# Opinions desired on home heating (short and long term)

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-desired-on-home-heating-short-and-long-term/995755>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [January 8, 2024, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-desired-on-home-heating-short-and-long-term/995755 "2024-01-08T02:01:29Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\
**Post date:** [January 12, 2024, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-desired-on-home-heating-short-and-long-term/995755/21 "2024-01-12T17:37:26Z")

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> [@DCnDC](#):
>
> I’d get a space heater or plug-in radiator and a smart plug so you can set it on a schedule or turn it on and off remotely.

IANA expert on smart plugs, but the typical space heater is very high wattage. Like near the max ampacity of an ordinary outlet. I’d be cautious about using a smart plug unless I _knew_ it had the full 15A or 20A capacity.

All the space heaters I’ve used had thermostats. So leaving it plugged in / turned on 24/7/365 was just fine. It ran when it needed to and stopped when it didn’t.

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**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\
**Post date:** [January 12, 2024, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-desired-on-home-heating-short-and-long-term/995755/22 "2024-01-12T17:48:11Z")

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> [@LSLGuy](#):
>
> IANA expert on smart plugs, but the typical space heater is very high wattage. Like near the max ampacity of an ordinary outlet. I’d be cautious about using a smart plug unless I _knew_ it had the full 15A or 20A capacity.

Most of the most popular smart plugs are 15A/1800W. Your breaker should trip if it’s drawing more than that.

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**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\
**Post date:** [January 12, 2024, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-desired-on-home-heating-short-and-long-term/995755/23 "2024-01-12T17:49:51Z")

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Cool. Good to know. Thanks.

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**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\
**Post date:** [January 12, 2024, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/opinions-desired-on-home-heating-short-and-long-term/995755/24 "2024-01-12T17:58:28Z")

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No, you should only use a space heater when you are awake and at home to watch it; it not safe otherwise. I suggest adding more baseboard heaters instead.

> **[Space Heater Safety Tips - Electrical Safety Foundation](https://www.esfi.org/space-heater-safety-tips-2/)**
>
> Heating equipment is the second leading cause of home fires in the United States. More than 65,000 home fires are attributed to heating equipment each year. These fire result in hundreds of deaths, thousands of injuries and millions of dollars in...

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