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  #1  
Old 08-15-2007, 12:47 PM
katharina katharina is offline
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Default Heating an Unheated Room

We have a totally great room upstairs that was never heated. It didnt' matter when we bought the house, but now that we've been here for a while, it would be nice to have it heated. What would you recommend as a way to do that? The downstairs is radiant heat.
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  #2  
Old 08-19-2007, 02:46 AM
kyleira kyleira is offline
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Well there are a number of ways you might heat this room. Solar power heat could be one way. Another way might be a space heater or even electric heaters can be very good as well.
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  #3  
Old 08-19-2007, 02:59 AM
azaleaeight azaleaeight is offline
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Default Heating An Unheated Room

From what I hear, radiant heat is a good option because the thermostat can be set lower. One possible drawback may be that a carpet could reduce the heat. Another could be cost.

Solar heating would be another option.

Whatever you do, don't use portable heaters.
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  #4  
Old 08-20-2007, 01:58 PM
katharina katharina is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kyleira
Well there are a number of ways you might heat this room. Solar power heat could be one way. Another way might be a space heater or even electric heaters can be very good as well.

Solar heating sounds nice in theory... but wouldn't that involve cutting a hole in the roof of the house for a solar panel? Maybe that's just the way I'm picturing it and there's another way? If that's it, I'm not sure we'd want to go that far to heat that room and would probably let it stay cold. Great idea and I like it, but I suppose a roof hole would cost more than we'd want to put into that up-to-now basically unused room.
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  #5  
Old 08-20-2007, 02:02 PM
katharina katharina is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by azaleaeight
From what I hear, radiant heat is a good option because the thermostat can be set lower. One possible drawback may be that a carpet could reduce the heat. Another could be cost.

Solar heating would be another option.

Whatever you do, don't use portable heaters.

Yes, I know... I've heard so many horror stories about space heaters over the years that I'd be terrified to use one up there... I'd always be wondering if the last person out remembered to turn it off. I have to use one of those in the bathroom for showers (for extra heat) and I don't even like having that one plugged in without supervision.

The radiant heat is wonderful and the carpeting doesn't really block it off like you'd think it would. It's actually very good on oil usage, too, and the feel of a warm floor against cold feet can't be beat.
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  #6  
Old 08-21-2007, 09:28 PM
azaleaeight azaleaeight is offline
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Default Solar Heating (and Other Options)

Here's an interesting site about solar heating:

http://www.builditsolar.com/Project...g/Space_Heating

The following is a general overview of electric baseboard heating:

http://www.powerhousetv.com/stellen...ublic/documents

Also, I happened to run into a another forum post about heating a room. Unfortunately, for some reason my computer isn't showing the right address, so rather than post a link I've copied the whole post. I just ran into this "Andy in Fink's" post and the forum on which it has been posted didn't even show. Then "Anthony" replied. I just thought it was worth repeating his remarks, though, so I hope its ok to do that on here:

"
My choice is the oil filled heater that looks like a steam radiator.
These devices are thermostatically controlled, and do not get
hot enough to burn paper or clothing, but instead rely on a lower
heat and a larger surface area.

They cost about $40, but I have picked up a couple at
garage sales for $5, so it just depends on where you shop."

from Andy in Fink

"Anthony Matonak" <res04ijs@gte.net> wrote in message
news:40A31E9D.3020603@gte.net...
> eb wrote:
> ...
> > I am an artist and do alot of my work in a small, cold room away from
the
> > gas space heater in the lounge room. It's coming on winter here
(Australia)
> > and I was hoping someone could help me through the mire of all the
different
> > types of heating.
>
> You have more choices than the ones you listed but they are not all as
> easy to install or use.
>
> > My choices seem to be
> >
> > Ceramic heater
> > Column oil heater
> > fan heater
> > Quartz heater
> > Convection heater
>
> All of these technologies are small portable electric heaters so they
> will all generally use the same amount of power to provide the same
> amount of heat. Their differences are in how they go about doing it.
>
> Small heaters, especially ones with fans, get very hot so they have
> the risk of igniting fires if they get tipped over or something
> combustible (dust bunnies) get sucked into them. They are small, cheap,
> very portable and the exhaust from a fan unit (like an oversized hair
> dryer) can be focused in a particular area for more comfort. Some
> can be a little loud.
>
> Larger units like the oil heater don't get as hot on the surface so
> they won't start a fire even if curtains brush up against them. They
> are safer for unattended operation and almost completely silent. They
> work better for heating the entire room rather than a tiny little spot
> like your feet under a desk. The room should have a ceiling fan to mix
> the air as the hot air will tend to collect at the ceiling and cold air
> at the floor.
>
> Radiant heaters like the quartz are line of sight things so they only
> really heat up whatever is in view of them. That means you'll get warm
> on the side facing them and can remain cold on the side away from them.
>
> That said, there are other alternatives. One method might be to look
> into a solar heater. They can be made easily out of common materials
> available at almost any building supply store. There are many examples
> and plans available on the net and you can build one to insert into a
> window opening so it would not require permanent installation.
>
> http://www.jrwhipple.com/sr/solheater.html
> This is just one example showing an overview. You can substitute less
> expensive materials, like plastic greenhouse film in place of glass,
> with the understanding that they may only last a few years in service.
>
> The other alternatives basically boil down to burning something, gas,
> wood, pellets, corn, oil, coal, charcoal and the like. These would be
> much less portable and would likely need semi-professional installation.
> Since you already have gas service to the building adding another gas
> space heater would likely be your cheapest alternative."
>
> Anthony
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  #7  
Old 08-23-2007, 11:46 PM
harvcr harvcr is offline
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I guess this wouldn't be a problem during summer because all you have to do is open your windows and blinds/curtains and let the sun in, this will heat up your room and store some of the heat for autumn. During winter I suggest you buy a small heater, those that look like a box... They work pretty well and are not as expensive.
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  #8  
Old 08-26-2007, 04:29 PM
katharina katharina is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by azaleaeight
"My choice is the oil filled heater that looks like a steam radiator.
These devices are thermostatically controlled, and do not get
hot enough to burn paper or clothing, but instead rely on a lower
heat and a larger surface area.

They cost about $40, but I have picked up a couple at
garage sales for $5, so it just depends on where you shop."

from Andy in Fink"

I've seen these and I've been wondering how they work. This seems to be the way we're leaning at the moment and it seems like it could heat the size of room that it would need to heat. I think they sound safer than some of the alternatives, too.
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  #9  
Old 08-26-2007, 04:31 PM
katharina katharina is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by harvcr
I guess this wouldn't be a problem during summer because all you have to do is open your windows and blinds/curtains and let the sun in, this will heat up your room and store some of the heat for autumn. During winter I suggest you buy a small heater, those that look like a box... They work pretty well and are not as expensive.

It would be really nice if I could store the horrible heat that's up in that library right now but it can't be done, unfortunately. By the time October rolls around, it's freezing up there and November is incredibly cold.
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  #10  
Old 08-26-2007, 07:04 PM
Saulie Saulie is offline
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Default

I have had portable electric and gas heaters before as I lived in a totally unheated flat, but the air just becomes so dry and it becomes so hard to breath if you have one in a small sized room. However now I'm not sure how they are now as technology is advancing so much, I had mine seven or eight years ago.

As for the oil heaters I haven't had much experience with but looking at statistics of them here in the UK, they are the most dangerous.
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