A 95 watt crock pot or a 100 watt light bulb. At first glance you might think the crock pot will use less energy. But that is not necessarily true. The light bulb may only need to be on for 30 minutes of each hour while the cock pot needs to run for 45 minutes of every hour.
A real life example. I placed two 100 watt bulbs in my kiln and could not get it to reach the temp I wanted it at. I then put in one 250 watt heat lamp and it runs only half the time. 200 watts of energy could not get the job done. 250 watts of energy does it only working half time. or effectively 125 watts working full time. This indicates to me that what you use makes a difference.
In a perfect world though energy is energy and it will require the exact same amount of energy to heat a given space no matter what you use to do it with. Sort of like asking if it would take less work to push a cart up the hill rather than pull it. Pulling may feel easier but in fact it takes exactly the same amount of energy. IT is the same weight being moved the same distance and being lifted the same height.
sounds like we are on the same thinking pattern
im after many experiments with a 250 watt heat lamp, different wattage bulbs,,,
i decided on a soft white, 125 watt floodlight,,,,,which i have on a timer
about 2 hours on,, and 3 hours off,,,,2 on 5 off e.t.c.
but the crock pot i leave on at all times, shifting from high to low settings,,,
when i open my door sometimes i can see water has formed at the door,,,
and the inside is nice and heated and humid,,,, just what i would expect a jungle to feel like
and after much experimintation, ive found that this regiment is working good for me,
5 weeks in the kiln, is satisfactory,,,, then i let the hands hang until use,,,
as of right now ive got 9 quart sized mason jars filled with shredded baccy,,,,and a kiln full of 19 hands,,,,and a full baccy patch thats still growing,,,{ all my suckers ,,,but some of the offshoots are 3 feet long, and full of leaves,}