Turning down the temp at night and when you are away definately reduces the cost of heating. But it also leads to a cooler house because it takes longer to heat up. If you are renting there is not alot you can do to reduce heatloss ie. you can't add insulation or change the windows. You can get some plastic for the windows and add it to the inside and outside, put up some heavy drapes over the windows, buy some weather stipping for the doors and windows. Keep the doors to the bedrooms closed and close the vents or turn down the heat in those rooms if you are not using them all the time. A forced air electric heater is nice for a quick blast of heat in the morning while you get ready to go to work. It takes the chill off while esentially leaving the house cold. They can be aimed directly at yourself to get you toasty. In British Columbia it is actually cheaper to heat with electricity than with natural gas even if you have a high efficiency furnace. Do the calculations do see if it is the same where you are comparing your current heat source to electricity. If anyone tells youelectric heat is inefficient they don't know what they are talking about. An electric baseboard is 100% efficient.
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