The zone trick that makes portable heaters better at warming your house

Heating the home can be a struggle with electricity costs, draughts and, in many cases, little to no insulation to contend with. But there is a lot you can do to make the most of your heater to keep you and your house warm.

Zoning is key to keeping the cold air out, the warm air in and you feeling cosy, and it takes just seconds because all you need to do is close doors to other rooms and spaces.

“If you have one heater in your living room working to heat your whole house, that system is going to be working really hard and drawing down a lot of electricity for what you don’t need,” Dani Alexander, CEO, UNSW Energy Institute told nine.com.au.

“As much as you can, thinking about where you want to be and heating that space while separating it from the others is really helpful for lowering your energy costs.”

Insulation is also important to keep the warm air from your heater inside, but if you aren’t in a position to get or improve your home’s insulation, adding thick curtains to windows and rugs to hard floors can help.

It’s also worth checking for draughts around doors and windows and adding things like door seals and door snakes to prevent cold air coming in and hot air escaping.

“It’s part of a package; there is a way in which you can really think about how to put a jumper around your house,” Alexander said.

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“The statistics show that if you insulate your home – and that’s not just the roof, but also the walls and underfloor insulation – you can actually avoid up to 70 per cent of the heat loss that you get from your home, as long as you’re draught-proofing as well. You can insulate your home, but if you’ve got a big gap under the door and the heat is going out that way, it’s not going to work.”

There is no particular length of time or setting that the experts recommend putting your heater on because it depends on where you live, how your home has been designed and whether it has insulation.

“It’s best to run it based on what feels comfortable rather than sticking to fixed hours. Aim to heat only when you’re using the space and adjust the thermostat to a comfortable level instead of letting it run continuously,” Kel Lupis, home energy efficiency specialist with the CSIRO, told nine.com.au.

But if you like to pre-heat a space before you use it, the experts said there is little point beyond five minutes.

“Pop on ugg boots instead,” Lupis said.

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“Also, we don’t recommend running the heating overnight; once you are in bed, you warm up. The humble electric blanket is low energy and guilt-free – set it 30 minutes before you pop into bed.”

The saying “heat the person not the home” can also help you save money by limiting heater use to the coldest days or when multiple people are in a space.

Wearing warm clothes and using an electric throw – which is the cheapest home heating gadget of them all – will help you feel comfortable during winter.

“[Electric heaters] are cheap to buy and not cheap to run. If you use one, use zoning and close the doors to create an ‘oasis’ in that area. Dress for the season; don’t cruise around in shorts and a T-shirt with the heater blasting, unless you want to pay for it – don’t be shocked by your bill,” Lupis said.