Staying warm cheaply does not automatically mean you need to buy a different heater. Often, the smartest first step is actually smaller: heat the area where you are sitting or yourself, instead of unnecessarily heating multiple rooms. A warm base layer, electric blanket, or heated seat cushion can then provide more comfort while the thermostat can remain lower.
This is extra relevant now that energy prices are rising again. The ACM reported in October 2026 that offered gas and electricity contracts have become more expensive. At the same time, Milieu Centraal advises only heating the rooms where you are and mentions an electric blanket or heat cushion as a practical local heat source. The savings therefore do not come from electricity being “cheap”, but from the fact that you need to heat less volume.
The short version: this is how you stay warmer without heating unnecessarily
Do you mainly want to get through the winter more comfortably without heating the entire home more? Then work in this order:
- Retain body heat. Start with thermal clothing, fleece, and warm socks.
- Heat yourself directly. Use an electric blanket, electric underblanket, heat cushion, or heated clothing where practical.
- Only heat the room where you are. A compact heater can be temporarily useful, but is not automatically a cheap replacement for central heating.
- Choose a solution for that specific situation outdoors or on the go. Patio, diesel, kerosene, and gas heaters have a different purpose and different safety requirements than indoor heating.
Why heating yourself is often smarter than heating the whole room
Space heating uses relatively a lot of energy because you are not only heating yourself, but also the air and materials around you. Someone who is mainly sitting still at a desk, on the couch, or in bed does not always need that. Milieu Centraal therefore advises, among other things, not to set the thermostat unnecessarily high, not to heat rooms where no one is, and to use extra clothing or an electric blanket for comfort.
This makes personal warmth interesting: a blanket or garment provides warmth exactly where you feel it. The advantage is especially great if you can therefore actually set the central heating lower or do not need to heat an unused room. If you leave the thermostat high and add electric heat, you obviously will not save.
Which heat solution suits your situation?
| Situation | Logical first choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Working from home | Thermal clothing + electric blanket | Heat directly at your body without first heating the entire office |
| Couch or reading nook | USB blanket or heated seat cushion | Targeted heat where you sit still |
| Cold bed | Electric underblanket | You heat your sleeping place instead of the entire bedroom |
| A lot of time outdoors | Heated jacket, hoodie, scarf, gloves, or socks | Heat moves with you |
| Briefly using a small room | Compact electric auxiliary heating | Quick extra heat, but pay attention to the higher power consumption |
| Patio, camping, or camper | Solution explicitly intended for that environment | Outdoor and vehicle heating have different requirements than indoor heating |
1. Start with thermal clothing: retaining heat costs no electricity
Before you use extra energy, it is logical to better retain the heat your body produces itself. A good base layer and fleece help especially when you sit still for a long time, work outdoors, or regularly switch between indoors and outdoors.
In the thermal clothing collection you will find, among other things, thermal shirts, fleece sweaters, and balaclavas. These products do not add active heat, but can help you cool down less quickly. Therefore, they are a good base under a blanket or heated garment.
If you want to know more about layering and the difference between thermal clothing and active heating, read our guide how do you stay warm in the cold?. That blog goes deeper into clothing; this guide focuses mainly on heating smartly in and around the home.
2. Electric blanket: a lot of comfort in one place
An electric blanket is well suited for lounging on the couch, reading, or working from home, precisely because you do not need to heat the entire room to sit comfortably. Milieu Centraal explicitly mentions electric heat blankets and heat cushions as examples of energy-efficient local auxiliary heating.
The Electric Blanket via USB from our assortment works on 5 V via USB and is available in three sizes. You can, for example, use it with a suitable power bank or USB adapter. This makes it especially practical on the couch, at a desk, or in a camper. The power bank or adapter is not included as standard.
Important: we do not provide costs per hour for this blanket, because the exact electrical power has not been determined reliably enough. If you want to calculate it yourself, always use the actual wattage of the device and your own electricity rate.
3. Electric underblanket: heat your bed instead of the bedroom
A bedroom does not need to have the same temperature as a living room for many people. An electric underblanket directs the heat to your sleeping place. That can be more comfortable than heating the entire bedroom more.
Our Electric Underblanket 120 × 150 cm works on mains electricity and has a wired controller. The exact power and temperature settings are not independently confirmed at this moment, so we make no savings claim about that. Always use it according to the included user manual.
Electric blankets also require attention for wear and tear. The Fire Department advises not to fold but to roll up an electric blanket for storage, to pull the plug out when you do not use it, and to replace it in time. Damaged or outdated wiring can cause short circuits or fire.
4. Heated seat cushion: interesting if you sit in one place for a long time
Someone who sits for a long time on a cold chair, bleacher, or outdoor bench does not immediately need to heat the entire environment. The heated seat cushion with backrest from our assortment heats the back and seat via USB and can be used with a suitable power bank.
This type of product suits the principle of local warmth especially well: you use energy at the place where your body makes contact with the cold chair. Even without active heating, the padded seat provides an extra layer between you and the cold surface.
5. Heated clothing: warmth that moves with you
An electric blanket is nice if you stay seated. As soon as you walk around, work outdoors, walk the dog, or stand along a sports field, heated clothing becomes more logical. Many of these products work with a battery or power bank, allowing the warmth to move with you instead of heating an entire space.
In the current assortment you will find, among other things, an electrically heated hoodie, heated jacket, heated scarf, heated gloves, heated socks, and heated insoles.
For working from home or a cold workshop, a hoodie or jacket is especially interesting; outdoors you can choose the body part that you get cold the fastest. See this primarily as extra comfort. At home, it only results in energy savings if you can therefore actually set the central heating lower.
6. When is a small electric heater actually useful?
An electric heater can quickly provide heat in a small space that you use briefly. Think of a hobby room, home office, or guest room. That does not automatically mean that electric resistance heating is cheap.
Milieu Centraal warns that ordinary electric heaters use relatively a lot of electricity and are not an energy-efficient replacement for central heating on gas. The advantage therefore lies only in short and local use: for example, temporarily heating one small room while other rooms are not heated.
Our Mini Heater for the Outlet has, according to the current product information, a power between 500 and 1000 W and is intended as auxiliary heating for a small space. At 1000 W at full power, such a heater uses 1 kWh in one hour. Multiply that by your own electricity rate to determine the costs per hour.
The same principle applies to a compact ceramic heater: use it only when targeted space heating is really more practical than turning on the central heating for a larger part of the house. An electric heater is therefore a comfort tool for a specific situation, not a general savings hack.
This is how you calculate what electric heat costs yourself
The formula is simple:
power in kilowatts × number of hours of use × your electricity price per kWh = energy costs
A device of 500 W is 0.5 kW. If it runs continuously at full power for one hour, it uses a maximum of 0.5 kWh. A device of 1500 W uses 1.5 kWh under the same assumption. Devices with a thermostat, control settings, or an on/off cycle can in practice work at full power for less time.
Milieu Centraal currently uses € 0.21 per kWh electricity and € 1.37 per m³ gas for long-term calculations. These are calculation prices for the period 2026–2040, not necessarily the rates of your energy contract. Therefore, always use your current contract price for your own comparison.
7. Hanging infrared patio heater: targeted heat outdoors
For a covered patio or balcony, a hanging infrared patio heater of 1500 W is a completely different solution than a heater in the house. Infrared heat is especially intended to make the place where you sit directly more comfortable. The hanging model leaves the floor free and is intended for sheltered outdoor use according to the installation and safety instructions.
At 1500 W, one hour of continuous use at full power amounts to 1.5 kWh electricity. Therefore, see this as comfort for chilly outdoor moments, not as a way to lower the energy bill at home.
8. Diesel heater 12V: heat for camper and vehicle
The Diesel heater 8 kW 12V is precisely intended for a camper or vehicle. It blows warm air into the living space and has an integrated fuel tank. This makes it relevant for cold camper days, winter trips, or longer stays in a vehicle where a regular electric home heater is not a logical solution.
A diesel heater should be correctly mounted and connected, including the exhaust of combustion gases. Therefore, do not use it as a separate improvised heater in an enclosed space and follow the installation and usage instructions carefully.
9. Kerosene and gas heater: heat without an outlet, but not for every room
Someone who needs warmth outdoors without an outlet can look at the Kerosene heater 2600 W or the 2-in-1 camping gas heater with cooking function. Both have a completely different application than an electric blanket or home heater.
The kerosene heater from our assortment is only intended for open outdoor spaces; suitability for homes, tents, and other enclosed spaces is not confirmed. According to the current product information, the camping gas heater may not be used in a tent, car, camper, living room, or bedroom.
With combustion devices, carbon monoxide is an important safety risk. The Fire Department advises good ventilation, correct maintenance, and a working CO detector with combustion devices. Therefore, never use a fuel heater as an improvised replacement for a regular home heating system.
What is then the smartest order if you want to limit your energy costs?
For most households, the most logical order is not “which heater do I buy?”, but:
- Prevent waste. Do not heat rooms where no one is and keep doors closed.
- Reduce the heat demand. Use thermal clothing, fleece, socks, blankets, and draft measures.
- Add personal warmth. Choose where appropriate an electric blanket, electric underblanket, heated seat cushion, or heated clothing.
- Use electric space heating only targeted. Briefly, in one small room, when that provides a practical advantage.
- Use outdoor and fuel heaters only for the intended environment. Safety always comes before comfort or costs.
All heat solutions from our assortment in one overview
| Solution | Best use | Role |
|---|---|---|
| USB heating blanket | Couch, desk, camper | Targeted personal warmth |
| Electric underblanket | Bed | Warmth at the sleeping place |
| Heated seat cushion | Chair, bleacher, camping | Targeted warmth for back and seat |
| Mini heater | Small room, brief use | Local electric auxiliary heating |
| Ceramic heater | Home workplace, bedroom, hobby room | Quick space heating on a small scale |
| Infrared patio heater | Covered patio or balcony | Targeted outdoor warmth |
| Diesel heater 12V | Camper or vehicle | Warm air in a vehicle/living space |
| Kerosene heater | Open outdoor space | Warmth without an outlet; safety restrictions apply |
| Camping gas heater | Outdoors or suitable well-ventilated use according to the manual | Warmth and cooking function without mains electricity |
| Heated clothing | Home, outdoors, work, and on the go | Warmth that moves with you |
| Thermal clothing | Indoors and outdoors | Retain body heat without electricity |
Frequently asked questions about staying warm cheaply
Is an electric blanket cheaper than an electric heater?
For heating one person, an electric blanket is generally much more logical, because you heat a much smaller area. Always compare the actual power of both devices and your usage time. The real savings occur if you therefore need less space heating.
Can I turn off the heating completely and only use a blanket?
That is not always wise. A home that becomes too cold can get moisture problems and pipes can be at risk in frost. Take into account your home, ventilation, and heating system. Milieu Centraal advises for many central heating homes, for example, night reduction to 15 degrees, but for underfloor heating or heat pumps, other advice applies.
Is a ceramic heater energy-efficient?
A ceramic heater can quickly make a small space comfortable, but remains electric resistance heating. That is not the same as energy-efficient main heating. Therefore, use such a heater especially targeted and temporarily.
What is the best solution for working from home in a cold room?
Start with clothing and local warmth: thermal clothing, fleece, and possibly an electric blanket or heated hoodie. Only when that does not provide enough comfort, is temporary auxiliary heating of the room a next step.
Conclusion: heat smarter, not automatically more
As gas and electricity become more expensive, it makes sense to take a critical look at heating. The best savings strategy is usually not to simply replace one energy source with another. It is much more interesting to heat less space: only the rooms you use, and where possible, heat yourself, your chair, or your bed first.
For home use, thermal clothing, an electric blanket, an underblanket, or a heated seat cushion are therefore often a more logical first step than an additional electric heater. Heated clothing provides extra comfort especially outdoors or on the go. And compact space or outdoor heaters can be used specifically when the situation really calls for it.
Would you like to view the solutions side by side? Go to Heating & warmth. There you can compare specifically based on usage situation instead of just power or size.
Sources for general energy saving and safety: Milieu Centraal – heating savings tips, Milieu Centraal – energy-efficient auxiliary heating, ACM Energy Monitor, Fire Department – electric blanket and Fire Department – carbon monoxide.
