As we weather the unusually cold winter in Michigan, with snowfall already close to the season expectation and half the season still ahead of us, we recently invested in some supplemental electric heaters.

We are watching every nickel we spend since my husband lost his automotive position in late October and heat was big on the list of "can do without."  Of course, we cannot completely do without it and fortunately have two zones of heating in our home - one in the primary area of the home and one in the bedroom area that also includes my office and the kitchen.

Zone 1 was adjusted to a 60 degree temperature for day and lower for night.  Zone 2 was adjusted to 55 degrees day and night.  There are time variations for weekends via the programmable thermostats but those temperatures are not toasty by any means.

The three supplemental electric heaters were purchased for under my husband's desk, under my desk, and under our high school daughter's desk.  With a cooked meal in the kitchen for dinner, we were heating up the property to a comfortable level.  No t-shirts allowed; we dress for winter with two layers on the top plus socks and slippers on the bottom. 

Our family TV area has a large bed-size quilt made by my mother that is incredibly warm and can cover multiple people on a sectional sofa.  It feels a bit like Little House on the Prairie sometimes, particularly The Long Winter, but no one is complaining.  It is a source of conversation to our regular visitors who know to dress warmly when coming to our house.  One of our children's friends gleefully exclaimed once, "You have so many fleece blankets!"  We do....  We raise the temperature for our less regular visitors who haven't necessarily dressed for winter.  It is a trade-off to enjoy their company. 

Back to my main point though.  Do these little supplemental heaters really keep our massive propane expenses in control, given that we are adding electric charges to the mix?  The cost of the units was less than $100 and they will likely last for years so cost can be considered inconsequential.

I was thrilled to see that Ask This Old House was covering the topic of supplemental electric heaters the other night but disappointed to not have any information reported as to whether the idea makes financial sense.  They were heavily in favor of the oil or water-filled radiant heaters, reminiscent of the old fashioned radiators removed from older homes and happily discarded when ductwork was installed for central air.  What a mistake - those units will throw heat long after the boiler has stopped firing; I know, we owned 2 previous homes with them and miss them greatly.  No blast of cold air as the furnace turns on or cools down, just heat, always heat, hotter and then very slowly cooler.  Progress is not always progress.

So thoughts anyone?  Aside from caulking, weatherstrip, insulation, and the passive solar technique of covering windows on sun-less days/times and opening the window treatments wide on sunny days, do these supplemental heaters really help?  We feel better but will our pocketbook?  We need to know and haven't yet seen an electric bill reflecting changes.  Why suffer if it makes no difference in the end?  Comments are appreciated and wanted.