The super sexy eco-boxWe are gleefully marching forward in our quest for greenification. Our mission: to provide heat to our house in an eco-minded manner. Since last winter we had been heating our blustery San Diego nights with an oh-not-so-friendly 1600 watt electric heater. Umm, two of them, actually. Needless to say, our electric bill skyrockets during the late November to early March timeframe in which the nights in San Diego MUST be supplemented with some sort of heat source. Our average kw usage during the summer months is somewhere between 155 and 180 per month. During the cold months it jumps to between 220 and 475 (Jan. '08!!)
In order to conserve kilowatts (and consequently, dollars from SDG&E) we did some research on heat. One option that we quickly ruled out was central heat. For our 800 sq. ft. mansion, it just wasn't a pracitcal investment. We also realized that we would prefer something electric rather than gas with hopes that one day soon we will be able to purchase some solar panels and be more fully self sustaining.
The installed product
Our friend Stuart had this cool Eco-Heater in his daughters room that he really liked so we decided to look into those. A chic, flat-panel, super energy efficient heating element from South Africa that is the epitomy of eco-cool. At only 400 watts a pop, what have we got to lose? I found this deal where we could get a 4 pack for a discount. The total cost for our entire house is $440, a fraction of the price of a central heating system. And the kids were occupied all night and all day today with their free toy... I'll let you know how the kw usage pans out!
The unbelievably cool free toy
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