Since we already had an oil-filled heater that we use for heating the living room and the bedroom instead of cranking on our money-sucking radiator-heat system, we decided to take a chance and buy a second one to supplement the first.
For $40, we picked up another one at Target today. Since our rooms are sort of railroaded (the sunroom, living room and dining room are all connected in a row by large archways, we thought two would work better than one. We were right.
In preparation, I put up what I call a “ghetto curtain” over the doorway to the kitchen — no sense in heating that room. Then we closed the doors to the two bedrooms and the bathroom, which are at the back of the apartment. After a few hours, our little sectioned-off living area is up to a toasty 66 degrees.
So it takes a while, but I think paying more on the electricity side will be worth it, since our gas bill for last month was ridiculous — and we hardly turned on our crappy heating system.