(very off topic) How to heat my cold feets?

[William]

Since you guys are in colder climate than GTA, I have a very off topic question.

I set up home office in my basement, where the temperature is 5 degree below the main floor where thermostat is.  I don't want to heat up the entire house just for that home office.  So, my feets are cold.  I tried forced air ceramic heaters.  They shoot hot air at my knee level, and the hot air goes up from there.  Useless.  Then, I tried "parabolic" infrared heaters.  They are about 6in off the floor and they can tilt downward a bit.  But, their heat radiation is not very comfortable.  Rather than warming my feets, they cook my feets. 

I want to try oil-filled radiator.  So, my question to you guys is... how much heat do they give off side-ways?  I know that most of the heat will go up in the form of hot air.  But, my feets will be to the side, not on top of the radiator.  I never used such heater, so I don't know.

[Jason]

You could put a hot laptop over your feet. But honestly, I don't know. My feet are usually the warmest part of my body. But when the rest of my body is cold, I generally use a blanket. In the first place that my wife and I lived the apartment was heated by hot water radiators and it was quite warm near the radiator so I'd suspect the oil-filled radiator would work well if it's close enough to your feet. You could also wear winter socks and slippers unless you've already tried that.

[fox]

I have the same problem, William - cold feet in the house. When my feet are cold, I am cold all over. My solution is down or fiberfill booties. Or any kind of warm slipper will do if warm with warm socks. You can get these booties at outdoor shops like Sport Chek or Mountain Equipment Coop. (Note that the latter is no longer a Coop.)

[ssfc72]

Sounds like your basement office may just have a bare concrete floor.  If so, you might want to put a carpet down on the floor to insulate from the cold concrete.  At my computer desk in my basement I have a large size carpet mat, on the floor, were I sit at the desk.

Otherwise an oil-filled radiator along with a small, short, slow revolving ceiling fan would help to circulate the hot air at the ceiling, down to to floor.

[gmiller1977]

I have an oil filled radiator, and it's ok, I guess.  It's efficient when it's not running because the oil stays warm, but it doesn't really radiate outwards.

[William]

Sounds like your basement office may just have a bare concrete floor.  If so, you might want to put a carpet down on the floor to insulate from the cold concrete.  At my computer desk in my basement I have a large size carpet mat, on the floor, were I sit at the desk.

My solution is down or fiberfill booties.

There is synthetic tiles on top of concrete floor.  My basement is okay for just walking around, watching TV, and stuffs.  But, I just can't sit still and think, type, and program, because eventually my mind gravitates to cold air bathing my cold feets.  Maybe I should try a larger matt and furry slippers.  Thanks.

[William]

Update:

The parabolic infrared heater is analogous to "spotlight", where the heat beam is focused and more intense than I would like.  So, I got quartz infrared heater which is analogous to "floodlight".  It's essentially toast-r-oven without the enclosure.  It's 4in off the floor and radiates horizontally (slightly upward).  They would be okay for heating a small room, but too intense for my feet up close.  Lowest power setting for these heaters is 400W, and the cost of electricity (12hours/day x 30days) equals their retail price!

So, I got a small oil-filled radiator, about 1 foot tall, no rollers, low on the floor.  Heat is the right kind and intensity.  But, when placed between my feet, the insides facing the radiator get some radiative heating, but that's offset by cold air flowing over on the outsides, drawn in by the hot air arising.  Net effect is still positive.  So, I'll go with this.  I'm going to buy a second radiator, and place them either side of my feet!

[ssfc72]

Sounds good William.  How about placing the small radiator heater in front of your feet and maybe use a small fan from an old computer power supply to gently blow the warm air, over you feet?

[William]

Darn it.  I threw away USB powered laptop cooler with a large fan.  The fan motor and blades were okay, but other parts were damaged.

Now that you mention it, I found a ceramic "tower" heater that can be used horizontally as "baseboard" heater.  I've seen it before, but their pictures were "tower" mode, so skipped reading the details.  Also, they are on the expensive side.

All this had me read up on heat.  I learned that what I want is long wavelength heat (far-infrared) which is usually emitted from non-glowing heat source.  The more it glows, the shorter the wavelength and the more intense.

[Jason]

Wouldn't thick wooled socks with slippers be easiest? But then again if you're spending 12 hours a day down there, it probably won't help a lot. Fur-lined boots?

[fox]

Warm socks with proper booties helps a lot, even for long periods. (At least it helps me a lot.) Slippers would be less effective because they cover less of the foot. If you go to down or fiberfill booties, you're getting something designed to keep you warm outside in winter. The booties I wear are actually a light fleece, and are pretty inexpensive. They make a big difference over warm socks and sandals.