| If you own or rent a house or duplex, or pay for | | | | can keep both rooms I use warm and not waste |
| gas heating for your apartment unit chances are | | | | energy (and money) warming hallways, |
| you're having a tough time making ends meet. | | | | entryways, kitchen, and the extra room I use for |
| With crude oil prices recently exceeding $100 US | | | | storage. I just set the thermostat high enough to |
| dollars per barrel, the cost of heating our homes | | | | keep the pipes from freezing, and turn on heat |
| shows no sign of declining in the near future. I for | | | | only where I need it. I suppose that's a bit |
| one just can't afford to shell out four hundred | | | | environmentally friendly as well. |
| dollars or more every month just to keep from | | | | I did have safety concerns at first. Fortunately |
| freezing, so I've turned to small portable space | | | | the portable space heaters I purchased have |
| heaters as a working solution. | | | | built-in tip-over and temperature cutoff sensors, |
| This solution does lower my monthly heating | | | | so if the unit is knocked over or overheats for |
| costs, but I still have safety concerns. The | | | | any reason it turns off by itself. Also important is |
| Consumer Products Safety Commission estimates | | | | a grill enclosing the heating element (oil and water |
| that 25,000 fires a year can be linked to these | | | | cooled heaters may not need this as they |
| appliances, resulting in more than 300 deaths and | | | | operate at a lower temperature) and making sure |
| 6,000 injuries requiring hospital care. This kind of | | | | to use the proper extension cord (14 ga. or |
| puts me between a rock and a hard place, | | | | higher). |
| because I just can't afford not to be using an | | | | It's different than I'm used to but I suppose we |
| alternate form of heating. | | | | all have to change with the times; save energy |
| I have two rooms in my duplex that I use | | | | and money wherever we can. A couple of |
| frequently, the living room where I study and the | | | | inexpensive small portable space heaters ebay I |
| bedroom where I sleep. So why heat the whole | | | | bought on have cut my heating bill in half, and for |
| house higher than I need at an exorbitant cost. I | | | | me that's the difference between breaking even |
| bid on two heaters on e-bay, and ended up | | | | each month or not. |
| winning both, which works out perfect because I | | | | |