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Space Heaters in Winnipeg Homes: Are they Wasting Your Money or Doing the Job?

July 07, 2017
Space Heaters

When the temperatures drop, and the home’s furnace is not supplying enough heat, you might think about reaching for your handy space heater. It is convenient, quick, and keeps your room warm.

However, is a space heater as efficient as you think? More importantly, are they safe to use? Even energy-efficient space heaters are not necessarily the most useful option for heating your home or a room. So, it is best to fully assess their use and potential before you plug in one for added heat. 

 

3 Facts to Consider When Using a Space Heater

Most heating contractors in Winnipeg, including those at East Side Ventilation, would recommend you steer clear of space heaters. This is because there are significant concerns with those small heating appliances.

Here are three facts you should know before you use a space heater again:

 

  1. Energy is a Costly Resource - Space heaters typically run on electrical power. While they might be “cleaner” than the gas used to heat your furnace, electricity itself is a costly resource. In fact, frequent use of a space heater will likely increase your electricity costs. Furthermore, the energy and resources required to generate electricity do not make space heaters as efficient as one would assume.
  2. Safety Concerns - Not all space heaters are safe. In fact, some are inherently dangerous - especially older models. They pose risks for carbon monoxide poisoning (if they run on fuel), and they are a fire hazard. When placed near combustibles, the heat could result in a fire. Also, if a portable space heater were to tip over, it could cause a fire or overheat and lead to a dangerous short circuit. Cheap heaters are especially prone to these issues because to save on cost, the manufacturer will skip safety features like tip-over prevention, automatic shut-off, and so on.
  3. Multiple Space Heaters - While running one space heater can help you save on costs if you are not paying to heat the entire home, two or more heaters will waste a significant amount of money. Furthermore, most homes have a load that can only bear two or three space heaters, and even then, you will be running at maximum watt capacity. Thus, increasing the risk of blowing a fuse.

There are alternatives to using space heaters. When you need heating in Winnipeg, consider adding an energy-efficient furnace to your home. A heater, when adequately sized and installed, can supply and distribute heat evenly. Furthermore, it will save you from the hassles of fire and electric shock risks as well as the added electricity costs of a space heater.

Put away the space heater and take advantage of the offers East Side Ventilation brings. We can do an in-home estimate to help find the right furnace for you. As your local heating and cooling Winnipeg team, we can also recommend a full HVAC system so that you can enjoy energy-efficient heating and cooling year-round.

Call East Side Ventilation for a quote at 204-667-8700 or contact us online with your questions about heating and cooling for your home in Winnipeg.

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Google Reviews

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Jo-Ann Borger

google-review

Simple: ESV is Good, Excellent, Friendly and On time

Service: Duct Cleaning

Rick Negrich

google-review

Positive: Professionalism, Punctuality, Quality, Responsiveness, Value Had Chris come to our home and service our LifeBreath HRV. Took the time to explain its normal operations and what was the issue with it. Took the time to point out what was happening with it and what he had to do. Extremely professional and knowledgeable. Would highly recommend him and Eastside. Awesome!!!

Service: Repair HVAC

Simon

google-review

Positive: Professionalism, Punctuality, Quality, Responsiveness, Value One of the best HVAC companies in Winnipeg. Great, professional people. Everyone I spoke with was very polite and easy to deal with. Very knowledgeable of every aspect of what we needed. I would recommend Eastside Ventilation to anyone. They are top notch. Great first experience!! The Technician was knowledgeable & friendly. Took his time checking my system & explained things so that I could understand. Looking forward to being a long-time customer!

Services: Thermostat repair, Install thermostat, Repair HVAC, HVAC duct & vent repair, Ductless heating & A/C services, HVAC duct & vent cleaning, A/C system repair, HVAC duct & vent installation, Heating system repair, Heating system maintenance, Heating system installation, A/C system maintenance, Install AC, HVAC system maintenance

Dan Reimer

google-review

Positive: Professionalism, Punctuality, Quality, Responsiveness, Value We just had our Furnace and Ducts cleaned and I just had to write up a review on Eastside Ventilation because it was amazing. From Dan D who accommodated a last min date change and set up the appointment to Scott and Paul who did everything right! A quick call 20 min before coming with a heads up. When they got here they introduced themselves right away to me and my wife and even our dogs liked them. They were Quick, Friendly professional, clean, covid friendly and bottom line good guys. Afterwards Scott gave me a recap of what they did what they found and even put in my new filter (one of those ugly accordion ones that take forever) then they both said it was nice to meet us and were gone... thanks guys and thanks Eastside.

Service: HVAC duct & vent cleaning

S G

google-review

Positive: Professionalism, Punctuality, Quality, Responsiveness, Value
This company did all the ductwork in our home when we built it 18 years go. They also installed our furnace and air conditioner. We hired them because the general contractor (Walter... can't remember his last name, sorry) who we hired to organize the building of our home said they have good pricing and do good work.
Anyway, Walter was right. And because of that, East Side Ventilation has been my go-to company any time I need anything done with my HVAC system for the past 18 years. The staff is professional, friendly, on time, and does excellent work. I highly recommend them. :) In case that loyalty makes it sound like I know them, I figure I ought to mention that I do NOT know the owners or staff on a personal level. It's just that I was really happy with their work when we built our home, and I see no reason to try anyone else and risk being unhappy with the workmanship. Some reviewers have mentioned that they couldn't get an exact quote ahead of time... I'm guessing that's because they bill based on how long it takes them to do the job, and they don't know that until they've done it. And I'm guessing they have enough business that they don't have to spend their time doing free in-home estimates anymore - and frankly, I don't blame them - I wouldn't do free in-home estimates either if I had enough business to avoid having to waste time on that. In any case, I've never worried about their pricing because like I said, they do good work and they're honest.

Jill Hart

google-review

Positive: Punctuality, Quality, Responsiveness, Value
Chris came out to make it possible for our new dryer to be bottom ventilated. The existing hole was not in the right place. We were very impressed by his professionalism and attention to detail. He thought outside the box, anticipating issues the dryer installer might have and gave us extra ducting and a different elbow than the one we had. I had asked him to cut the duct flush with the bottom of the dryer, as that's what the installer said the night before, but Chris left it 1/4 inch higher as he didn't think the installer would be able to connect it easily otherwise. The installer came just as Chris was about to leave, and confirmed that it was a good thing that Chris left the extra margin of metal for him. Chris also said he added a brace to the ducting under the floor so that it was more solid than before. Our reno guy, who was also there doing work, took a look at it and said it looked really good. Chris was polite and prompt as well, and the man answering the phone, whom I talked to about 3 times, was always polite and helpful, giving me confidence. I would definitely recommend this company.

Tero Heikkinen

google-review

Needed emergency support for an air conditioner that stopped working on the weekend. The technician was able to come out the next day when most other places were closed all weekend. He was crazy knowledgeable and his initial thoughts on the problem was replacing a $35 part. Turned out he was right! I highly recommend them for AC repair and will look to try them out for furnace maintenance this fall.

S Adam

google-review

One of my daughter's and her husband just bought their first house. What better house warming gift than a duct cleaning... I know brilliant right!
I had the fine folks at East Side Ventilation clean my ducts many months ago and they did an honest great job. They were friendly and very professional. Their tech took the time to explain why the A/C was having a hard time cooling the second floor. This 100+ year old house was not built with A/C in mind. I asked my daughter how they were? She couldn't stop saying again how great they were. Definitely 5 star and 2 thumbs up!

Debbie Fedak

google-review

Called East Side. Came down the next day and fixed "immediately". Jason and I believe Manny, thank you so much. There is good service out there!!! Great work ethics, hard to find now days but we sure did. Merry Christmas to you all. Will rebook the cleaning and HRV balancing in January with you! Merry Christmas All. Brian & Debbie

Gerard and Daryl

google-review

Great service! Slight mixup in booking initially however when tech came he was quick, clearly knew what he was doing and fixed the issue. Would recommend them.

A Bright

google-review

Honest quick reliable, I questioned the amount billed and was a little upset that I had to pay for another call due to ordering of parts, however they worked with me, would definitely recommend.

Lyle Baraniuk

google-review

Positive: Professionalism, Punctuality, Quality, Responsiveness, Value Dave was super. Great service and I appreciate that they stand behind their work.

Services: Heating system installation, Repair HVAC

Darlene Poplawski

google-review

Went above and beyond, resolved our problem and took the time to explain. They were prompt, service was professional, would definitely recommend.

Melanie Neufeld

google-review

Quick, knowledgeable and friendly. I will be calling them for all my future needs

Patricia Shymko

google-review

They came punctually and did a good job

David Wallful

google-review

Very professional. Great service.

Madison

google-review

Fantastic service!

chris joss

google-review

Service: Heating system maintenance

Positive: Professionalism, Punctuality, Quality, Responsiveness, Value

Sandy Singh

google-review

Highly satisfied and excellent service

Service: Duct Cleaning and Equipment repair

Sunday Adeoti

google-review

Friendly, Excellent and Professional

Service: Winnipeg Duct Cleaning

H Morry

google-review

East Ventilation is friendly and on time service

Service: Equipment Replacement

Randy Clegg

google-review

Professional trades people. Well-co-ordinated, timely schedule. I was completely satisfied. Tradesman worked with other trades to ensure no conflicts of install components.

Nancy E

google-review

Sam was terrific. He explained everything as he did his work and I know he did a thorough job. Very personable. I have been using Eastside for furnace maintenance and repair for the last 4 years and I have always been very pleased with their work. I feel they are very honest and dependable.