In Portugal, most houses don’t come with central heating. Some, but not all will have fireplaces. I have one, and it is not enough to keep us warm since our floors are made of stone and we have floor to ceiling windows. Needless to say, heating your home during the winter can be challenging. Prices can be high and you might have to endure situations of around 8°C to 15°C (40°F – 60°F) inside your apartment. Houses and apartments in Portugal aren’t properly insulated. On top of that, there is high humidity which results in that cold you can feel inside your bones. While this does not compare to a New York winter, it does get chilly. If you are in the North of Portugal, it may be colder still. I’ve tried plenty of solutions, so today I will share my favorite ones to Heat Your Home In Portugal Cheap.
Heat Your Home With A Galp Hotspot
If you don’t want to end up with a €500 EDP bill (yeah, I got an EDP bill for that much), then the Galp Hotspot is a good option. It works with butane gas. You get the container at a store like Continente, Aki, or Leroy Merlin. Then you need to have your gas container delivered. This costs around €30. When I had this, it would heat up my large living room and last about 1 month.
THE GOOD ABOUT THE HOTSPOT
- Very affordable
- Easy to use once you have figured it out.
THE BAD ABOUT THE HOTSPOT
- Ugly & big
- You need to pay for a deposit on your first bottle.
- You can’t rally tell when the gas container will run out.
- You need to have a new container delivered.
- You need to get the right container for fit. It is called a pluma (this is the lightest option). Otherwise, the traditional containers are quite heavy.
How to turn on your hotspot heater.
Heat Your Home With An Electric Heater
While the hotspot was good, it did have its negatives, which I listed above. Mostly I hated how ugly it was and how much space it took up. Antonio did some research and we got the Xiaomi Smart Space Heater S2200W. It heats up to 15 meters squared, can be set on a timer, and has a feature so you can turn it off if you forget. The heat that I gives off is quite nice. The design is also not bad. Honestly, I forgot it was there. We bought ours from Amazon for €99, but you can also get it at the Mi Store or FNAC. Our electric bill went up a touch, but it turned out to be the same as what we were spending on our hotspot.
THE GOOD ABOUT THE MI HEATER
- Inexpensive
- Has a timer
- Works with an app so you can turn it on/off from wherever you are.
- Aesthetically pleasing.
- Much easier to use than the Galp Hotspot.
- Yo don’t need to go pick up gas or wait for it to b delivered.
THE BAD ABOUT THE MI HEATER
- It’s still another piece that you need to find room for.
Oh yeah, locals will tell you to layer up and wear more socks, but let’s get real. I moved to Lisbon from NYC to escape the cold. If you did too, I think one of the two options above will help.
PS “Get a dehumidifier, this will help your house feel less hot too!”
How do get rid of the gas fumes from the hater.??
Hi Michael,
I guess you can open a window. While the gas fumes were not an issue for me, I did upgrade to a Mi heater. I love it and cost just a little more than the Hotspot.
Blanca