Winter Cold-Weather Measures and Heating Guide 2026: Stay Comfortable with Heating, Insulation, and Humidifying
Prices, point rates and sale details in this article were checked by the mottoku editorial team against each service's official site and API (as of the last update). Always check the official sites for current prices, stock and campaign terms.
Before turning up the heat, understand how heat flows in and out of your home
In a cold room, the first thing most people do is raise the air conditioner's set temperature or add another heater. That is the "addition" approach. But even at the same room temperature, some rooms leave your feet chilly while others wrap you in gentle warmth. The difference comes not from how strong the heating is, but from where heat comes in and where it escapes. According to general data on heat flow in houses, the biggest route for heat to escape from indoors in winter is openings such as windows, which are said to account for roughly half of the total. In other words, even if you run your heating at full power, a good share of that heat tends to flow straight out through the windows.
That is why this guide, before asking "which heater should I buy," works through the order for setting up a room along three axes: warm, don't let heat escape, and keep moisture. It covers how to choose heating appliances, insulating windows and floors, how humidifying raises the temperature you feel, staying warm in bed and outdoors, and the often-overlooked topics of winter indoor laundry drying and electricity costs. For each topic there is a more detailed individual article you can reach from the text. First, there is one caution to keep in mind from the start.
Sudden temperature differences between a warm living room and a cold hallway, changing room, or toilet can put a strain on the body (so-called heat shock). Older people and those with existing health conditions in particular should take care, for example by warming the changing room and bathroom before bathing. If you use combustion-type (kerosene or gas) heaters, do not forget regular ventilation. On cold days, it is also important not to put up with the cold by going without heating. This article offers information on choosing appliances and goods and on general cold-weather measures, and is not medical advice. If you have any symptoms that concern you, do not push yourself, and consult a medical institution.
Choose a heater by its heating style, and you won't go wrong
Before comparing model specs, decide first how you want the room to be warmed, and you are less likely to make a mistake. Broadly, there are types that warm the air itself and circulate it around the whole room, types that quickly warm only the area right in front of you, and types that keep you gently warm with radiant heat from the body or the oil. Even among things called "heaters," the speed of warm-up, whether the whole room gets warm, how easily the air dries out, and the tendency of electricity costs are completely different.
| Type | Heating style | Best for | Points to note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air conditioner heating | Warms the air and spreads it through the whole room. Well balanced in warm-up speed and energy efficiency | Larger main living spaces such as a living room | Choose a capacity that matches the room size in tatami mats. The air dries out easily and the area near your feet gets warmed last |
| Fan heaters | Quick with hot air. A fast-heating type that is warm right after you switch it on | A changing room in the morning, a quick start right after coming home | Cools quickly once switched off. Dries the air easily and the hot air makes some noise |
| Oil-filled heaters | Gentle warmth from radiant heat. The air does not dry out easily and running noise is almost nonexistent | Bedrooms, children's rooms, private rooms for working from home | Slow to warm up. Not suited to large rooms |
| Kotatsu / electric blankets | Warm only the parts that are in contact, with pinpoint accuracy | Supplementary use for feet, while seated, and in bed | Do not warm the whole room. Use only as a supplement |
If you think separately about the "lead player that should warm the whole room properly" and the "supporting player that only needs to warm your feet or your bed," you will cut down on unnecessary extra purchases. For example, an air conditioner as the lead, a quiet and gentle oil-filled heater in the bedroom, and an electric blanket for your feet while seated: that kind of division of roles. When choosing an oil-filled heater, the tip is to look in the catalog at the number of fins (heat-radiating area) and the wattage step switching; if you choose with the applicable tatami size and running noise in mind as well, it will be comfortable to use in a bedroom.
If you have small children or pets, be sure to check for automatic tip-over shut-off, a child lock, and measures against surface burns. "No flame means absolutely safe" is not true; the basic premise is not to use appliances whose surfaces get very hot, and not to place flammable items nearby.
Avoid the "I thought it would fit, but it didn't" problem: check heater dimensions and power supply beforehand
Among home appliances, heaters are a category where installation conditions easily trip people up. The reason is simple: the unit itself is large, and the instruction manual specifies the distance that must be left open around it (the clearance distance). Many oil-filled heaters and ceramic fan heaters require tens of centimeters of space not only in front but also at the back and sides, so if you measure on the assumption that you will "push it right up against the wall," the place you planned for disappears. It is safer to look beyond the unit size on the product page and also check the "distance from combustible materials" stated in the specifications section or the manual PDF.
Another pitfall is the power supply. Heaters consume a lot of power, and many fall in the range of around 1000W to 1500W class. Extension cords and power strips have a rated capacity, and exceeding it can lead to overheating and fire. In particular, avoid the setup of "plugging a heater and an electric kettle into the same power strip." The rule is to plug directly into the wall outlet. In older houses, the capacity per circuit may have little margin, and the breaker may trip when a heater and a hair dryer are used at the same time. If you look at the distribution board and find out which circuit is assigned to each room, you can decide which outlet you should use.
If you are considering a combustion type (kerosene or gas), note that the room size ratings are given separately for wooden houses and reinforced (concrete) construction. For the same product, the tatami size for a wooden house is shown as smaller. This allows for the difference in insulation, so you need to read the figure for the side that matches the structure of your own home. In addition, a gas fan heater requires a gas valve (gas outlet) in the room, and the model differs depending on whether you have city gas or LP gas. Equipment with the wrong gas type cannot be used.
Some rental properties prohibit the use of combustion-type heaters in the lease. The reasons given are often condensation and odor, so it is safest to check the lease or the management company before buying.
W, tatami size, humidifying capacity: turn the numbers in the spec sheet into something you can compare
Heater and humidifier product pages mix many different units, which makes them troublesome to compare. If you get a grip on what the commonly seen terms mean, comparing models becomes much easier.
| Term | How to read it |
| Power consumption (W) | For an electric heater, this is almost directly the heat output. A 1200W model warms faster than a 1000W model, but the electricity cost rises in proportion. Check whether the W for each high/low setting is given |
| Applicable tatami size | Listed separately for wooden / reinforced (concrete) construction. Read the one for your home's structure. For air conditioners, the tatami size differs for heating and cooling, and the heating figure is smaller |
| Humidifying capacity (mL/h) | The amount of moisture that can be released per hour. The larger the room and the more it is ventilated, the larger the figure you need. The "applicable floor area" is also given in two ways: for a wooden Japanese-style room and for a prefab Western-style room |
| Tank capacity (L) | Dividing it by the humidifying capacity gives a rough guide to continuous running time. Even with a large capacity, a higher humidifying capacity does not reduce how often you refill |
| APF / COP | Indicators of an air conditioner's energy efficiency. The larger the number, the less electricity it needs to move heat. Look at it together with the star mark for energy-saving performance and the estimated running cost label |
For humidifiers, the type name is also a basis for judging. Steam type boils water, so it uses more electricity, but bacteria are less likely to multiply and the steam it puts out is itself warm. Evaporative type uses a fan to blow air over water for natural evaporation, so power consumption is low, but the filter needs care. Ultrasonic type tends to be quiet and inexpensive, but it disperses bacteria and minerals in the water as they are, so frequent cleaning and changing the water is a prerequisite. Hybrid type combines heating with the evaporative or ultrasonic type, and is a compromise between quick warm-up and energy saving.
For insulating curtains and rugs, terms such as "heat-blocking rate" and "heat-retention effect" are listed, but the measurement conditions vary from company to company, so they are not suited to side-by-side comparison. Reading descriptions of the structure gets closer to the reality: the thickness of the fabric, whether there is a lining, whether the length reaches the floor, and, for rugs, whether the filling contains urethane or aluminum-vapor-deposited sheet.
Stop heat from escaping: windows (70%) and curbing the chill of the floor
What works before you turn up the heating is the idea of not letting heat escape that we have touched on so far. Windows in particular are the biggest route for heat to escape in winter. A single-pane window cools to a temperature close to the outside air, and indoor air that touches that cold surface sinks down and creates a cold flow around your feet (a cold draft). In many cases, this is what lies behind "the heating is on, but only my feet are cold."
- Cover the windows: Hanging curtains with insulating or light-blocking functions that are larger than the window and long enough to reach the floor can reduce the cold air sinking down. Closing the gap at the top of the rail increases the effect. Insulating sheets that stick to the window glass and bubble-wrap-style air-cushion sheets are also an easy way to boost performance.
- Cut off the chill from the floor: A wooden floor feels cold to bare feet. Laying a thick rug or carpet in a warm material eases the chill from the soles of your feet and changes how you feel considerably. Layering an insulating mat underneath works even better.
- Block drafts: Even inexpensive goods costing a few hundred yen and up change heating efficiency, such as gap tape stuck on gaps around the entrance door and window sashes, and door-bottom seals that stop cold air from under the door.
Because these raise the temperature you feel without using electricity, you end up not having to push the heating set temperature too high. The key to setting up a room for winter is that insulating one window before "raising the heating by 1°C" tends to balance satisfaction and cost better.
Moisture is "one more level of warmth": how humidity changes what you feel
Even at the same room temperature, a dry room feels cold and a moderately moist room feels warm. This is not your imagination: when humidity is low, body heat is easily taken away as moisture evaporates from the skin. A comfortable humidity level in winter is generally said to be 40-60%, and keeping it in this range makes you feel warm more easily without raising the heating set temperature. Dryness also causes a dry throat, rough skin, and static electricity, so adjusting humidity together with heating is the basic winter practice.
For a humidifier, deciding on the type comes before choosing a model. Steam types that boil water with a heater are attractive for cleanliness and humidifying power but cost more in electricity; evaporative types that pass air through a filter save energy and are reassuring around children; ultrasonic types are quiet and stylish but tend to backfire if you neglect care. The first choice for a living room is the hybrid type combining steam and evaporation. How to choose by humidifying method makes a concrete comparison along the axes of applicable tatami size, tank capacity, and ease of care.
Humidifying is not a case of "the more the better." When humidity is too high, it invites condensation and mold around the windows. Windows that are thoroughly fogged up or water pooling in the sash are signs of too much humidifying. Placing a hygrometer and adjusting the output to aim for 40-60% is the surest shortcut.
Warm air collects near the ceiling: circulate it and bring it down to your feet
Warm air is light and collects near the ceiling, while cold air sinks to the floor. This is why "my face is hot but my feet are cold" happens with air conditioner heating, and it is not necessarily a lack of heating capacity. If you return the warm air collected at the ceiling to your feet, the whole room warms evenly without raising the set temperature.
- Point a circulator or fan upward: Run it gently toward the ceiling to stir the collected warm air and circulate it down to the floor. It works well placed diagonally across from the air conditioner, or in a corner of the room that the heating's airflow hardly reaches.
- Set the air conditioner's airflow downward: When heating, point the louvers downward so the air reaches the floor. If they stay pointing upward, warm air tends to stagnate near the ceiling.
- Close the door to narrow the area you heat: Simply stopping heat from flowing out to unused rooms makes warm-up faster.
If you combine "heating, insulation, and circulation," even a heater with little spare capacity feels a level better. If the room still does not warm up, only then should you doubt the heater's own capacity (tatami size); that order wastes the least.
What the main unit alone doesn't provide, and what is often recommended but can wait
With heating, there are several accessories you realize on the very day you buy the main unit that you "can't use it without."
- Thermo-hygrometer: You cannot judge how well heating and humidifying are working by feel alone. Once you can see the numbers, you notice that even if you lower the set temperature, raising the humidity is enough. The tip is to place it at living height (around eye level when seated).
- Refueling pump and kerosene container for a kerosene fan heater: These often do not come with the unit, and without them you cannot run it from the first day. An electric pump with automatic stop is less likely to spill.
- Water bottle or pitcher for a humidifier: For models whose tank is not filled from the top, you are expected to carry it to the sink. Judge the position of the handle and the weight with the tank full of water.
- Covers or hooks that close the top of the curtain rail: Even if you hang insulating curtains, cold air escapes through the gap at the top of the rail. Just closing it off changes how cold your feet feel.
- Non-slip sheet: Prevents a rug from shifting when laid on a wooden floor. People tend to think a thick rug won't move because of its weight, but it is in winter, when you walk around at your feet with the heating on, that it shifts most.
Conversely, there are also things that are not high priority. Dedicated stands or covers for heaters can narrow the clearance distance and actually compromise safety. As for a humidifier's aroma function, putting essential oil into a model not stated to support it will damage the tank and resin parts, so if scent is your aim, it is safer to prepare something separate. Small circulators that claim "using them with heating lowers your electricity bill" are often unnecessary too, since a fan you already have at home is usually enough to circulate warm air, so it is worth trying what you have before buying more.
Tap water is the basic choice for humidifier water. Mineral water and purified water have had the chlorine removed, so bacteria multiply more easily, and many manufacturers do not recommend them.
In bed and when you go out: gear that keeps your body from getting cold
Even if you get the room in order, the bed will be cold if the bedding is thin, and if your protection from the cold when going out is lacking, your body will be thoroughly chilled by the time you get home. Heating a space and keeping your body warm are separate matters, and it is best to have both covered.
- Warm the bed with bedding: In winter, choose a comforter or down duvet with good heat retention. The advantage of down is that it is light and warm, with little feeling of pressure on the body. A cold bedroom affects falling asleep and waking up, so if you also use the good sleep guide to set up your bedroom environment, you can improve even the quality of your sleep.
- Be careful how you use supplementary heating in bed: Electric blankets and hot water bottles help you fall asleep, but if left on at high heat until morning, you may sweat and then get cold, or become dry. The tip is to warm the bedding before bed and lower the setting or switch it off once you are asleep.
- Warmth when going out: Choose a winter coat by its level of cold protection (the amount of padding or down, and wind resistance). Indoors, combining "wearable warmth" that does not rely too much on heating, such as a wearable blanket and thick room socks, means you do not have to push the set temperature too high.
Overlooked winter indoor laundry drying: it also helps with dryness
Winter has short daylight hours and cold outside air, so it is a season when laundry is slow to dry. Indoor drying increases, but in terms of humidifying this can be an ally. When you hang laundry in a dry winter room, that moisture evaporates and provides gentle humidifying, which also helps prevent excessive dryness.
- Choose by how much you dry and where you place it: Choose an indoor drying rack by how much it can hold at once, whether it folds for storage, and whether it suits the place you will put it, such as by a window or under the air conditioner.
- Balance against musty smell and condensation: Drying a lot in a closed-up room raises humidity too much and causes a musty smell and condensation. You are less likely to fail if you pay attention to airflow, such as blowing air on it with a circulator or speeding drying with heating or dehumidifying.
Humidifiers, indoor drying, and heating each affect humidity. "Running the humidifier strongly while also drying a lot of laundry indoors" easily leads to excess humidity, so the finishing touch for a winter indoor environment is to adjust while watching a hygrometer so that the whole stays within 40-60%.
Care to get you through the whole winter: filters, limescale, and kerosene management
Heaters and humidifiers both look like "appliances you can just leave in place," but in practice the frequency of care determines performance and safety. If you factor in this cost structure before buying, you will have fewer regrets.
With air conditioner heating, a clogged filter directly leads to poorer warming and higher power consumption. Simply vacuuming it about once every two weeks makes a difference. Even with an automatic cleaning function, disposing of the dust box and dirt on the heat exchanger itself remain, so there will come a time every few seasons when you should consider a disassembly cleaning.
Humidifiers take much more work. Limescale (a white deposit of hardened minerals) builds up in the tank and tray, and if left alone it lowers humidifying output and can cause odor. The basic care is regular cleaning with citric acid, and with an evaporative type the filter is a consumable to be replaced every season, or every one to two seasons. Antibacterial cartridges and silver-ion parts are also meant to be replaced. Check on the manufacturer's site before buying whether replacement parts can be bought individually, and you are less likely to end up replacing the whole unit a few years later.
With kerosene fan heaters, the key is managing the kerosene. Kerosene that has been kept over the summer deteriorates and can cause incomplete combustion and breakdowns, so the recommended practice is to use it up at the end of the season. Keep the plastic tank out of direct sunlight. At the end of the season, drain the remaining kerosene, run the unit empty to burn off the kerosene inside, and then put it away.
Oil-filled heaters and panel heaters have few moving parts and need the least effort, but dust that has collected between the radiating fins can burn and give off an odor. Removing the dust while the unit is cold at the start of the season, and ventilating during the first run, gives peace of mind.
Insulating curtains and rugs are also somewhat consumable. Washing can degrade the lining coating of some, so check the washable / not washable label, and make a non-washable type last with shade drying and vacuuming.
Balancing electricity cost and warmth: through efficiency, not endurance
In winter, electricity costs tend to pile up with heating, but putting up with the cold and ruining your health defeats the purpose. If the "don't let heat escape, keep moisture, circulate" steps so far are in place, you can feel warm without pushing the set temperature. Finally, here are the points that help with efficiency.
- Boost the temperature you feel with insulation and humidifying: Even if you lower the set temperature by 1°C, with window insulation and moderate humidity you are less likely to feel cold. Think of it as earning your warmth through how you set up the room rather than through the heating number.
- Narrow the area you heat: Heat only the rooms you use, and close the door so heat does not escape. This is more efficient than warming a large space thinly.
- Clean the air conditioner filter: A clog definitely lowers heating efficiency. Cleaning it about once every two weeks helps both electricity cost and how easily the room warms.
- In some situations, continuous running beats frequent on/off: Air conditioner heating uses a lot of power at start-up, so for a short absence, leaving it on can end up saving energy.
- Review your rate plan: When the way you use power changes, also check saving on your electricity rate plan. Reward rates and plan conditions change, so please check the latest information from each electricity company and each official source.
When to buy heating and cold-weather goods, and how to search by mall
Winter goods have a peak and a trough in demand, and depending on when you buy, the cost feel of the same item changes. We cannot fully predict how prices move, but there are tendencies worth aiming for.
- Aim for the trough in demand: Heating and cold-weather appliances tend to see previous-model and clearance stock move in early autumn, before the cold really sets in, and in late in the season through early spring, after winter goods have made their round. If you do not need it right now, avoiding the peak of midwinter is not unreasonable.
- Match the sale periods: During the large sale periods of each e-commerce mall, point rewards and coupons can become more generous. However, reward rates and campaign conditions change, so please check the current conditions on each official page before buying. For the price of the unit, it is safer to look at whether it is "within a reasonable range" together with the number of reviews and the ratings.
- Where each mall works best: If you value point rewards, use a mall with generous reward programs; if you want to check the actual feel and even the accessories through photos and reviews, use a mall with many listings and reviews. Using malls according to what you want to prioritize in that purchase gives steadier satisfaction than choosing on price alone.
Check the "applicable tatami size" first of all for a heater. If its capacity is small for the room, it will never warm up no matter how long it runs and only the electricity bill grows. More than price or design, whether it suits the size of the room is the biggest factor deciding your satisfaction.
What to check on the day it arrives: initial defects, warranty, and where returns draw the line
If you open the box after the season has started and only then notice a defect, you will be cold the whole time you wait for repair. That is exactly why checking on the very day it arrives is effective.
- Check the exterior and accessoriesAre the casters, screws, refueling pump, remote control, and filters all there as in the manual's accessory list? Keeping a photo of the opened cardboard box makes it smoother to report anything missing.
- Test run at a low settingDo not go straight to the strongest setting; start with low-power operation. Symptoms such as abnormal noises, a burning smell that continues, or a flashing display are material for the manufacturer's judgment of an initial defect. The oily smell peculiar to new products normally fades within a few dozen minutes, and if it goes on beyond that, it is time to consult.
- For a humidifier, fill the tank and check for leaksFill the tank with water, leave it for about 30 minutes, and check whether water has spread to the floor or under the tray. A leak caused by a shifted gasket is a typical initial defect.
- Link the warranty card to the store stamp or order historyFor online purchases, the delivery slip or the order completion email serves as proof of the purchase date. Keep it together with the warranty card and be careful not to throw it away when tidying up at the end of the season.
Whether a return is accepted differs depending on the mall and the seller. In general, items that have been opened and powered on tend to fall outside returns for "customer's reasons," while clearly initial defects are generally handled by exchange. The case that tends to become a problem here is one peculiar to heaters: "it doesn't warm as much as I expected." Environmental factors such as using it in a room larger than the applicable tatami size or weak insulation are not regarded as defects, so it is hard to get through as a reason for return. That is exactly why checking the tatami size before purchase is important.
Also, a kerosene fan heater that has had kerosene put in becomes difficult to return or to carry when moving. Before the test run, it is wise to decide whether you really will use that model. The manufacturer's warranty is usually one year, but it is also good to remember that consumables (filters, cartridges, dry-cell batteries) are not covered.
If you start looking only after it gets cold, you can't choose: the yearly cycle of heating goods
With winter goods, the peak of demand and the peak of stock are out of step. If you know this time lag, you can choose calmly during the period with many options.
New models of heaters are announced by many manufacturers from late summer to early autumn, and the selection is richest both in stores and online in September to October. During this period, last year's models and new models coexist, so in categories with small functional differences (oil-filled heaters, electric stoves, kotatsu, and so on), last year's models tend to be the ones to aim for. Conversely, when a real cold wave arrives in December, stock of popular models thins out first, and the choices of color and size shrink. If you "look once you feel cold," you tend to end up choosing from what is left.
Large sales held at the turn of the seasons sometimes include winter goods in the home appliance category. Even so, heaters sell best in midwinter, so you cannot expect big markdowns then. Rather, the end of winter, from late February through March, when stock is cleared, is a realistic time to prepare for the next season. However, many items are sold out in this period, and there is no guarantee that the model number you want will remain.
Humidifiers follow a somewhat different cycle: demand rises from November, when dryness starts to bother people, and continues through the period when pollen and infectious diseases become a concern. Insulating curtains and rugs are concentrated before winter, while bedding (blankets, down duvets) tends to see movement around New Year sales and winter clearance.
If you are buying with the next season in mind, note that the warranty period starts counting from the purchase date. You will use up part of the warranty before you start using it. For high-priced models where you worry about breakdowns, buying just before use lets you make better use of the warranty.
Frequently asked questions
Why are only my feet cold even when I turn up the heating?
Warm air is light and collects near the ceiling, while cold air sinks to the floor, so your feet may feel cold even when the heating capacity is sufficient. In addition, the "cold draft," in which air that touches a cold window glass sinks down, is another cause of cold feet. The remedies are to run a circulator toward the ceiling to circulate the warm air, to point the air conditioner's airflow downward, and to curb the chill of windows and floors with insulating curtains and thick rugs. Before turning up the heating, try this circulation and insulation first, and how you feel will change.
How should I use air conditioner heating and an oil-filled heater differently?
Air conditioner heating suits the lead role of efficiently warming the whole room, and is characterized by a good balance of quick warm-up and energy saving. An oil-filled heater, on the other hand, does not dry the air easily and runs almost silently, so it suits situations where you want to keep warm quietly for a long time, such as bedrooms, children's rooms, and private rooms for working from home. A realistic division of roles is the air conditioner in the living room and an oil-filled heater in the bedroom. Oil-filled heaters are slow to warm up and not suited to large rooms, so check the applicable tatami size and the number of fins when choosing.
Why does it feel cold on some days even though the room temperature is the same?
Humidity may be having an effect. When the air is dry, moisture evaporates easily from the skin and body heat is taken away in the process, so it feels cold even at the same room temperature. A comfortable winter humidity is generally 40-60%, and keeping within this range makes you feel warm more easily without raising the heating set temperature. Adjusting humidity with a humidifier also eases a dry throat, rough skin, and static electricity caused by dryness. However, too much humidifying causes condensation and mold, so adjust while watching a hygrometer.
What are the tips for keeping heating electricity costs down?
The basic approach is not to push the set temperature, and to boost the temperature you feel with insulation and humidifying. If you cover the windows with insulating curtains, lay a rug on the floor, and keep humidity at 40-60% with humidifying, you are less likely to feel cold even with a lower set temperature. Narrowing the rooms you use and closing the door to limit the area you heat is also effective. A clogged air conditioner filter lowers efficiency, so clean it about once every two weeks. For short absences, leaving the air conditioner on can sometimes save more energy. However, putting up with the cold and ruining your health defeats the purpose.
What should I watch out for when drying laundry indoors in winter?
Drying laundry indoors in winter is slow, but the moisture evaporating from the laundry also provides gentle humidifying. However, drying a lot in a closed-up room raises humidity too high and causes a musty smell and condensation on the windows. Speed up drying by blowing air with a circulator, and choose an indoor drying rack that suits the place you put it and the amount you can hang. If you are also using a humidifier, excess humidity easily results, so the tip is to adjust with a hygrometer so that the whole stays within 40-60%.
How can I prevent heat shock?
The basic approach is to reduce the sudden temperature difference between a warm room and a cold hallway, changing room, bathroom, or toilet. Warming the changing room and bathroom before bathing, quickly heating the changing room with a fan heater or similar, and easing the cold in the hallway and toilet are all helpful. Older people and those with existing health conditions in particular need to be careful. On cold days, use heating without putting up with the cold, and avoid letting your body get chilled. If you are anxious about your health or have symptoms that concern you, do not push yourself, and consult a medical institution.
When is the best time to buy heating and cold-weather goods?
Heating and cold-weather appliances tend to see previous-model and clearance stock move in early autumn, before the cold really sets in, and from late in the season through early spring, after winter goods have made their round. If you do not need it right now, avoiding midwinter, when demand peaks, is not unreasonable. During the large sale periods of each e-commerce mall, point rewards and coupons can become more generous, but reward rates and campaign conditions change, so be sure to check the current conditions on each official page before buying. With heaters, before price, check whether the applicable tatami size suits the size of your room.
I hear oil-filled heaters have high electricity costs. Is there still a reason to choose one?
The advantages are that they do not dirty the air and produce no airflow, so there is less dryness and less dust being stirred up. The surface temperature is relatively low, and they are also easy to handle from a safety standpoint. However, warming the whole room takes time, so they suit smaller rooms, such as a bedroom or study, where the heater is left on for long periods. They are not suited as the main heating for a living room.
Is it okay to put a humidifier where the air conditioner's airflow reaches it?
It is safer to avoid it. When the airflow hits it directly, the humidifier's humidity sensor can mistake the room for being more humid than it is and stop running. Near a window is also a source of condensation. A good guide is a position toward the middle of the room, on a stand slightly above the floor, and not too close to the air conditioner's intake.
Condensation appears on my windows when I use heating. Will insulating with curtains make it worse?
If insulating curtains leave the window surface cold, condensation can increase. The remedies are the habit of opening the curtains in the morning and wiping the windows, and adding an insulating sheet or an inner window on the glass side to raise the temperature of the glass surface. Rather than just blocking it with curtains, not letting the window itself get cold is more fundamental.
How much temperature difference inside the home is acceptable?
There is no clear standard, but the colder the changing room, hallway, and toilet are compared with the living space, the greater the strain on the body. Effective measures include warming the place you are moving to beforehand and putting a small heater in the changing room. Temperature differences arise easily around bathing in particular, so there is also a method of warming the area beforehand with steam from the bathroom.
Which is more efficient, using a kotatsu together with whole-room heating or using it alone?
A kotatsu warms only the area in contact with the body, so its power consumption is small and it is efficient when used alone. However, if the room temperature stays low, your upper body gets cold, and the temperature difference when you stand up also becomes larger. A realistic compromise is to use the kotatsu together with the air conditioner at a modest setting, so that you do not let the room temperature drop too far.
Is it okay to use an electric heater with an extension cord?
As a rule, plug it directly into the wall outlet. Heaters consume a lot of power, and exceeding the rated capacity of an extension cord or power strip creates a risk of overheating and fire. If it is truly unavoidable, choose a thick cord rated for 15A and 1500W, do not bundle the cord, and do not share the same strip with other appliances.
* This article is for reference only. Sale dates, point rates and campaign terms can change, so check each store's official page for the latest details.