"During the winter, heat only the room where you spend your time", suggests Matt Workman of Infra-Red Products Supply, Inc., a heating equipment distributor in Draper, Utah. "In our case, we run the direct vent fireplace in our great room where we spend our evenings and we keep the furnace turned off. A ceiling paddle fan helps distribute heat that rises to the ceiling out into the space." Connected spaces receive some residual heat but remain cooler than the main living space. "The bedrooms stay cooler, which is more desireable anyway"..

What if I don't own a direct vent fireplace?

There are many good room heaters on the market today. Vent free gas room heaters are very efficient and affordable. If vent free does not suit your taste, there are several high efficiency direct vent wall heaters on the market to choose from. They must be located on an outside wall for venting. Find one that is whisper quiet. If getting a gas connection to the desired room is impractical, several manufacturers now make an incredibly effective and efficient electric quartz lamp infrared heater that safely emits infrared waves to heat the room space. In some cases, these heaters can heat the entire house, simply by riding the humidity in the room. These heaters can heat up to 1000 square feet of living space while cutting energy usage by 35% to 50%. (Note: These are not the cheap "personal" electric heaters you find in a home center that sell for under 100 dollars, although they may be practical for some smaller room spaces). Remember, the best electric heaters utilize quartz lamp infra-red technology. A simple web search will help you locate a reseller of all the above mentioned heaters.

By simply changing your heating/cooling habits and heating only your primary dwelling area during the winter, homeowners can save many hundreds of dollars each year. That by itself can more than offset the extra expense at the gas pump. Just a little food for thought.

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