Hello,

I live in a basement apartment in a house with three units. It's heated centrally by a gas furnace that heats the entire building. All the tenants have noticed how unevenly this house (it's old) is heated, with rooms upstairs that are an inferno while my apartment is an icebox in winter. My landlord said I can get a space heater (he pays the electric bills). I have a small ceramic one I use to warm up the immediate area around me. However, I'd like something that I can place in the living room and one for the bedroom that I can safely leave on for hours and will heat the rooms more slowly and keep them warm at a steady temperature. I researching heaters and thinking maybe an oil-filled heater might be what I'm looking for, but am keen for suggestions. Also, is it possible to get a heater that can put out more or less heat depending on how you set it? My ceramic space heater has a thermostat, but all that does is cycle the heater on and off. Thanks!

I, of course, don't know where you are but landlords are required to provide heat. Or is yours an illegal apartment?

I don't know if any heater is safe and anything electric will bring your bill to an amazingly high level.

The apartment is heated and is not illegal. It's just that it is an old house and does not heat evenly. The apartment on the top floor is extremely hot and I'm not going to ask the tenants to turn it up even more so I can be warm. My landlord pays the heating bills, not me, and he has told me I can get space heaters, which I have. I supposed I could demand he pay for them, and he will probably have to if I ask, but he's a nice guy and it's not that big a deal. Plus, he'll be paying for the extra electricity bills, and he knows this, so I'm not too concerned (but obviously don't want to bankrupt the guy.)

I can't imagine that no heater is safe. In fact, I already have a small ceramic space heater and have been using it for months. I just use it carefully, turn it off at night and when I leave the room.

Can someone answer my question? I'm looking for a different type of heater, described above.

I have a large ceramic heater in the room where my birds are caged. It has a thermostat and a timer. It also came with a warning that it should not be used when no one is home.

Does that answer your question?

Or you can use this link to do your own research: Types of space heaters from Consumer Reports