over the weekend and it's the first place in 15 years here that I can recall actually having central heating - it was turned of course as people here seem to accept being hot/cold as part of life.

          For the OP, jokes aside, a reverse cycle A/C unit will be 3 times more efficient than ANY static heater. It's simple physics.

      • Shame on 30/05/2017 - 22:09
        +2

        Overseas the payback on double glazed windows is about 2 years and here it's 10 to 15 years (I'm making these number's up but they seem about right, either way the payback is marginal). Plus, if you install double glazed here you can be certain that a stone from the lawn mower will fly out and crack one of them within a year.

    • Sensiekatie on 31/05/2017 - 10:15

      In most of Oz, double or triple glazing is the last thing we want. It will keep heat in too. Heat comes from many sources. Bricks are great at holding heat. The roof space is hot hot hot in summer.underneath potential as well. So it will come in.then it cannot get out.

      Houses in our state used to be built for cooling and Ignore heating. Nowadays they don't build the verandahs and the extended eaves, higher rooves etc. new houses are hot boxes. This is enhanced by high density trend. Houses almost touching. No green space. Recent Research has shown that the places with less green space in the areas in this state can be statistically significantly hotter. Land sizes … all house and no yard. Nurseries or garden centres are almost nonexistent.

      I do agree though … My friends from Canada many years ago who had moved here …, they said they had never been so cold than here, They dressed in full on winter gear looking like fools … and they had been here loNg enough to acclimatise. One was from Nova Scotia … pretty dam cold there,

      • MrTweek on 31/05/2017 - 13:43
        +1

        In most of Oz, double or triple glazing is the last thing we want. It will keep heat in too

        Well, you can still open the windows obviously. You basically use them as a valve to eliminate this effect.

        Keep them open while you are at work and close them late arvo when the worst of the heat is over.
        Then turn on A/C for half an hour or so to cool down the house and now your double glazed windows will keep the house cool for evening and night.

  • sharkyoz on 30/05/2017 - 09:00

    seal your window with a tape, and if using heaters, close surrounding doors and place rolled up towels against door to prevent cold air coming in and heat escaping

  • Powershopz on 30/05/2017 - 09:28
    +1

    Electric blankets are quite good and generally efficient.

    I have this one https://www.thegoodguys.com.au/sunbeam-sleep-perfect-qb-fitt…. Purchased it on sale for around $110.

  • trongy on 30/05/2017 - 10:29
    +1

    Fan heaters are bad because a even a warm airflow across your body can make you feel cooler.

    Get a radiant panel electric heater with a thermostat. You will feel warmer with less power usage. They do take a while to heat up. To counteract this, I wheel it closer to start with and wheel it a couple of meters back once it's warmed up.

  • [Deactivated] on 30/05/2017 - 10:57
    +1

    Has anyone looked into thermal mass fireplaces, like soapstone? They are big in colder climates and are meant to hold heat overnight.

  • maraki3108 on 30/05/2017 - 11:24

    Get double glazed windows and you wont need any heaters

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