Saving Money as Prices Increase

[Larry Caldwell]

They are a small electric radiator that is filled with oil. So once they get up to temperature it does not take much energy to keep them there. They are way more efficient than your average radiant electric coil heater, I have been told, but honestly I have no real numbers to support that. They do a surprisingly good job heating smaller spaces. They look like this.

View attachment 719714

The advantage of a radiator is fire safety. Your heat pump will be cheaper to run, and if you have your own wood, that is the cheapest heat you can get.

At my age there's not much I can do to increase my income. I'm faced with having to raise some money, so am selling good junk that is sitting around; a lumber rack for a pickup I don't own any more, a propane fire pit we never use, stuff like that. I may cut some firewood and try to sell it.

 

[PuffyC]

Many good ideas here. I’m taking a “spend less money in general” approach but mostly because this inflation bubble is going to pop and some things will get super cheap. Doesn’t make sense to stock up on $10 widgets if you think they’ll be $5 next year. There are many similarities between now and the 70s but it’s a different world today and it doesn’t work the same as it did back then. Fewer unions and globalization are two big examples. The only wild card is our recent love affair with socialism and the associated adoption of systemic racism that superheats division. If we can’t turn that ship around all bets are off.

All that said, the wife’s been canning a ton of stuff from the garden and there will be two deer in the freezer by the end of the year. Maybe a hog too. I’d love to go off grid with PVs on the roof and an EV in the driveway but the upfront costs are going to make that a longer term solution.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

PV is already cheap, but there is a shortage of silicon substrate, so supplies are short. The price of PV is likely to drop several % as the supply chain sorts itself out.

 

[4570Man]

Weird the stuff people argue about.

An electric radiant heater may be '100% efficient' but only when it's on and burning watts. The oil in those heaters retains and distributes heat between power on cycles. On for five minutes, off for ten uses less watts than on for fifteen minutes. Many of them are 1,000 or 1,500 watts instead of higher wattage 'glowing' red hot' radiant units.


.

If you had 2 equal watt heaters 1 of them can’t continuously and the other one only run 1/3 of the time to do the same job. True the oil heater stores energy but it’s not gaining anything. It’s more like delayed distribution. It probably takes the oil heater the entire 5 minutes of your cycle to warm itself up and puts very little into the room. The other heater probably takes 30 seconds to heat the coils and is making heat almost instantly.

 

[PuffyC]

If you had 2 equal watt heaters 1 of them can’t continuously and the other one only run 1/3 of the time to do the same job. True the oil heater stores energy but it’s not gaining anything. It’s more like delayed distribution. It probably takes the oil heater the entire 5 minutes of your cycle to warm itself up and puts very little into the room. The other heater probably takes 30 seconds to heat the coils and is making heat almost instantly.

So what I’m hearing is that a heater can’t break the laws of physics? Surely that can’t be.

 

[deezler]

The oil filled heaters are definitely better, safer and more comfortable. It's not like you'll see the difference in an electric bill, though.

The best part about an oil-filled radiator is that it radiates. A basic small, red-hot electric heater mostly only relies upon convection of air currents across it to distribute heat. Whereas the radiator sends a dull warm glow of infrared radiation in all directions, much more comfortable and gentle way to get the same net heating. Basically, it just "feels" warmer to be near.

 

[4570Man]

The oil filled heaters are definitely better, safer and more comfortable. It's not like you'll see the difference in an electric bill, though.

The best part about an oil-filled radiator is that it radiates. A basic small, red-hot electric heater mostly only relies upon convection of air currents across it to distribute heat. Whereas the radiator sends a dull warm glow of infrared radiation in all directions, much more comfortable and gentle way to get the same net heating. Basically, it just "feels" warmer to be near.

A space heater with a fan is much better than those radiant heaters with a big disk reflector IMO. The one with a fan does a better job distributing the heat and the outside surface isn’t hot enough to cause burns or start fires.

 

[deezler]

Of course, any pure electric resistance heat is pretty much ****, and expensive to run.

I prefer my nearly free woodstove (not starting the argument again, but for me, it is). I don't have natural gas or propane at my house.

I'm not really saving any money in these crazy times. Keeping the savings account intact, and getting by. Hoping my annual raise in January matches this current inflation rate, we'll see.

 

[4570Man]

Of course, any pure electric resistance heat is pretty much ****, and expensive to run.

I prefer my nearly free woodstove (not starting the argument again, but for me, it is). I don't have natural gas or propane at my house.

I'm not really saving any money in these crazy times. Keeping the savings account intact, and getting by. Hoping my annual raise in January matches this current inflation rate, we'll see.

I like my wood stove. For starters a forced air furnace doesn’t come close to sitting on the couch on front of the wood stove. Second it’s not free but it cost me very little in money spent to heat with wood. 3 it’s not really subjective to price increases. Maybe it cost an extra $5 a cord due to increased diesel and gas cost but nothing notable.

 

[riptides]

I plan on continuing on like I always have.

One makes due.