45: Avoid electric baseboard and space heaters by ihough

Electric baseboard and space heaters are essentially glorified toasters. They’re cheap to make, easy to install, and about 99% efficient at converting electricity to heat. But over 70% of US electricity is produced by burning fossil fuels in plants that are only about 34% efficient. More energy is lost in the transmission lines carrying electricity from the power plant to your house. Electricity is also expensive compared to other heating fuels. So if you look at the big picture, electric baseboard heaters are less efficient and more expensive than other heating options.

The one advantage of electric baseboard and space heaters is that they can be an easy way to implement zone heating. If you only use a few rooms in your house during the heating season, it may be more efficient to put baseboard heaters or a space heater in those rooms and turn the heat down to 50° in the rest of the house.

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