How to Keep Your Home Safe: Why Your Space Heater Needs Its Own Outlet

Corin Cesaric-Epple is a Flex Editor at CNET. She received her bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Before joining CNET, she covered crime at People Magazine and national and international news at NBC Local Television Stations.

As the frost lines your windows and the thermostat struggles to keep up with this weekend's record lows, reaching for a space heater is a natural reflex. It's the easiest way to turn a freezing home office or bedroom into a cozy sanctuary. However, if you're planning on using an extension cord or surge protector to reach that perfect corner of the room, you're creating a real fire hazard. Portable heaters are high-draw appliances, and forcing that much current through a standard cord is a recipe for ...