Do I really save energy by turning down the thermostat at night and turning on electric blankets instead?
First, the cost of running an electric blanket or mattress pad. According to the Minnesota Department of Commerce, it costs about 98 cents/month to operate a blanket. The Electric Blanket Institute breaks it down by blankets and mattresses at 3–4 cents/night for blankets and 2–3 cents/night for mattress pads. To put this into perspective, the Institute says that cutting back your thermostat by 1 degree for eight hours is estimated to save about 10% on your heating bill. If your heating bill is $100/month, you can save $10/month in heating. This is offset by the $1 (approximately) for using an electric blanket or mattress pad. In my case, using four heating blankets ($4) can still provide a net savings of $6 (assuming my heating costs are $100 in a given month). Q: Why doesn’t the blanket feel warm to the touch before crawling beneath the covers? A: The low-wattage produced by blankets is designed to prevent fires. Your body traps the heat produced by the blanket, and that’s what feels
Related Questions
- Is there more energy saved by using a programmable thermostat as opposed to manually turning the furnace up and down (assuming no forgetting?) Why?
- How do I decide when it makes sense to use an electric space heater instead of just turning up the thermostat?
- Did he avoid excessive heat at night (e.g., sleep naked, avoid electric blankets)?
