We need it to provide additional heat during winter in our tiny 1LDK apartment. Something to keep our feet warm and toasty without adding too much cost in electricity.
Last winter we paid less than 10,000 yen running the AC/heater system that came with the apartment and survived with some yutanpo at night. This year we want a little upgrade so some Amazon links would be great! Thank you very much! :))
8 comments
Why not use your AC? It’s much more energy-efficient than anything you could hope to buy yourself, at least by factor 2.
I don’t know if you’re allowed it in your apartment (it’s not permitted under some contracts), but I really like kerosene stoves.
Once you get over the smell (which only occurs at the start and end of use), they can’t be beaten for cost vs performance.
Our Corona brand stove immediately heats up our 17 tatami living room/kitchen. And I mean immediately – in 20 seconds it has taken the edge of the cold, in one minute the room feels warm, another minute and it’s toasty.
And we have a kettle of water on it for tea (which also acts as a humidifier in the super-dry winters), or a pot of nabe, or we use for reheating a curry.
Does your apartment have an outlet (?) for a gas heater? My partner got a free heater years ago from the gas company as an incentive for people to use gas to heat over electric.
Edit .
Also Hard Off has second hand goods where you might score a decent heater.
Do you have a kotatsu ? This way you will just heat up the part below the table and not the whole room.
I’ve found the quickest and most effective stop-gap measure, would be to cover your windows with a layer of bubble wrap (it’s even better if you can do two…)
[How to bubble wrap windows ](https://dengarden.com/home-improvement/How-to-Bubble-Wrap-Windows)
I picked up a large roll from a hardware shop, and just used double-sided tape.
The other way to increase efficiency is to trap more heat. A kotatsu with a good blanket should keep you nice and toasty without breaking the bank.
Or reduce the heating area. Partition off sections with a blanket, or even a plastic sheet. Most compact I’ve done was a usb power heated vest under a winter jacket.
I’m a professional selling electric household appliances, as well as other fuels, such as LPG, kerosene, and equipment/appliances for these fuels.
Seconding the AC in your case. A lot of people tend to think that they are expensive (because they see the upfront bill increase), but in fact they really aren’t as bad. If you factor in the cost of a different fuel heater (be that LPG or kerosene), then additional costs (in case of LPG heaters you need proper piping), then fuel costs (and these two have been on a hike recently), you’ll start seeing that for a small apartment, it’s actually pretty up there, plus you have to deal with ventilation requirements (once an hour for both, which drops your room temperature significantly). Portable electric heaters can be pretty ineffective and are expensive in the long run, too. The cheapest way to keep a small apartment/room warm is to use your AC, but set it to Eco mode (省エネ on Panasonics, for example) and not go over 23°C. Some people also alternate AC and electric blankets at night.
However, this completely changes with the size of your space going up, so please keep in mind that it only works for small-ish rooms and apartments.
What about an oil heater/radiator? Can get one for 8000yen and it’s enough for a small room
I’m just adding to the list of answers that aren’t what you asked for, because I think the advice that as far as hearing the room the AC is the most efficient option, but other nice warm things to consider would be the heated vests that you can find anywhere that sells outdoor work gear, heating bricks you can put your feet on, and hot carpets. Basically, options to heat yourself more directly.