05 Nov Do Not Use Your Oven to Heat Your Home. Here’s Why.
With the holiday season coming up, you may think you can “beat the system” and use the heat that your oven gives off to keep the rest of your house toasty. In theory, the heat the oven gives off will take some pressure off of your heating system, right? Wrong!
Your oven should never be used to heat your home. Here’s why:
Your Oven was Not Designed for Heating
Your oven was designed to heat food in a small, closed space, not spread that heat around to your entire home. Electric ovens don’t have the power to heat any area a few feet past the unit, and gas stoves won’t do much better at the task.
You’ll Pump Your Home with CO
If you keep your gas oven running, it could malfunction or burn inefficiently, allowing carbon monoxide to seep into your home. Not also will that put your home at risk for a fire or explosion, but you could also experience serious negative health effects. Those effects could cause you to suffer anything from nausea and headaches to potential fatalities.
You’ll Overheat the Oven
When we say this, we don’t necessarily mean the appliance will get too hot to work properly — although that could happen as well. The longer you leave your oven on, the more heat it produces (that still won’t spread to the rest of your home) but could end up burning a child or pet who ends up touching the unit.
If you want to better heat your home, take advantage of central heating or spaces heaters — just be sure to use them safely.
For more help staying warm during the holidays, just call the experts at Wahl Family Heating, Cooling & Plumbing at 412.265.2662.