Doh. Leaving any heater on at a lower temperature is going to lead to lower cost. Not necessarily greater efficiency, however.

Closing vents may damage the heater. May cause back pressure in the system, causing the fan to work more…… ”(harder)”

Maybe you can use a heat lamp for the parrot. Our daughter had lizards that needed a certain temperature, but they were in a glass enclosure so it worked. It’s a thought.

I live in Fresno and we don’t use the heater at night in the winter at all. We save it for the daytime when we really need it. Although PG&E rates are a pain here, your situation is so much worse. Good luck!

@Stax The room needs to be at a certain "warm" temperature for the parrot. Your comment of "Doh" is so completely unkind and unnecessary. You didn't even answer the question I asked about closing vents. Funny enough, I'm on these forums daily, and I have liked many of your comments over the years, and I know you're knowledgeable. I would've thought you would be kinder and more generous with your information.

Maybe it was my comment about leaving the heater on at a lower temperature is what seemed like a dumb comment. I should've said, that I could (but don't want to), leave the upstairs heater on at a lower temperature during the day, when no one is upstairs, so the heater doesn't have to work so hard when we go upstairs at night. I really have no understanding of what might save me $$$.

@A Mat I believe I've heard that.... but (yes, I may be asking dumb questions here..) what are the vents for then? Is there a proportion of them that can be closed with no ill effect on the heater?

@areyano_cs I have an oil-filled space heater plugged in fairly close to his nighttime cage. However, any heater needs to be external to the enclosure, because (probably unlike a lizard), parrots will chew on anything within reach, so nothing electric or powered within reach.

I have fear of having even this oil-filled heater (much less electric space heaters) plugged in overnight. But that's what I'm doing: weighing risk/benefit.

The vents are placed to provide HVAC, the system is sized based on the number of vents. Close off some vents you may negatively affect the system, making it work harder. Similar to driving your car with the parking brake applied.

To answer your qyesrion, you may have to have a local HVAC company perform a survey and recalucate your load. Your furnace may not be adjustable….iI.e., it may not be adjustable to reduced air flow. It is easier to exhale into the air vs exhaling into a ballon.

$10k for a new furnace, or $100-500/ month a couple of times a year.

I knew someone who had a quilted cover for her parrot, the owner was more concerned with noise than warmth.

I too have a home in the SoCal area, and paid over $5.00 per therm for gas used in January. You may have received the same notification as I did that it was a one-month blip, the price went down 68% as of Feb 1.

How much gas you use depends only on how many hours the heat is on. If you want to pay less, turn the thermostat down. There's no reason to keep an empty upstairs warm (which you said was during daylight hours). Nor, to heat an entire home to keep one room warm.

If you want to use less gas, turn down the temperature setting for unoccupied areas. Wear pants with legs or leggings instead of shorts, a sweatshirt instead of a T-shirt and put on shoes.

You're "working" your furnace much harder by having it on all the time, much more so than if there were a setback period when it would be unused but then followed by a recovery. Get a Wifi thermostat you can set a time schedule with and access from a smart phone.

Don't in any event close vents. By doing so, you'll hasten the need to replace the furnace's blower motor, sometimes an expensive task.

This isn't as complicated as you'd like to make it.

Incredible!

she wants to keep her parrott warm at night

Sssshh, here's a secret for the OP that isn't a secret for many others:

San Diego like other parts of SoCal has wild parrots. Yes, tropical species. For those from elsewhere, you should know that near or below freezing temperatures are rare, happening only overnight in more inland or higher altitude areas. Parrots seem to cope just fine in many inhabited areas where the coldest overnight temperatures are rarely lower than the mid 40s and then, that cool only for a few weeks a year. It's not tropical Florida South but temperate just the same.

I'm sure your bird would be just fine with an overnight temperature setting of 65 degrees. And you'll send less money to SDGE or SoCal gas. To be sure, ask you vet. But I wouldn't worry about it - look outside in the morning or in the trees in a park, you're likely to see parrots doing just fine living outdoors.

I briefly saw someone's deleted condescending comment about parrots.

FYI, anyone who may not understand about parrots. Some are genetically and and biologically from sub-tropical/tropical environments. Yes, I know a lot about the wild parrots as I have seen them and they used to nest in our giant palms where I used to live. Our parrot is not, and never was, wild. Some parrots in captivity look like this:

Those are not images of our bird. Our parrot is some version of that, depending on time of year. I am not going to get into the causes or veterinary reasons for this--they have been explored (by us) with the state's finest avian experts. He DOES have special health conditions that absolutely 100%, no doubt about it, with multiple avian certified veterinarians' opinions attached, require the house (or what I mean is, his immediate area within the house) to be warmer than 65degrees. BTW, setting the thermostat at 65 degrees does not necessarily mean the house or upstairs maintains itself at 65degrees. It just doesn't. Different parts of the room are warmer/colder, and I, fully clothed, with a jacket on, am often cold (I would say "freezing" but not actually freezing---but I'm born and raised in SoCal and this is a cold winter for me--my hands are always cold).

So, if I'm cold, how is a semi-bald parrot who weighs about 1 pound and is shivering, going to feel? He is over 30 years old! It is not known how old the "wild" parrots of SoCal typically get. And who knows if they die early because in their old age they can't withstand the sometimes freezing temperatures of L.A.

We take excellent care of our parrot. He is upstairs during the night (with me), downstairs during the day (with everyone) in the main room of the house. We have had him for almost 30 years and he's awesome in so many ways, and I don't need to defend our caregiving/concerns or care of him.

I am only interested in saving money by using the upstairs heater appropriately so as not to burn out any motors, nor resort to space heaters which are unsafe (my understanding). Other years, we have heated the downstairs during the day. With 7 adults living here of 3 generations, there are different needs for heat/hot showers/dryer usage, but none takes precedence in terms of comfort over our bird, which is why I brought it up.

San Francisco Bay Area also has several flocks of wild parrots.

Thank you @A Mat for the tips about the heater. That helps, and I will see about having an assessment done.

I am so sorry you are struggling with your heating bill. Instead of closing the vents, close the doors of rooms not in use. And you can thank your politicians who tax and over regulate every blessed thing in your state. They are the reason your bills are so high.

A dissenting opinion, perhaps....... It's a common comment on these fora that closing off vents will damage your furnace or reduce its life expectancy. Consider - many, many systems have undersized ductwork, which is the equivalent of closing off up to half your vents.

Personally, I wouldn't worry too much about it - knocking 6 months off the life expectancy of your furnace might be an acceptable compromise in your case. You will find that the closed off vents are noisy and whistl,e where the air is forcing its way through the closed louvres.

The reason utility rates in California, specifically PG&E, are so high is not necessary because they are regulated by the State. PG&E is a public utility that if left totally unregulated would charge even more.
It has years of substandard practices that resulted in major damage and some fatalities due to fires in a Bay Area neighborhood and in forested regions. Of course, they were sued to the tune of $13.5 billion dollars. Hey they have to get that money back somehow so it’s raise the rates on us while they pay their shareholders. If anything they need more regulation.

From what I understand, closing vents in some rooms can help redirect the warm air to other areas and potentially save you money on your heating bill. However, it's always best to consult with a professional or do some research to make sure you're not damaging your heating system. Additionally, there may be other ways to save money on your gas bill, such as weatherproofing your windows and doors or using a programmable thermostat. Speaking of saving money, have you considered using a money management app to help track your expenses and budget more effectively?

There are heat sensitive vanometers to measure each home.