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.