A month or so ago I made the decision not to set the house up for an eventual switch over to solar, which was kind of a big deal. Two years ago when I started thinking about building my own house being able to be off the grid was a huge factor for me so I picked out the majority of my appliances based on the fact they required little to no electricity to run. Now that I will not be on solar, a lot of options open up. Originally I decided to use a propane catalytic heater because it was a good balance between safety, beauty, price and size. Honesty I'd LOVE to have a Dickenson or marine fireplace like lots of other tinyhousers, but it's just too expensive. Those two options start at at least $800, and then you have to buy stove pipe, propane tubes, and other various connectors and do-dads. Then when you go to instal them you have to worry about clearances and heat shields. A fireplace that is 8"x8"x8" in physical size may actually take up 16"x16"x16" in volume once it's installed.
So like I said earlier, as a compromise, I originally I decided to use a propane catalytic heater that would cost about $250-$300 including parts. The only thing that worries me was it's a ventless unit and the chance of a C02 incident happening is a little unnerving. I will be putting a detector in my home but I'd rather not even have that possible issue hanging over my head. In short, the catalytic heater would work fine, but it's not ideal.
But now that I can afford to use more electricity the world of electric heaters is now available to explore. There are four things I love about this idea and one I don't.
To Love
1) All you have to do is plug them in and they're good to go. No vents, not tubes, no hidden instillation costs at all.
2) They can be super cute and add to the character of the house.
3) Electric heaters are safer. There's no worries about CO2 and venting. Sure there are still house fires started by them every year, but it's usually the sketchy, cheap ones with exposed heating elements that do that.
4) Price. They range from $50 to about $150 which is half the cost of the propane heater I settled for in my spreadsheet.
But now that I can afford to use more electricity the world of electric heaters is now available to explore. There are four things I love about this idea and one I don't.
To Love
1) All you have to do is plug them in and they're good to go. No vents, not tubes, no hidden instillation costs at all.
2) They can be super cute and add to the character of the house.
3) Electric heaters are safer. There's no worries about CO2 and venting. Sure there are still house fires started by them every year, but it's usually the sketchy, cheap ones with exposed heating elements that do that.
4) Price. They range from $50 to about $150 which is half the cost of the propane heater I settled for in my spreadsheet.
Not to Love
1) They're a nonrenewable energy hog. Yes, I could afford to, and it'd be no problem, to use more electricity now that I'm on the grid. However, I just don't like the way it sits in my stomach that I'd be using 1200 watts of electricity all winter long to heat my house.
So the point of all of this? Pretty much to say I'm undecided on my heating choices and am open to any opinions if you have them.
1) They're a nonrenewable energy hog. Yes, I could afford to, and it'd be no problem, to use more electricity now that I'm on the grid. However, I just don't like the way it sits in my stomach that I'd be using 1200 watts of electricity all winter long to heat my house.
So the point of all of this? Pretty much to say I'm undecided on my heating choices and am open to any opinions if you have them.