How can I heat up my mobile home as cheaply as possible this winter?
Manufactured Homes June 20th, 2009I live in a single-wide mobile home in zone 4, where it gets very cold, and the heating system for my home uses propane gas, which gets very expensive to run in the cold winter months, sometimes as high as 5.00 per month! Does anyone know about those electric machines that you put in your living room that heats up the whole house ( I don't mean "space heaters") that are safe, and do they cost a lot less money to run? I have already had my home weatherized, underneath it and the windows and doors, etc. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
June 20th, 2009 at 10:45 am
Propane is a lot cheaper than any electric heat. Get a contract on your propane to lock in the price for the entire winter. Call the supplier and ask about it. Mobile homes are hard to heat.
June 20th, 2009 at 10:45 am
Anything that uses electricity won't be efficient. They're wasteful mostly. The exception is a panel-type heater called a convection heater, which does a better job of converting electrical energy to heat, but not sure of the total overall efficiency. You COULD start a dating service, and get guys hot….LOL. J/K.
another possibility is a window unit that looks like an air conditioner, but is actually a heat pump. If you mount it so it faces the sun, and build a mini-green-house around it on the outside, you can probably get much better heat more efficiently than an electric heater. Not sure how much they cost, though, they're kinda hard to find. But a better alternative.
- The Gremlin Guy -
June 20th, 2009 at 10:45 am
It is possible that you might be able to spend less, simply by not heating the whole mobile home.
Another possibility would be to heat portions of it with a 1500 watt electric heater. Check your utility bill and see how much you pay per kilowatt hour. I think it will be less than $.15 per kWh. If the heater ran 24 hours a day the cost would be about half what you are paying for LPG. Be careful though. The electricity may have a two or more stage cost. Sometimes they charge one rate up to a certain amount, then kick up the rate for the rest.
Of course, keeping the temperature down a bit helps, as would providing drapes or the like on windows.Of course if you are cooking or heating water with LPG, you will still have some cost there.
June 20th, 2009 at 10:45 am
An oil filled electric radiator heater, if I was you, I'd use two or three. I use these heaters myself.
June 20th, 2009 at 10:45 am
invest in some good insulation, seal around all windows and seams of the trailer walls, hang heavy curtains, use throw rugs, and hang some on the walls. wear layers in the home and wrap all of your pipes.
June 20th, 2009 at 10:45 am
The most effeciant means of heating is a heat pump. I have installed many on homes with natural gas and mobile homes with propane. It is estimated that your savings in 5 years will pay for the heat pump.