Is Leaving A Space Heater On All Night A Mistake?

When the winter frost settles in, it's tempting to do everything we can to avoid feeling cold inside our homes. This might include breaking the warmest blankets out of storage, cranking up the furnace, and even reversing the ceiling fan to push warm air down. And when that's not enough, some turn to space heaters for extra warmth. When used correctly, space heaters can be an efficient and convenient way to warm up a small area. With that said, these little portable heaters do have the potential to be dangerous, and there are quite a few mistakes to avoid when using space heaters. One of those mistakes is leaving your space heater on all night.

Per the National Fire Protection Association, space heaters are one of the primary causes of house fires in the United States, and are also responsible for "a vast majority of home heating fire deaths (88%)". Yes, those statistics are frightening, but before you throw your space heater out for good, keep in mind that you can lower fire risks by taking certain precautions and using them properly. Space heaters are only designed to run for a couple of hours at a time. Running them for longer periods of time, like all night, can result in the units overheating, which can cause fires. Another risk is that if the machine were to tip over, you wouldn't be awake to notice and fix it. This poses a serious fire hazard. Plus, the dangers of the units overheating and tipping over aren't the only reasons why running your space heater all night is a serious mistake.

An additional reason why you should not run your space heater through the night is that it can cause hyperthermia (illness due to heat), which can be fatal. This is especially true for kids, the elderly, and people with disabilities. Propane-powered space heaters carry other risks as well, like depleting the oxygen levels in the room, and can even potentially lead to carbon monoxide poisoning.

On top of being dangerous to run all night, space heaters are typically only effective at warming up a small space, which means that even if you were to run it until morning, the rest of your house would likely still be cold. To keep your whole house warm at night, and to avoid a fiery mistake with your space heater, you're better off cranking the thermostat up on your furnace a few degrees. Plus, using a furnace to heat your whole home is probably going to cost you much less than depending solely on space heaters for warmth.

A happy middle ground could be to turn your space heater on for a few hours in the evenings. This way, your room can get nice and cozy as you lay down and get ready for bed. However, you should shut it off before you go to sleep. To keep that heat inside all night, you can look into some cheap ways to insulate your home, like hanging thermal curtains.