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[nanoo]

Space heaters - economic heating solution or unnecessary fire hazard? My feet are frozen and I'm poor.

Perhaps this belongs on ORBP.

[infopri]

Space heaters - economic heating solution or unnecessary fire hazard? My feet are frozen and I'm poor.

You make the choices sound mutually exclusive.

Actually, they are much safer than they used to be, especially if you get the type that turns off automatically when tipped over.  As a fellow sufferer of constantly frozen feet, I recommend you get one--but choose carefully.  There's a lot of variety on the market, and some are better than others, especially when it comes to safety.

[enggrad]

It depends on the size space you're heating, but for a typical bedroom or office sized space you can get a decent heater for under $50. 

I prefer one with a fan to circulate the air and either multiple heat seatings or a thermostat.  Most have an automatic shut off if they are tipped but you should also place it away from curtains and other flammable materials (student papers).  The kind with a ceramic plates inside heat fast and last a long time. The ones that are basically an uncased toaster are the fire hazards.  Also, if it's a small space, shut it off when you're not in the room to save energy.  The room will reheat quickly. 

[rockprof]

I have one hidden in the bottom drawer of my file cabinet.  I take it out and use it over winter break because our Administration turns the heat WAY down even though many faculty still come in and work.  It's hidden from the fire marshall who periodically walks through our offices, classrooms, and labs.  I don't feel guilty since I only use it when I'm sitting there working on my computer and unplug it when I leave the office.

[finallyfullprof]

Absolute necessity for my office, AKA The Meat Locker. At many community colleges, it's always the most extreme temperatures.  You either need a jacket and a space heater (even in the middle of summer), or you dress in as little as is professionally decorous and carry a frosty beverage to avoid heat exhaustion (even in the middle of winter).

[tenured_cat]

For the office: get one, but make sure you turn it off each time you leave the room.

At home: my chair (The Chair!) is in a cold-spot and I don't want to raise the temperature over 72F or turn on the fireplace (both gas and the bill is creeping up already). I took a left-over comforter (twin size), folded it length-wise and sewed the one short side shut. Open it up, fold over the opposite side about 15 in and pin the corners. You now have a "body shrug" - put your arms through the openings at the top, your feet in the bottom, fold the rest over yourself, and get warm. I am cocooned as I write, with a cup of tea and the remote on the chair arms and the cat trying to snuggle in beside the laptop!

[nanoo]

Sounds like there have been some serious technological advances in space heating since last I checked. It's 62 degrees in my apartment. The thermostat for the whole building is in someone elses's unit. Boo! Even my fish is shivering in his bowl.

Thanks everyone.

[tenured_feminist]

I would not be able to live without mine. My body's thermostat was set a few degrees too cool, so my space heater goes on in October and generally ends up in the drawer or closet around May.

Goddess, I hate winter.

[danny_boy]

I don't know if the kind I have has made it over to the US yet but it's designed like a fan with a heating element in a large rotating (if you want it to) head.  It has two power settings (400w and 800w) a timer and even a "deionizer" (whatever that's supposed to do).

It cost me about $35.

The heating element itself looks like a thin flourescent bulb but I guess it's actually a wire coil in a tube.  I'm purposely tried to light things on fire with these and can't.

[atalanta]

I vote for economic heating solutions.

I have a space heater just for the situation you describe: The frozen-feet-while-sitting-at-my-desk syndrome. I'm warm enough when I'm walking around, but start to suffer after I've been sitting still for a while.

I have a small space heater under my desk near my legs. It's a mini-radiator that circulates hot oil inside it, so it's very safe. There is no red-hot heating element. It's silent (no fan). The energy cost is not too high (it's only 400W) and it only cost $30 on sale.

This kind of heater won't instantly make your work space toasty warm, and is not designed to heat an entire room, but for me, it's the perfect solution for under-desk leg-warming.

Here it is (except I have the smaller 400 W model):

http://yahoo.shoptoit.ca/shop/product--catId_1000104__locale_en__productId_3144632.html

[gayle]

Not necessarily for the office, but for home I recommend an electric lap blanket - like a regular electric blanket, but smaller.

[joshitter]

They are fire hazards and should be avoided.

[clean]

I use a "ceramic heater".  I was under the impression that those were not fire hazards.

Any thoughts?  I use mine in the bathroom (away from a water source).  I can take a cool house, but I want to be able to step out of the shower!

[nanoo]

Most of you have convinced me that space heating is A-OK. I just fear that having one will open my brain's pandora's box of latent fire-hazard OCD.

You know, the kind of scenario where I test the thing to see if it really shuts off when I tip it over. Great, it does! But then I'd worry that I somehow damaged the thing, and have to do another round of testing to make sure I didn't break the shut-off mechanism in the last round of testing. Oy.

[infopri]

Most of you have convinced me that space heating is A-OK. I just fear that having one will open my brain's pandora's box of latent fire-hazard OCD.

You know, the kind of scenario where I test the thing to see if it really shuts off when I tip it over. Great, it does! But then I'd worry that I somehow damaged the thing, and have to do another round of testing to make sure I didn't break the shut-off mechanism in the last round of testing. Oy.

Just be gentle when you test it:  Instead of kicking or knocking it over, just gently (with your hands) lay it down sideways on the floor, as if it had tipped.  That way, you don't have to worry about damaging it.

One more thing to consider when choosing a space heater:  You mentioned that you have a fish, which is irrelevant--but if you have any four-legged creatures (or any children), you want to make sure that the heating element is not exposed in such a way that whiskers, tails, or fingers can get in there.  These days, it should be easy to find a heater that meets this requirement.

Also, let me second the vote for a heater with either a thermostat or a dual (high/low) setting (or both) and a fan.  One of my space heaters has a thermostat plus three on/off toggle switches: two for 750 watts of heat each (1,500 watts when both are in the "on" position) and one for the fan, giving me lots of control.  For this reason (and for its safety features), this is my favorite of my three space heaters.  I've never seen the actual heating element, as it is beyond the reach of curious eyes and fingers (and tails, whiskers, and tongues--important, as I have three energetic dogs and two curious cats).