Electric Heater Usage Calcs

It probably has a thermostat, which means that it doesn't necessarily run continuously. Since it is 1000 = 1kw, the number of kwh per day is simply the number of hours per day that the heater is actually on (anywhere from zero to 24).

At an example rate of $0.10/kwh, this would cost anywhere from $0-2.40 per day.

This may be a bit OT but may be useful to people wanting to provide heat for animals.

A heater designed to operate on 240VAC will put out 1/4 the heat on 120VAC. A typical 240VAC baseboard heater will put out a very gentle heat at 120. For years we used such a heater in a large terrarium that was home to an iguana. It had added simple screens to keep the critter from touching the heating element fins and a standard electric heat room thermostat to keep the temperature in the terrarium at between 85F and 90F.

Most mammals will cozy up to a moderately warm surface like that and be quite happy. And simple guards will keep them from being burned. Low surface temperatures and some controlled air circulation through the screening will prevent anything from getting to a burn temperature (300F plus).

Remember that a thermostat will sense the temperature right at it's location and if the air space is large and open will keep the heater going continuously in usual winter conditions. So the trick here is to select the heater so it's wattage at 120 volts is relatively low in the range of 100 watts for the average dog and less for a cat. A simple light bulb in an enclosed metal box could end up being just right; but would take some test trials and experimentation to get it warm but not too warm. that is where a thermostat in the box might work well. You could experiment with the internal temperature and insulation inside most of the box that would produce the right outside surface temperature for the animal to lay against. Which is just what they will do. They are pretty intelligent that way and will quickly learn where to lay to be most comfortable.

Ed Weldon

Good Morning All, Thank you everyone for the informative feedback. I did however get the rest of the story this morning. It seems the pets in question are a guinea pig and a rabbit, also in a partitioned section of the garage that is insulated with R11. Also there are smoke detectors and an alarm tied to the main house. So that should ease some of the fire worries ! It seems that the said heater is in wall mounted and on a thermostat built in, set to about 60 degrees F. I gather the father was concerned with the cost of the extra electricity compared to how much the children take care of the pets seeing the father is the one doing the chores during the colder months. But seeing the electricity where we are is very cheap ( aproxx $0.035 / KwH ) he doesn't seem to concerned today. Thank You all for your speedy replies