Heaters Unleashed

Space heaters are available in many different designs and styles enabling you to choose one that best answers your specific requirements. Ceramic heaters, due their effective performance are a preferred choice of many homeowners. As their consumption of energy is low, compared to other kinds of heater, their operation is very economical.

The design of most space heaters includes coils that are heated using electric current. The heat emitted by the coils is circulated within the room using a fan. The essential components of a ceramic heater include heating element, plates and aluminum baffles for controlling the direction of heat distribution.

An important feature of this type of heating system is that they are as heavy as most standard space heaters. That makes their moving from one room to another very convenient. The ceramic heating elements may be housed in a ceramic heater, or metal frame. The heating capacity of such heaters varies with size.

By opting for employing a space heater at home, you incur substantial savings. Ceramic heaters work on 110 volts electric supply. A central heating unit installed for heating the entire house, on the other hand, is quite an expensive proposition. Quite often people with homes that have open floor plans realize that using a large space heater housed in a caster is advantageous as such heater can conveniently be moved from one room to another or moved around a large area.

There are a number of features and options on hand for heating units depending on their size. Smaller units are generally offered with 2 or 3 fan settings for circulating the heated air in the room. Or you may go in for a larger unit with a built in oscillating fan, which emits heat from all its sides. The larger heaters are also provided with a temperature control or have a gauge which will switch off the heating unit once the room has acquired a predefined temperature, thus preventing its unnecessary running that results to saving power and hence bills.

Some of the ceramic heaters have an automatic timer that allows you to run the heater for a predetermined amount of time, but can be run for up to nine hours. In effect, it means that you can adjust the timer so that the heater runs for a fixed number of hours as decided by you and gets switched off automatically after having run for the time decided by you. This is a very practical feature and you really don’t have to worry if the heater was left on before you left home for the day. That again prevents unnecessary working of the heater and saves energy.

Before you set out to buy a ceramic heater for your domestic requirements, it will be worth conducting a bit of research to understand which particular model would best meet your requirements. It always helps to read consumers’ reviews. That way you get to know the advantages and limitations of different models. But one thing that shouldn’t escape your attention while considering a space heater is the area that you would like to get heated, for the capacity of the heater you may need is decided by the area to be heated.

Portable camping heaters come handy under many different situations. You may choose to have one to avoid getting the basement frosted or warning up the area around your favorite reading chair. These are often used in offices to offer more heat at particular spots and you dare not go for an outing in a camping tent in winters without one of these.

This useful equipment gives you the option of heating the entire room or just a small part of the room, a tent or an outdoor area. They not only heat the area and make it cozy, but can also offer improved energy efficiency as you get the option of maintaining a lower temperature setting for the whole of the house, because portable devices can be used to heat only the area that you may be occupying.

If you plan to have a portable heating system, you need to take into consideration a couple of things before hand. There are quite a few options when it comes to buying such a device. You may opt to have one that works on electric current, or there are others working on kerosene and gas too. Each has its plus and negative features and you should check which one suits you most. An important point to bear in mind while planning to have one is to know where you intend using it most of the time and what capacity would it have.

These heaters prove to be very useful under many circumstances. For instance, you may like to use one for a bit of extra heating of a particular corner of your office or for keeping a large living room warm. Electric heaters are very practical for heating small rooms or a particular part of the living room. For somewhat larger areas it’s good to use oil filled radiators. For larger rooms the use of baseboard heaters is recommended. You get heaters with built in fans that circulate the heat delivered by the heater all over the room. It’s nice to have such heaters with fan for your bedroom or even offices.

Now, if you are camping out or like to heat large area away from the house, like your car porch, you would ideally use a propane, gas or a kerosene heater to keep the area warm. As all these burn gas or could release fumes, care must be taken to use them in well ventilated areas only. Except for propane heaters that may need electric ignition, the others can be lighted up using a match. Portable heaters that work on natural gas would necessarily require a gas connection but these can be detached and stored safely when not in use. Kerosene heaters would typically require a wick to absorb kerosene and are most suited for heating of especially large areas.

Whatever kind of heater you may buy, make sure to give attention to the precautions of using the same and look for features that could enhance safety of use. There are some recognized institutions that confirm if the particular model conforms to some predefined safety parameters. It’s better and safer to be buying such devices. When looking for a heater to be installed in the bathroom or other humid area, it’s imperative that you choose one that has an approval from some recognized institution for use under such conditions.

Primarily there are two types of heaters: Radiant and Convective – each heats in a different way and finds its own users. Usually, a radiant heater suffices to keep a room warm. However, both the kinds have their own plus and negative points.

What Does a Convective Heater Do?

A convective heater uses the principle of convection for heating its surroundings. That is it sucks in the cold air, heats it and then expels it. These heaters are characteristically used in larger spaces for heating air to warm up the room. Convective heaters necessarily incorporate a fan and a heating element. The system pulls in the air to heat by virtue of the provided heating element and pushes out the hot air through the fan system. The process is continued till the room temperature reaches a predetermined temperature as set on the thermostat. The heater is set to a definite temperature and shuts down when that temperature is reached. Convective heaters would usually use electricity as power source, but can at times rely on a combination of energy sources.

What Does Radiant Heaters Do?

Unlike convective heaters, radiant heaters do not heat up the air. Instead, the heat is focused to a specific area. Here, the heating element gets red hot and releases heat. Usually, the effect of heat can be experienced to about five feet. As the heating element gets heated, it turns to a bright red or orange color and emits heat, and warms up everything coming on the way. The element gets too hot to touch and can cause burns.

Generally, a safety measure in the form of a grid is provided on the front of the unit that quickly switches off the unit if someone accidentally bumps against it. Radiant heaters are very effective for heating small rooms and to keep one or two people warm, sitting in its close proximity, though they are not very good at keeping an entire room warm.

Costs

The initial cost of both the types of heaters is nearly the same. However, the operating cost of radiant type of heaters is slightly more as these do not heat as effectively and thus need to be kept on for long intervals. These heaters aren’t really energy efficient, and an average operational cost of either kind comes to about ten dollars a day.

Some homeowners do use garages for purposes other than parking of car and storing of not so frequently used household effects. It may be used as a workshop or as children’s playroom or even as an entertainment room. If you are using garage for any such propose or activity, you are sure to experience the heat in summers and cold in winters, while it offers protection from rains. Because of their location, garages tend to remain colder than the rest of the house. Moreover, they aren’t insulated most of the time. So, the only way to keep it warm during cold weather is to have a simple affordable garage heater.

The main features of garage heaters that facilitate their use are: affordability, efficiency, and portability. Most of these heaters are designed to heat the whole garage of normal size. You are free to work in any part of the garage as the heater heats all the area uniformly. Yet, you may shift it closer to you if the need arises. Their operation is very simple, just plug in and it works. All such heaters are provided with thermostat to regulate temperature and have a built in system to prevent overheating.

Heater can simply be called as a device that changes electric energy to heat energy that is dissipated to the area around it. Just leave a heater at one spot, and it heats the entire area, depending on its capacity. If the area is too large, you may be required to use multiple heaters.

Here are different types of heaters:

Electric Garage Heaters: The best feature of an electric garage heater is its ease of use that encouraged someone to coin an appropriate phrase for it “set and forget it”. The additional advantage is ease of maintenance compared to natural gas heaters or propane heaters.

It’s quite customary for most of the electric garage heaters to include a built-in thermostat enabling accurate control of temperature. Automatic shut offs are provided to prevent overheating. A normal heater can heat an area of up to 500 square foot, more than sufficient for most of the garages.

Propane Garage Heaters: Propane heaters continue to be as popular as ever due affordability and efficient operation. Its operation is clean and odorless and has a thermostat control for heat adjustment.
One such heater can heat an area of up to 850 square feet, more than the normal size of most of the garages. Moreover they are insulated that increases its efficiency to heat.

Natural Gas Heaters: Natural gas heaters make another good option for your garage. Though more expensive than the propane or electric heaters up-front, their operational expenses are low. So, you spend more initially but save on recurring expenses. Precaution should be taken to keep them close to some kind of a vent enabling exhaust to escape the garage.

For long time energy costs have been going up and there are certain sure indications of their continuing to be in the same mode. It is estimated that by the year 2020, an average American family will be spending anywhere from a few hundred dollars to a couple of thousands per annum. And, we are aware that at some point in the future the present forms of energy may not be very viable. That has prompted many companies to look for ways and means of reducing heating expenses. Eden Pure Heater Company is one of such companies and the advantages of the heaters offered by it are many.

An Eden Pure Heater employs infrared heating technology. The most important feature of this technology is that it minimizes the risks of fire. That’s because such heaters don’t allow temperature to reach such level that could cause fire. Nothing can be more disastrous that having a burnt house caused by use of some heating device. Quartz infrared heaters are the safest for your family, thus allowing you to have a peaceful sleep at night while keeping you warm. There is another healthy feature of Eden Pure Heater. It does not burn oxygen present in the atmosphere of your room. As a result you’ll notice that it maintains humidity to comfortable level. You must have experienced the effects of dry heat produced by traditional electric heaters. One sure way of avoiding bloody nose or itchy skin is to start using heaters producing infrared heat.

The other advantage of an Eden Pure Heater is the way it heats. Generally, heaters would warm up only small areas around the unit itself. But, this heater heats the entire room, from wall to wall and from floor to ceiling, and heats it evenly. It has copper tubes within that use humidity to transfer heat throughout the room without causing any significant reduction of moisture content in the air. Unlike the conventional heaters it heats quickly and uniformly. So, you won’t have to keep huddled under a blanket till the normal heater takes its time to heat the whole room.

Eden Pure Heaters are available in different capacities to suit the needs of consumers. You may have one for your rooms of say 300 square feet or one with a larger capacity to heat up to 1000 square feet. So, you get it with capacity to heat just one room to heating a complete floor all working on normal 110V plugs. The product is warranted for three years. If you were keen to save money by cutting on your heating bills, you would seriously consider having an Eden Pure Heater this winter.

Though electric space heaters prove to be more efficient, propane heaters are necessitated when power source is limited. Propane continues to be an efficient and economical fuel for heating, especially for smaller enclosed areas.

Where to Heat

One of the most important considerations for buying a propane heater is the area to be heated. The output of a heater is measured in terms of BTU. The larger the area, the more powerful the heater has to be and thus the higher its BTU rating. Heating of large open areas, like say a warehouse will call for a heater with a capacity of 8000-12,000 BTU. A model like DynaGlo-PRO 70k-100k BTU Propane FA Heater would be appropriate for heating of barns, warehouses, indoor sporting events, patios, garages, campers, cabins and even hunting blinds. Such a unit combines radiant and convection heat for utmost efficiency. With a twenty pound tank of propane this would keep heated an area of 2,500 square feet for about six hours. For a small area of say 400 square feet a model like Heater Model # MH18B will work for about 110 hours from a tank of the same capacity of twenty pounds. Homestead Portable Liquid Propane Heater is a popular choice of homeowners who opted to add an enclosed patio without heating arrangements. In case you have small room a heater of 2000 BTU should suffice.

Great Advantages

The most helpful feature of propane space heaters is their portability. You can carry them with you anywhere you may like to. Small propane heaters could be used in a tent when you go out camping, in your recreation vehicle (RV) or even in a rustic cabin.

Check out the tank

In their case it is the capacity of the tank that’s the point of concern. Suppose you intend carrying it with you to a camp in the wilds and there are no means to have a refill of the tank! So, before venturing into such a heater, you should fairly well anticipate your requirements of fuel. However, for domestic use you may have two smaller tanks, of which you may continue using one, while the other is kept in reserve for immediate use after one is exhausted. Nevertheless, you should have a tank capacity that does not need too frequent refills to be inconvenient. And, while camping out make sure that you have some fuel to fall back upon in case of an emergency and always start with a full tank. Ideally, you should be carrying at least a twenty-pound tank and if you have been using a tank of the same capacity at home you would have a good estimate for the duration of time it could be expected to last.

Always consider safety first

Irrespective of the kind of fuel used, the most important consideration is the safety of its use and that is equally applicable in case of propane heaters. Insist on buying your tank and its refills from an authorized dealer and don’t ever fall prey to ad-hoc arrangements of buying the fuel in home made tanks, the quality of which is never reliable and you’ll be under constant fear of some unfortunate mishap or accident that may hurt you or somebody else. Make sure to check the safety measures and understand their functioning.

The requirements of a garage heater are different than the heater used for indoor purposes. The main difference being that garages are normally bigger than other rooms of the house and they are not as well insulated as the rest of the house. The factors that need your consideration are: the size of the garage in terms of volume, the fuel to be used and the convenience of installation.

Garage heater may use electricity, propane or natural gas as a fuel. Comparatively, electric heaters are easy to install and economical to operate. In most of the cases electric heaters meant for garages work on single-phase supply, meaning that you may use your normal outlet in the garage for its operation. Many designs of electric garage heaters can be installed on the wall or ceiling by using mounting brackets, thus keeping the floor free for any other activity.

Small garages or other small places where heat is not of primary concern would do well with the installation of electric heaters. Though portable electric heaters are the most popular, you also get large wall, overhead and electric baseboard heaters too.

Another efficient way of heating garage is by use of propane heaters. This is also portable like an electric heater but is available in two models. Both the models use propane as fuel available in tanks that can be refilled. But, one model can be plugged into a regular 120V outlet. Such a model heats the air and forces it to spread over the room thus offering uniform and quicker heating. On the other hand, the model that can’t be plugged into your power source heats the area slowly. In any case, propane heaters require efficient ventilation and one should always follow the recommendations of the manufacturers.

Garage heater working on natural gas has its own advantages. They are useful in the case of power shortage, but they are not as portable as their electrical counterparts. In their case you need to have a gas line going up to the heater. Natural gas heaters may heat the room thru convection heat or thru radiated heat. The latter heats the occupants of the garage while convection heating means the air in the surroundings is heated, which in turn heats the occupants.

Having decided the energy source you would like to use, you have to determine the capacity of the heater needed to heat garage. The volume of your garage and by what level you would like to raise its temperature, determines the capacity of the heater. So, when you go shopping for one, you should have the length, width and height of the garage with you. Once you have these two parameters with you, the supplier should be able to tell you the wattage or BTU required for heating your garage.

Provision of heating arrangements in the garage is an excellent way of adding another useable room to your house. The most helpful point is that family members have some space to escape the main house and perform some useful activity or indulge in some hobby, making better use of winter months. In case you have a DIY enthusiast at home, some of the projects that would have to wait till spring, can be executed in this part of the year. Isn’t that prompting enough to have a propane, natural gas or electric garage heater?

With so many heating options available it really gets difficult to choose the one that is most sited to your requirements. Electric wall heaters make a viable proposition for homes and offices. Unless you have central heating system, every room will need an electric wall heater. These heaters are adequate to heat areas of up to 400 squarer feet. Wall heaters take sometime to get warmed up and provide the desired level of heat to any room. They give best results if set to a certain temperature and left undisturbed. Electric wall heaters are ideal for places not served with gas. Of course their initial cost may be more than a gas heater, but in the long run they pay for themselves, as there are no installation hassles and expenses for piping work.

What makes a good wall heater?

While spending your time money and energy for buying an electric wall heater, one should select a high quality heater. It should have the necessary safety features to include an automatic shut down and protection against overheating. Though noisier, wall heaters with built-in fan are better as they throw out hot air all over the place, thus providing nearly uniform heating of the room. Further, it should have arrangements for a programmable thermostat. Choose a solid unit that is easier to clean and maintains comfortable warmth.

Types of Electric Wall Heaters

The Qmark LFK404 Wall Mount Fan Heater is energy efficient and offers economics of operation. As it can be mounted on the wall, it’s especially suited for smaller rooms, leaving flora space unaffected. The built-in fan throws out air to provide a uniform heating all over the room. It uses principle of convection transfer of heat. As warm air goes up, the heater sucks fresh or cooler air beneath it and the cycle is continued to heat the entire room. This equipment works quietly and blends well with most of the surroundings.

The TPI Commercial Fan Forced Wall Heater with tamperproof thermostat is designed to heat a workshop, garage, or warehouse. And thus more suited for industrial applications. Made from aluminum, it’s a sturdy heater not recommended for domestic use. It incorporates complex security arrangements to prevent its thermostat from being tempered by anybody. For heating large areas, it certainly would consume large amount of energy to derive the required power. That makes this heater quite noisy. True to its name, it is ideal for commercial establishments.

You may however consider the Pic-a-Watt Electric Wall Heater (King Electric, if looking for a heater that offers multiple uses0. This heater can be used anywhere in your house from your warehouse to RV. Though it has somewhat industrial looks, it can be used in bedrooms or dens that have no air ducts. What makes it suitable for being used to any of the places noted is the provision of a watt selector that allows you to vary wattage from 750 to 2250. So the more the heat required or the larger the area, the higher would be the wattage. Thus places without central heating would find it very effective. Safety devices have been provided to take care of accidental hazards like fire. Whether you want to heat a warehouse or just a game room, Pic-a-Watt is all you need!

If your energy bills seem to be rising for no apparent reason, the problem may be with your home and not necessarily with the appliances. The electric baseboard heaters could be working properly, but be aware that 31% of warm air is wasted thru walls, floors and ceilings. Warm air could escape from other points like ducts, through the fireplace, plumbing fixtures, and around doors and windows. A very practical measure for avoiding or reducing such losses, and thus improving the efficiency of electric baseboard heaters would be to ensure proper and sufficient sealing and insulation.

Appropriate adjustment of thermostat helps to save energy. While moving out of the house or at the time of sleeping at night adjust the thermostat to a lower level that is just comfortable for you and other members of the family. Here is a word of caution. Do not switch off the heater, because when you start it the next morning it will consume double the power, yes it takes more power for starting any device for that matter When leaving for vacation, adjust the heater to manual and lower the temperature to a reasonable level of say 60o.

You should understand that clean and dust free heaters deliver better results and offer economical operation. Any blockage in its vents or in the exhaust causes it to consume more energy. Elimination of waste leads to saving of expenses. Make sure to buy only Energy Star compliant heaters. It helps to have an anti-freeze function as it turns on the heater as the room temperature falls below comfortable levels.

Energy Efficient Heaters

Electric baseboard heaters prove to be efficient as they are able to maintain room at a certain level. The Fahrenheat PHH15002 Oil Filled Electric Baseboard Heater can effectively keep rooms warm of size up to 150 square feet. The safety features provided in the PHH15002 make its operation safe in offices, bedrooms and living rooms. It is easy to install without occupying much of area and comes with two settings for the thermostat that enable adjustment of temperature to any of the two levels.

In case you want larger area to remain warm it may be a good option to use the Marley PLF504 Electric Hydronic Baseboard Heater. This 28inches long unit would blend with any furniture. The unit may be mounted on the wall at a suitable height from the floor to take care of vacuuming underneath. The PLF504 employs proprietary technology and keeps the room warm by using freeze-proof liquid.

There is no point in wasting energy when there is no occupant in the room. The Dayton UG01 Portable Electric Baseboard Heater takes care of this problem and provides cost effective heat to any room of your house. Apart from its compact and stylish design that blends with any décor, this machine comes with a range of safety features that include auto shutoff and trip-proof arrangement.

Two important factors you need to consider while selecting an efficient heating system for your home are the area to be heated, and the delivery mechanisms that your house supports. An electric baseboard heater offers long-term benefits to keep you comfortably warm in cold winter weather.

A very efficient way of heating your home, while keeping the operational costs low, is to adjust your thermostat to a lower level of temperature and simultaneously look for other means of heating only those rooms that are used more frequently. Such an arrangement substantially reduced the total cost of heating your home to comfortable levels.

Using electric baseboard heaters enables to get extra heat for an already existing system of heating but you need to check that your panel board has the required capacity to feed additional power needed for its operation. They are the most convenient for heating basement, attic or garage, as they do no require any piping or ductwork for being operative.

For heating of your garage, you may employ a gas wall heater. However, that needs a professional installation, all the more so if it happens to be of vent-less variety. Another option for heating of garage is to use an electric garage heater. It comes with a fan that enables forced circulation of air. Such heaters are reasonably priced, offer easy operation and are almost maintenance-free.

Propane space heaters present an effective way of heating small indoors areas. You should ensure to buy such heaters that have specifically been designed for being used indoors. That’s because propane heaters meant for outdoors applications emit a high level of carbon monoxide that makes their indoor use very unsafe. Another very important precautions for operating propane heaters is to never use them while sleeping.

Bedrooms or other such small areas that require less heat can effectively be heated by using electric heaters. Nevertheless, oil-filled heaters, or infrared heaters and electric wall heaters are equally good.

For warming of a average sized room, oil filled heaters solve the purpose. They are safe and make no noise, enabling you to sleep peacefully. There are a few models that are provided with a timer to facilitate warming the room before you wake and get out of the bed. There are more expensive models too, those offer instant heating, meaning they warm-up the room rather fast.

It’s so convenient to use portable space heater for getting additional heat, should the main heating system prove insufficient or too expensive to operate. Before buying a portable space heater, you should be aware if it’s going to be used indoors or outdoors and make sure electrical wiring is available at the point of use along with the required plugs.

For indoor use, it’s better to go for a portable electrical heater. They prove to be very efficient and powerful for indoor use and the ready availability of plugs in most of the homes and offices, further conveniences their use.

On the other hand, if you plan to use your heater outdoors, it makes a better choice to have a portable gas heater or a portable propane heater. Gas or propane heaters are quite efficient and the stored gas needed for their operation can be carried along in the gas tanks.