Are Space Heaters Safe to Use Alongside Central Heat?

Quick answer: Yes, if you follow the CPSC’s basics: keep an electric space heater at least 3 feet from anything that can burn, plug it straight into a wall outlet, and turn it off when you leave the room or go to sleep. Keep it away from the thermostat too, or the rest of the house can go cold.

How do I use a space heater safely?

The Consumer Product Safety Commission’s advice for electric space heaters fits on one short list:

• Keep the heater at least 3 feet from drapes, furniture, bedding and anything else that can burn.
• Plug it directly into a wall outlet. Never use an extension cord or power strip.
• Make sure the plug fits snugly, and stop using any outlet where the plug or outlet gets hot.
• Turn it off before you leave the room or go to sleep.
• Choose a heater that shuts itself off if it tips over or overheats and carries the mark of a nationally recognized testing lab, such as UL, ETL or CSA.
• Keep working smoke alarms on every level of the home.

Can a space heater make the rest of my house cold?

It can, if the thermostat feels it. A space heater near the thermostat warms that spot, the thermostat decides the whole house is warm, and the central system stops heating everywhere else. Keep the heater in the room you’re using and out of the hallway where most thermostats live.

Used in one closed room, with the central thermostat set a little lower, a space heater can take the chill off a home office on a cold morning without changing anything else in the house.

Is a space heater cheaper than a heat pump?

Not per unit of heat. A plug-in heater is electric resistance heat: current runs through a coil and makes it hot, like a toaster. That’s the same kind of heat as the backup heat strips in a heat pump’s indoor unit. On most Central Texas winter days, a working heat pump delivers more heat for the same electricity, because it moves heat from outdoors instead of making it from scratch.

Heat pumps vs. electric resistance heat explains the difference. A space heater saves money only if it lets you keep the rest of the house cooler.

Can a space heater trip a breaker?

Yes, easily. Most plug-in heaters draw up to 1,500 watts on high, a big share of a typical bedroom circuit. Add a hair dryer or microwave on the same circuit and the breaker can trip.

If it trips, move the heater or turn something else off. A breaker that trips again and again is telling you something, so don’t keep resetting it.

Are indoor gas or propane heaters safe?

Unvented heaters have no pipe to the outside. They burn fuel inside the living space, so the exhaust, including carbon monoxide (CO), stays in the room. If you use any fuel-burning heater, follow the maker’s instructions to the letter and keep working CO alarms. The CDC’s advice is never to heat your home with a gas oven, grill or camp stove. Where CO alarms should go covers placement.

Why does one room always need a space heater?

Usually because the central system isn’t getting enough warm air there. Leaky or undersized ducts, a crushed flex duct (the soft, round duct) in the attic or thin insulation over that room are the common causes. How to increase airflow to one room walks through the fixes. When the ducts are the cause, Gold Eagle’s technicians find and repair the duct problems behind a cold room in homes across the Austin area.

What should I do next?

• Clear 3 feet around the heater of drapes, bedding, furniture and anything else that can burn.
• Plug it straight into a wall outlet, and stop using any outlet where the plug gets hot.
• Keep it away from the thermostat, and turn it off when you leave the room or go to sleep.
• If one room needs a heater every winter, book a Gold Eagle visit to have the ducts and airflow to that room checked.

Related guides: Heat Pumps vs. Electric Resistance Heat for Central Texas Homes, Where Should CO Detectors Go in a Home With a Gas Furnace? and How Do You Increase Airflow to One Room?.

About Gold Eagle Services: This guide comes from the team at Gold Eagle Services, a family-run Austin HVAC, indoor air quality and mold remediation company founded in 2017. We’re licensed (TACLA119235 and RCO1783), insured and bonded, and we serve homes across the greater Austin area.

Need help with this in your home? Learn about our heater repair and tune-ups, or call 512-489-4653 to schedule a visit.