Is there one room in your home that is knee-knocking cold while the rest of the house is perfectly comfortable? Or perhaps you prefer your home at a pleasant 68 degrees F, while another member of your household enjoys a cozier 72?

No doubt about it: you can please some of the people some of the time, but not…well, you get the idea. That’s why a portable space heater can serve as the great equalizer, providing individualized warmth in certain rooms without needing to spike the thermostat elsewhere.

However, buying just the right space heater is a lot more challenging than even a few years ago with so many different options to choose from.  So, here are a few things to keep in mind before you start the process:

• Select a space heater that can safely, effectively, and efficiently heat the space you need. Not only will the right sized space heater help maintain a more consistent temperature, it won’t waste the kind of energy that a larger unit would.
• Look for specific safety features, such as the UL label that means the unit has met required safety standards. Also, be sure it has an auto tip-switch, as well as an overheat sensor.
• Consider a dual-wattage model if your space heater must share an outlet with another electronic device.
• Prevent burns by selecting a model that is cool to the touch when turned on. This is especially important if you have small children.
• Programmable thermostats and timers offer convenience and even greater. Not only can you program the space heater to a certain temperature, a timer allows you to lower or increase the temp, or even turn the heater on and off at certain times of day automatically.

If you’re considering a portable space heater to make up for the inadequacies of your central heating system, that’s okay in the short term.  But after a while, the extra money you spend on electricity could easily cover the cost to repair whatever might be wrong with your furnace or boiler.

Above all, use your space heaters with caution to protect family members from injury and prevent a home fire. That means, for example, keeping your space heater away from window treatment, bed coverings, clothing, and anything else flammable.

That’s another safety tip from Now Security Systems, offering the best in home security equipment and monitoring. Contact us day for a free on-site security analysis and proposal.