Staying Warm in a Taipei Apartment With No Heating: Heaters, Blankets, Bathrooms and What It Costs

By

Taipei apartment heating guide: which space heater to buy, why an electric blanket wins, cold bathrooms, window drafts, winter electricity cost and safety.

Taipei apartments have no central heating, and most have no heating of any kind. That's the whole problem with Taipei apartment heating: the walls are concrete, the windows are single-glazed aluminum, and from December to February the inside of your flat sits only a few degrees above the damp air outside. Our answer, after a lot of winters here: an electric blanket for the bed, one oil-filled radiator for the room you sit in, and your air conditioner's heat mode if it has one. That setup costs a few hundred NT dollars a month in electricity and is the safest combination you can run in a rental.

The rest of this guide covers which heater type to buy and which to skip, why the dehumidifier stays on all winter, how to deal with an ice-cold bathroom and drafty windows, what heating actually adds to your Taipower bill, and the safety rules that matter in old Taipei wiring.

How cold a Taipei winter actually feels indoors

On paper, Taipei's winter is mild. The Central Weather Administration's 1991 to 2020 climate normals put the average temperature at 18.2°C in December, 16.4°C in January and 16.9°C in February. The same tables show average relative humidity of about 76 to 78% across those three months.

Two things make it feel colder than the numbers. First, it's damp: 16°C with drizzle and 78% humidity gets into your bones in a way that dry cold doesn't. Second, buildings are made for summer. Concrete walls soak up the cold, old aluminum window frames leak air, and nothing is insulated. Without a heat source, your bedroom often sits at 14 to 17°C on a grey January day.

A few times each winter, a cold surge (寒流) arrives. The weather service calls it that when the Taipei station's low is forecast at 10°C or below (UDN explains the categories). Heaters sell out fast before those nights, so buy yours in late November.

Your heating options, compared

Here's what you can actually buy or use in a Taipei rental. Prices vary a lot by brand, so we compare how each one behaves rather than quote prices. Check the label for 消耗功率 (power draw in watts) before you buy; most plug-in heaters here draw 1,100 to 1,500 W at full power, according to NOWnews.

AC heat mode first. If the remote has a sun symbol or a 暖氣 mode, or the unit is labeled 冷暖, your AC is a heat pump. It moves heat in from outside rather than making it from electricity, so it typically needs much less power for the same warmth than a plug-in heater. Estimates vary; the NOWnews piece above cites tests showing a gap of three times or more, and in our cost table below we conservatively assume half. Taipower's own tips for heat mode: point the vents down (warm air rises), close the curtains, and run a fan to move the air. Many older rentals have cooling-only units (冷專), so check before you count on it.

Oil-filled radiator for the room. If your AC can't heat, this is the heater we'd buy. It warms the air slowly and keeps radiating after the thermostat clicks off, it makes no noise, and there's no red-hot element for a sleeve or a curtain to touch. Pick one with a thermostat and a tip-over switch. Give it 20 to 30 minutes to make a difference.

Skip lamp heaters as your main heat source, and never bring a gas, kerosene or charcoal heater indoors. Taiwan already has a winter carbon monoxide problem without adding one.

Our pick for Taipei apartment heating

The dehumidifier stays on all winter

It sounds backwards, but winter is when many Taipei flats grow the most mold. Windows stay shut, laundry dries indoors, showers fill the flat with steam, and cold walls and glass make the moisture condense. You'll see it as water running down the windows in the morning and black spots behind the wardrobe.

So keep your dehumidifier running in the bedroom, set to around 55 to 60%. A compressor dehumidifier pulls less water on the coldest nights, but in a Taipei winter it still does the job, and its exhaust is slightly warm, which helps. Wipe the window condensation off each morning with a cloth or squeegee, and keep furniture a hand's width from outside walls. Our mold and humidity guide covers which dehumidifier to buy and how to size it.

One important rule: don't run the dehumidifier and a heater on the same extension cord. We explain why in the safety section below.

The cold bathroom and the shower

Taipei bathrooms are tiled, often have a window that doesn't quite close, and are usually the coldest room in the flat. Some newer buildings have a ceiling bathroom heater fan (浴室暖風機), which is a gift in January. If yours doesn't, here's what works:

Gas water heaters need fresh air, especially in winter. This is the season for carbon monoxide poisoning in Taiwan, because people shut every window against the cold while the gas heater burns. The Tainan fire department's winter warning is the same one fire departments issue every year: closed windows plus a badly placed heater is the deadly combination. Keep the balcony or laundry-area window by the heater open, even on cold days. If you get a headache or feel dizzy in the shower, open the windows, get out and call 119. Our sister site explains how to check the heater type in our gas water heater guide.

Window drafts: the cheap fixes

Old aluminum sliding windows (鋁窗) leak cold air around the edges. These fixes are cheap, reversible and won't upset a landlord:

Ask the landlord before you stick anything on the frames or glass, and take photos before and after.

What heating adds to your electricity bill

Good news: heating in Taipei is cheap compared with summer air conditioning. Winter months fall outside Taipower's summer pricing, so the lower rates apply. These are the current non-summer residential rates from Taipower's rate FAQ, unchanged after the government's September 2026 rate review:

Take one person in a studio using about 150 kWh a month before heating. Here's roughly what each habit adds per month, on your own Taipower meter and on a landlord's sub-meter at NT$5 per kWh:

We assume a radiator averages about 1 kW once its thermostat starts cycling, and AC heat mode uses about half as much for the same warmth. Your numbers will differ, so measure: photograph your sub-meter before and after an evening of heating.

The electric blanket is almost free, and sleeping with a heater on costs more than everything else combined. If you're on a sub-meter, check what rate you're actually paying; our air conditioner electricity cost guide explains the legal cap and how to check it, and our guide to utility bills in Taiwan explains the bill itself.

Heater safety in an old Taipei flat

Heaters are one of the classic causes of winter house fires in Taiwan. In a PTS report, the National Fire Agency counted 6 deaths from heater-related fires in just over two years, and its advice is short:

The cord rule matters more here than in many countries. Taiwan runs on 110 V, so a 1,500 W heater pulls around 13 to 14 amps on its own, close to what one older outlet circuit is meant to carry. Add a dehumidifier and a kettle on the same circuit and the breaker trips, or worse, a cheap cord overheats. The Taitung fire department's extension cord rules are worth following all year: buy cords with an individual switch, overload protection and a safety mark; don't daisy-chain them; don't bundle or coil them while in use; and replace old ones. If a plug or cord feels warm to the touch, unplug it.

When you buy a heater or electric blanket, look for the BSMI inspection mark (商品檢驗標識) and check it on the BSMI lookup site if the brand is unfamiliar. Lay electric blankets flat, never fold them while switched on, and keep them away from small children and anyone who can't feel heat well. And check that your flat has a working smoke alarm (住宅用火災警報器) near the bedroom; it's cheap and takes five minutes to install.

Save the emergency numbers in Taiwan in your phone: 119 for fire and ambulance.

Check the winter setup before you sign

Winter comfort is mostly decided before you move in: whether the AC can heat, whether the windows seal, where the gas water heater sits and how electricity is billed. If you're still choosing a place, TRA's home search covers this with you:

We quote individually. Tell us your budget, area and dates on our contact page, or message us on LINE.

FAQ

Do Taipei apartments have heating?

Almost never central heating. Some air conditioners have a heat mode (labeled 冷暖), and some newer bathrooms have a ceiling heater fan. Otherwise you bring your own: an electric blanket plus one plug-in heater covers most people.

What's the best space heater for a Taipei apartment?

Use your AC's heat mode if it has one. If not, an oil-filled radiator (葉片式電暖器) with a thermostat and tip-over switch is the best main heater for a bedroom or living room: quiet, steady and safer than lamp heaters.

How much does it cost to run a heater in Taipei?

A heater drawing about 1 kW for four hours every evening adds roughly NT$270 a month on your own Taipower meter in winter, or about NT$600 on a sub-meter at NT$5 per kWh. An electric blanket adds well under NT$100.

Is it safe to sleep with a heater on?

We wouldn't. The National Fire Agency warns against running heaters for long periods unattended, and overnight use costs more than the rest of your heating combined. Warm the room, then let an electric blanket keep you warm through the night.

Do I still need a dehumidifier in winter?

Yes. Taipei's winter humidity averages around 76 to 78%, and closed windows plus indoor laundry make condensation and mold worse. Keep it running in the bedroom, on its own outlet.

More from the journal