In the crowded consumer markets of today we are sometimes overwhelmed by choice. What all this choice should allow us, of course, is to choose exactly the right thing for our needs. If the buzz word for the late twentieth century was Choice, then maybe the twenty first century should start with Appropriateness. The surprising thing is that often older technologies might actually be the Appropriate choice - take kerosene portable heaters:
They are convenient - easy to move around, easy to stow when winter is over. They are cheap - the initial outlay is much less than most heating systems. They are efficient - they provide convection and radiation heat, and heat even large spaces very effectively. As you can see, old fashioned-seeming indoor kerosene heaters deserve a little more thought.
Not that the new models are quite like the antique kerosene heaters some of us bring to mind. They come with safety shut out features and with easy lighting ignition buttons. Of course they need to be filled regularly with liquid fuel (some take other fuels besides kerosene - fuel oil, jet fuel and so on).
One further reason why home kerosene heaters might be good in the twenty first century - we should all be concentrating on improving our home insulation and using less heating energy. That odd hundred dollars saved might not matter much to an individual family, but when you add it up, it matters a lot to the planet...