Kotatsu heater under desk?

Okay, hear me out. It’s cold. But heating the entire place, as nice as that would be, can get expensive. Girlfriend is using her kotatsu. But I’m a PC person, sitting at a desk. I was thinking, I could just get that heater part from Amazon and mount it under my desk. But the desk top is 17 mm wood. Would that actually take damage? Are kotatsu tables made from some heat resistant material? Or is there some insulation layer between the heating element and the desk top? Is the idea doomed for some other reason? Needles to say, I’d also have to put a “curtain” around the desk. But that wouldn’t be too hard to do.

19 comments
  1. hear me out, just buy a ceramic heater and put it under the desk. You could also put a curtain around. Would be easier and more flexible than using a kotatsu heater

  2. They sell heating panels specifically for sticking under your desk. Buy one of those.

  3. Buy a futon heater. It has a tube. Just make a curtain on the front and back of the desk (don’t forget to curtain your chair legs) and poke the tube into the curtain.

  4. Put your PC under your desk, and block the back end of the desk with a piece of plywood (or cardboard). Toasty.

    Assuming, of course, that you have a desktop PC.

  5. I have a heated chair cover that I got from Amazon and a nice thick blanket that does the trick.

  6. Get a new GPU. Play some high-end games. Soon your room will be nice and toasty.

    Seriously, this is the PC way. There’s a reason people spend so much on cooling these suckers.

  7. I’m sitting at my PC at this moment with a futon blanket folded in half and wrapped around my waist like a towel. It works all winter.

  8. I bought one of those detachable kotatsu panels with blankets that I installed under my work desk. Every easy to install (you could screw the metal panels in for the magnet to stick to, but the adhesive sticker provided is strong enough) and is very light.

    Was around 6000 yen and was a total lifesaver this winter.

  9. just buy one of these
    [https://www.amazon.co.jp/NAZUSA-%E3%83%87%E3%82%B9%E3%82%AF%E3%83%92%E3%83%BC%E3%82%BF%E3%83%BC%E3%80%90%E7%AD%92%E5%9E%8B360%C2%B0%E5%85%A8%E6%96%B9%E4%BD%8D%E7%99%BA%E7%86%B1%E5%BC%8F%E3%80%91%E8%B6%B3%E5%85%83%E3%83%92%E3%83%BC%E3%82%BF%E3%83%BC-%E7%AD%92%E5%9E%8B%E3%83%87%E3%82%B9%E3%82%AF%E3%83%92%E3%83%BC%E3%82%BF%E3%83%BC-2H%E3%83%BB4H%E3%83%BB6H%E6%99%82%E9%96%93%E3%82%BF%E3%82%A4%E3%83%9E%E3%83%BC%E4%BB%98%E3%81%8D-%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC%E8%AA%9E%E5%8F%96%E6%89%B1%E8%AA%AC%E6%98%8E%E6%9B%B8%E4%BB%98%E3%81%8D/dp/B0CKRXTTT2/ref=sr_1_3_sspa?crid=2YZHGKBIA1RX5&keywords=%E3%83%91%E3%83%8D%E3%83%AB%E3%83%92%E3%83%BC%E3%82%BF%E3%83%BC+%E3%83%87%E3%82%B9%E3%82%AF%E4%B8%8B&qid=1701827547&sprefix=pane%2Caps%2C154&sr=8-3-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1](https://www.amazon.co.jp/NAZUSA-%E3%83%87%E3%82%B9%E3%82%AF%E3%83%92%E3%83%BC%E3%82%BF%E3%83%BC%E3%80%90%E7%AD%92%E5%9E%8B360%C2%B0%E5%85%A8%E6%96%B9%E4%BD%8D%E7%99%BA%E7%86%B1%E5%BC%8F%E3%80%91%E8%B6%B3%E5%85%83%E3%83%92%E3%83%BC%E3%82%BF%E3%83%BC-%E7%AD%92%E5%9E%8B%E3%83%87%E3%82%B9%E3%82%AF%E3%83%92%E3%83%BC%E3%82%BF%E3%83%BC-2H%E3%83%BB4H%E3%83%BB6H%E6%99%82%E9%96%93%E3%82%BF%E3%82%A4%E3%83%9E%E3%83%BC%E4%BB%98%E3%81%8D-%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC%E8%AA%9E%E5%8F%96%E6%89%B1%E8%AA%AC%E6%98%8E%E6%9B%B8%E4%BB%98%E3%81%8D/dp/B0CKRXTTT2/ref=sr_1_3_sspa?crid=2YZHGKBIA1RX5&keywords=%E3%83%91%E3%83%8D%E3%83%AB%E3%83%92%E3%83%BC%E3%82%BF%E3%83%BC+%E3%83%87%E3%82%B9%E3%82%AF%E4%B8%8B&qid=1701827547&sprefix=pane%2Caps%2C154&sr=8-3-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1)

    My WFH setup is in my non HVAC hall closet. I have a portable heater that I turn on in the morning in winter just to get it up to 60F, but other than that I dress as if I’m going to a football game.
    Hat, thin puffer jacket, sweatpants, blanket around my waist, socks, room shoes, and a thermos full of hot coffee.

  10. Becareful with these types of things, they are incredibly cost inefficient. An AC can heat a room generally well enough, and it costs less to run than an old kotatsu or some direct heat converter. Also, kotatsu stays warm because of the blanket above the table, keeping airflow to a minimum, you won’t be able to do the same at your desk. Direct induction heating isn’t actually that great or efficient.

  11. You can also opt to use a floor warmer. Just by having a blanket over you will produce the same affect with the added benefit of warming up more space including other areas of the room.

  12. Keep in mind your air con will have much more efficient heating performance than your kotatsu or space heater. Depending on the specifications and outside temperature, you can expect 4 kW of heating power for every 1 kW consumed. So it might not be as expensive as you think to use it and could even end up cheaper.

  13. I just use heated zabuton and cover my legs with mofu when seating before computer.

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