As we move into the winter months, your heating bills can rise, and the unpredictable winter weather may occasionally knock out power to your home. You may be tempted to use your home’s oven as an alternative to whole-house heating or as a temporary solution during a power outage. Ernst Heating & Cooling wants to remind our customers to avoid this solution. At best, it is neither energy-efficient nor cost-efficient; at worst, it endangers your family’s lives.
Read on about why you should never use your oven as a heat source.
Gas ovens can poison you
Carbon monoxide is a clear, odorless, tasteless gas that can seep into your home from your gas oven or range top. Carbon monoxide poison can be deadly. Ovens are designed to keep you safe from carbon monoxide poisoning when you use them correctly to prepare a meal or heat a pot of soup. But using them as a temporary heater runs the risk of dangerous carbon monoxide filling the room. The risk is so high that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned against it in its 2021 winter safety tips.
Electric ovens aren’t efficient heaters, either
Your electric oven doesn’t run the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning, so you might be tempted to gather the family around and re-create the scene from “Little House on the Prairie,” where the Ingalls family huddled around the stove to stay warm. Trust us; there are better alternatives for heating your room.
Electric ovens may heat your kitchen while you’re preparing the holiday meal, but they still aren’t very good space heaters. Ranges are designed to heat the area inside the oven, not the room around it. Running an electric oven will also run up your energy bill. Most ovens use from 1,500 to 4,000 watts of energy. Compare that with a space heater, which employs about 500 watts. Leaving an electric oven on for an indefinite period also puts it at risk for electrical breakdown. You may even discover your dials have melted.
Ovens and fire risk
Ask your favorite firefighter how often they respond to fires caused by unattended stoves or ovens. Exposed, unattended hot surfaces are never a good idea. It’s too easy for a piece of paper or something flammable to fall on the surface and catch fire. You also run the risk of children or pets burning themselves if they accidentally touch a heating element.
Call in the HVAC pros
The staff at Ernst Heating & Cooling understands that homeowners want the safest solution they can afford. If your heating unit goes kaput in the middle of the night, rest assured that we offer 24/7 emergency service. If your furnace is fine, but your bills still seem high in the colder months, call us for a maintenance check to ensure the unit is in optimal working order.
Your oven wasn’t designed as a space or a whole-house heater. If you’re feeling chilly, call Ernst Heating & Cooling today at 618.217.1836 or schedule your in-home consultation online. We’re here for you!