The electric bill rose in cold weather, especially when one room felt cold and a portable heater ran for hours.
Many portable space heaters draw about 1,500 watts. That sounds simple, but several hours per day across a full billing cycle can become one of the most expensive home loads.
Check first
Estimate how many hours the heater actually runs each day.
Check whether multiple heaters are running in different rooms.
Compare cold-weather daily kWh with a milder month.
Look for longer billing days or estimated reads before blaming only the heater.
Practical savings moves
Use the heater only in occupied rooms and turn it off when leaving.
Reduce runtime before changing every other appliance habit.
Fix obvious drafts where safe and practical.
Compare space-heater cost with whole-home heating and thermostat settings.
Avoid these mistakes
Do not leave a portable heater running unattended.
Do not assume a small-looking heater is cheap when it draws 1,500 watts.
Do not compare a cold 35-day bill with a mild 28-day bill without normalizing days.