infrared heater - revisited

[Armstrong]

Hi-
I couldn't decide where this thread should go, so here we are.

I posted in the bathroom last week about infrared heaters, asking for reviews. Well, I ended up purchasing one because I have 60 days to try it and I can return it to the local store if I don't like it. Seems to work pretty good so far.

Supposedly it costs only $0.06 per hour to run. So here's my question. Is it better to leave it off when I'm not in the studio, turn it on when I get home... or leave it on at a low temp (50 degrees?) all the time, so that when I do go out there, it doesn't have to work as hard to get up to 63 degrees? It seems like I have this idea in my head, but is it totally screwball? Or maybe it working hard to start from out door temp is not a big deal?

I think I'm confusing myself now...
-Ana

[artsyuno]

I'd turn it on when you get out there. They heat up very quickly but heat a limited amount of space (it'll heat you), unlike a space heater that's designed to heat space and would benefit from being turned on in advance.

[menty666]

I use an infrared heater that mounts on the ceiling above me and I'm generally ok just turning it on when I get out there since it's warming me, not the air.

Though sometimes I'll turn it on while the kiln warms up and it does heat up my work area just a little.

[Armstrong]

This comfort furnace supposedly can heat up to 1,000 square foot area, which obviously works very well in my less than 200 square foot area .

It was pretty expensive, but the 60 days to try it won me over for the purchase.

thanks-
Ana

[5betsy]

Hmm, this sounds way way better than sitting on the oil-filled space heater I used last year.

How much is expensive?

[cheng076]

$0.06 per hour? but in what area? Electric rates vary widely so your cost may be less or much more. Look on the name plate and find the amps or wattage of the unit.

Watts divided by 1000 equals Kilowatts.
Kilowatts times the rate in your area, from you electric bill, will tell you exactly how much it costs per hour

Example; 1500 watt heater = 1.5 kilowatts X 0.088983 (rate here) = $0.1334745 per hour
or $3.20 per day full time use,\. Natural gas for the same thermal output would cost $0.066 per hour or $1.58