I have a UTH attached to a thermostat, but I also have to use a bulb for extra ambient heat (the house is very cold). I haven't tried the thing with the aluminum foil but I did use a piece of cardboard over the top with a hole cut for ventilation and one for the lamp. It did help with humidity but it made the temperature too warm with both the uth and lamp and without the lamp the ambient temp was still in the low 70s. Would it be ok to do this and not use a UTH and only use the lamp?