Are Space Heaters Energy Efficient?

A little extra heat by your feet under your office desk, or to help life be more bearable the first thing on a January morning, are perfectly fine ways to use a space heater. 

Expecting space heaters to heat your whole house all winter long? While electric resistance or infrared space heaters may be 100% energy efficient, relying on them to heat a whole home is going to result in a huge electricity bill. 

Here are some ways to use space heaters wisely, safely, and in ways which could lead to some energy savings. 

What’s a space heater?

Space heaters provide heat, typically to a smaller space, area, or room instead of being a central heating system like a heat pump or a furnace. They can be portable or fixed, and can be powered by electricity or gas. 

Electric space heaters can use electric resistance to heat the air in a space, or radiant or infrared technology to directly heat objects or people.

Space heaters are ideal for quickly heating a smaller area, such as a garage or an office. Potential drawbacks are safety risks and having a higher cost of use if used too often. 

What is the energy efficiency of space heaters?

The question, and cost, of energy efficiency with space heaters has two sides to it. When it comes to turning electricity into heat, both resistance and infrared space heaters are both very close or at 100% energy efficiency or 1.0 COP (coefficient of performance). Electric space heaters can reach 1.0 COP but can’t exceed 1.0. Heat pumps, which move heat instead of generate it, can have a COP of 3.0 or higher, making them three times as efficient, depending on the weather.

The actual cost, or operational efficiency, can be much different. In short, if you’re relying on space heaters too much instead of a system better suited for steadily heating a larger space, it will not be energy- or cost-effective compared to a heat pump or a furnace. 

It’s possible to save money and energy if you run a space heater or two in a certain room or section of your home, and can keep the thermostat set quite a bit lower for the whole home. 

Another potential use is if you live in an area where you rarely need home heating through the winter and deploying one or two space heaters as needed makes more sense than running a larger heating system, or even having one installed in the first place. 

Many space heaters run at a max of 1,500W. In January 2025, according to the Energy Information Administration, the national average electric rate was 15.94 cents per kilowatt-hour. Running a 1,500W space heater for an hour at that rate will cost 23.91 cents, or about $1.91 per eight hours. 

If running a space heater allows you to reduce your heating bill by more than that, you could save money. More likely, though, you’ll just be paying more for extra comfort.

Cost of running a space heater: Different scenarios

Note: Cost using Jan. 2025 average US residential electric rate

A high number of factors and variables make this equation extremely general. Your utility rates, if you’re using home solar power, the fuel type you’re substituting for, how much you’re lowering your thermostat, home size, and the length and severity of your winter/heating season change the math for each home. 

Space heaters vs. other heating systems

Looking at using space heaters in your home compared to systems such as a heat pump or a furnace is typically not about picking space heaters over a larger, whole-home system. It’s more often about when it’s most efficient to use space heaters as supplemental heat or for specific uses. 

Safety considerations are another important part of using a space heater. Space heaters can be a fire and burn risk. 

• Don’t leave a space heater on and unattended. 
• Be more careful if children or pets could be near a hot heater. 
• Use a space heater according to the model’s instructions
• Don’t use extension cords, damaged plugs, outlets, or wires. 
• Keep all liquids and clothing, furniture, drapes, bedding, papers, and anything flammable, the recommended distance from a space heater. 

Save money, no matter how you heat your home

Regardless of the home heating system you have, there are ways to save energy and money while doing it. 

Adjust your thermostat by a few degrees or upgrade to a smart thermostat to make saving energy easy. You can also try reversing your ceiling fans, changing your air filters, and wearing a little warmer clothing even when inside. 

Tasks like inspecting and improving your home’s insulation, sealing gaps around windows and doors with caulk or weatherstripping, and getting professional HVAC maintenance ahead of the winter are some larger projects.

Leasing a heat pump will give you modern, energy-efficient heating and cooling for a predictable monthly payment. The Palmetto Comfort Plan gives you all the advantages of a new HVAC system with no upfront payment or installation cost. To get energy- and cost-saving information anytime, anywhere, download and check out the new Palmetto app.

Frequently asked questions

What are the main benefits of space heaters?

Space heaters give you direct heat exactly where you want it. You can use a space heater for zoned, supplemental heat without turning the heat up for the whole home. 

What are the main cons with space heaters?

Safety, mainly the risk of fire, burn, or an electrical injury, is the largest possible downside when using a space heater. You could experience high energy usage and cost from frequent, long, or inefficient space heater use.

How might you use space heaters in an emergency or when you need extra heat?

It can be a good emergency measure to have one or more space heaters in case of an emergency with your primary heating system or for extreme winter conditions.