6 Reasons Why You Should Never Heat Your Home Using A Gas Oven

Winter can be furious in Buffalo, NY. Unfortunately, not everyone has the means to keep warm with a reliable heating system. However, it is NEVER a good idea to use your gas oven as a heating source.

I understand the phrase, "you gotta do what you gotta do" but it's incredibly unsafe.

The following comes from Heating & Cooling Manager James Sabal at Roy's Plumbing, Heating, and Cooling:

6 Reasons to Not Heat Your Home Using a Gas Oven
Ovens are wonderful! There is nothing more wonderful than the smell of cookies being baked or a turkey being cooked. Especially living in the weather we do, ovens can help a lot in a variety of ways. One thing they are not good for- heating your home. Using a gas oven to heat your home is actually extremely dangerous. Here are our six reasons why you should NEVER use a gas oven to heat your home.

1.) Carbon Monoxide
Carbon monoxide or CO is an odorless, colorless, invisible, tasteless gas that is deathly to humans. This is what makes it so scary- you never know if it’s getting into your house. Ovens give off CO when they are used for too long. Some levels of CO can cause headaches, nausea, dizziness, breathlessness, collapsing, and loss of consciousness which is known as CO poisoning. High levels of CO are fatal. Ovens DO NOT have any safety measures when it comes to CO so keep this in mind. That being said, it is also important to have a CO detector in every home, on every floor.

2.) Ovens were never designed to heat a home
Ovens were created for cooking purposes and with those in mind only. They are meant to cook food, not to warm you up.

3.) No Venting
Ovens were not created to vent out air. On furnaces and boilers, these fumes are pumped out of the home, through venting, which is what makes them an obvious better option. Because ovens are really only used in small time frames, ovens were not created to do that. Keeping this in mind, the fumes from the oven stay in your house.

4.) Fire Hazard
anytime there is a high heat for a long stretch of time, there is always a risk of a fire. There is obviously a higher risk with having a burner on, but an oven is no different. There is always a chance something like a napkin or towel could fall into or onto the stove and cause a fire. That being said, it is also good to have smoke detectors in your house.

5.) Burns
Especially with young children or pets in the home, having an oven on for so long makes the oven extremely hot. Any accidental contact with the oven can result in a serious burn- especially if you leave the door open.

6.) Inefficiency
Ovens CANNOT heat an entire single person home as there is no circulation coming from them. Both boilers and furnace offer a ways to circulate the air as well as getting rid of the fumes that come along with them. Standing right near the oven may make you feel toasty and warm, but it will not be circulated throughout the home.

The main thing to remember is that ovens were never created to heat a house, dwelling, apartment, building, anything. It was created to cook food. If getting a new furnace or boiler is not in your budget this year, please use a space heater, it is a much safer option than using a gas stove.

Roy’s Plumbing, Heating and Cooling offers many options for any of your heating needs. If you need help figuring out what would best work for you and your situation, give us a call today!