@SpaceHeaterReviews: Of course you can transform 100% of energy into heat. It doesn’t in any way make a perpetuum mobile. The only way to make a perpetuum mobile is to transform 0% of energy into heat.

Look, all these basic misunderstandings about “efficiency” is why the article is misleading. It was a great opportunity to explain to people how to judge the cost of heating, the cost of initial purchase, the specificity of the heat produced — but instead it perpetuated the confusion.

I have a ceramic that stands 18 inches tall, it is about eight inches in diameter. The heat it puts out is noticeably greater than the one that uses glowing wires. It can be adjusted to oscillate back and forth so it could easily warm all sides of a person sitting in a chair and perhaps even two people fairly close together. It has two power settings and a timer so it will shut off if you rise and forget it. It also has a thermostat with increments every five from 65 to 85. That heater costs about $45 at discount stores compared to about $20 for the glowing wire heaters but I am reasonably certain it will cost far less to operate. Perhaps paying you back in the first month of use. I have been using it now for five years. It is beginning to produce a slight odor so I suspect it is nearing the end of its usable life but it still works.

The warmth from the ceramic can be felt up to six feet away in a 60 degree room. On the highest setting it can make you sweat from six feet away.

I remember in the 1960′s and 70′s my grandma hanging blankets on doorways in the winter to control heat and using small heaters for the different rooms. She turned her thermostat down to 50 at night and would use a small heater facing her breakfast chair while she waited for the furnace to warm the kitchen.

Isolating rooms is an excellent way to control heat. That is why many older homes had numerous swinging doors. Modern houses don’t usually have those because most people don’t want to be bothered opening and closing doors between rooms. A good alternative is a blanket or sheet hung with an overlapping split at the center so a person can easily push through without the need to use hands. It might mess up your hair a bit but it works well.

I have not tried the type that are filled with oil so I cannot compare them. If they use a ceramic system I am certain they would also be more cost saving than the glowing wire type. I would never use a glowing wire heater if there are small children around, too dangerous. Make certain ALL heaters you use have protection that will shut them off in case they should be tipped over.

Set your thermostat to 60 degrees to control your costs and keep the building at a resonable temperature. Then use a portable radient heat source. radient energy will pass into your body. You will feel warmer without paying to heat the air around you. You have tryed to heat the air, that doesn’t work for you. It is also too expensive. If you sit in a chair both you and the chair will get warm. When you leave the chair, it’s warmth will then be used to heat the air in the room.

By efficient I think he like myself means the best productivity for the buck.

Certain materials heat faster and longer then others and things like a fan and oscillating help disperse heat better. But I’m realizing if you want to heat a room the a radiator design is the best this takes in the cold air and shoots it our hot rather then just pushing heat through air. So if you want to cook in one spot get a porcelain fan style heater if you want to heat a room get a mica radiator. A big problem is the most “watts” the GOV allows a heater to use is 1500 which is not enough power to heat a full size room with any heater.

Claire Colvin
Sr. Ed., Power to Change

The electricity comes from the outlet. The space heater turns it into heat. 100% of the electricity used gets turned into heat. Every electric space heater is 100% efficient. 100% of what you pay for it on your electric bill gets turned into heat.

If someone writes that one electric heater is “more efficient” than another — then they don’t understand electric heaters. Go somewhere else for advice.