Choosing a Space Heater
Last year when the price of natural gas went up, I was shocked at my heating bill. Almost one week’s paycheck a month was going to keeping my house at only 65 degrees. I decided a change had to be made.
I sewed a heavy floor to ceiling curtain and hung it in the hallway separating the bottom floor of my house from the upstairs. That way I wasn’t heating empty bedrooms and a second bathroom all day long. I turned my furnace thermostat down to it’s lowest setting and bought a small electric heater to heat the bottom floor of my house during all but the time we were sleeping upstairs. My heating bill went down almost 35 percent!
This year gas in my area is going up 12 percent and electric is actually going down. I am thinking about not using gas heat at all and getting another electric heater for upstairs at night. I am confused about what kind of electric heater to get. Which is the most efficient? I’ve seen quartz, ceramic, coil, and oil filled but I don’t know which one works best? No matter which one I get I will try and get one with good safety features.
~ Mary
When Your World
Isn’t Like it Should Be …
Amid glimpses of hope, honor, love, and charity, we also witness evil, injustice, hatred, and sadness. But surely there is more to it than that?
Mary has discovered one of the best ways to reduce your home heating bill. Only heat the rooms that are occupied. Especially when there’s only one person at home and they’re only using one or two rooms. And the simplest way to heat a room is to use a portable electric space heater.
Space heaters convert almost all of the electric used into heat. In that, they’re very efficient. Unfortunately, electricity is often made from gas, oil or coal. And only about 30% of the energy used goes into electricity.
So while you probably wouldn’t want to use electric to heat your whole house in a cold climate, it’s often the most cost efficient method for heating a smaller area. According the Central Maine Power Company the average cost of an electric heater is 13 cents per hour.
Mary is also wise to be concerned about safety. Space heaters can be dangerous. Even deadly. Especially if you have small children. Safety features are an important part of the purchase decision. Make sure that you read and follow the instructions.
Space heaters generally provide heat in one of two ways. Radiant heaters actually heat the objects at which they’re aimed. They do not heat up the air in the room. The other type, convection heaters, warm the air around them.
Radient vs. convection heaters
Not heating the air is an advantage for radiant heaters. There’s no drafts from moving air. And radiant heat is great for heating just portions of a room. You’re only heating the areas where you want heat. Just point the radiant heater at the chair that you’re sitting in!
- Radiant heaters use a variety of heating elements. Many use quartz tubes. Quartz heaters generally cost less than $70 and are rated between 750 and 1500 watts.
- Parabolic heaters use a ceramic core. They cost a little more than quartz and put out about the same amount of heat per watt used. Ceramic element heaters are safer than heaters with coils. They use a larger heating area so it doesn’t need to be as hot.
- Halogen or reflective heaters use an energy saving halogen bulb to produce heat which is reflected on nearby objects. The feeling is much like having the sun shine on you.
- Convection heaters can heat a whole room more quickly than a radiant heater. That works well if there are a number of people in the room or they’re moving about within the room. Some convection heaters also have fans to circulate the air in the room.Convection heaters are inexpensive. You’ll get one rated up to 5,000 Btu’s for less than $50.Like radiant heaters, convection heaters use a variety of heating elements. Ceramic disc heaters cost up to $150 and produce up to 5,000 Btu’s per hour. Oil and water filled units are the most efficient convection heaters. They utilize a heating element in a bath of oil or water. Like a water heater, the element cycles on and off. The water or oil stays warm in it’s container and heats the surrounding air.
Which heater will work for you?
So which heater is best for Mary? Since she’s considering a nighttime application people won’t be moving around. So she’s probably best choosing a radiant heater for each occupied bedroom. And, unless she has young children with inquisitive hands, the halogen or ceramic heater will provide more heat per kilowatt hour of electricity. Whatever Mary picks we hope that her utility bill won’t be the hottest thing in her home this winter!
Granny, no matter which way Henry puts it, it is still going to sound like a lot of mambo-jumbo technology.
I see many are still confusing efficient with effective.
As we already know all electric resistance heat is equally 100% efficient.
It has also been discussed that how the heat is delivered affects its effectiveness.
What hasn’t been mentioned is does the heater in question actually use the watthours it is supposed to. You would figure that a standard 1500 watt heater would use 1.5kwh per hour and emit the corresponding ~5120BTUs per hour but they often don’t.
Take many common oil filled units, they simply aren’t big enough to dissipate the heat so to keep from overheating themselves they cycle on the thermostat and don’t use the full 1.5kwh per hour. IOW the average power is less than the rated power. I have one model on for testing next to me right now (Patton POH2501) set to 600 watts. It is drawing 650 actual watts at 120.0 volts per a Kill-A-Watt meter and its surface temperature is 110° Fahrenheit over ambient per a meat thermometer and my room thermometers. 67° F room 177° F heater. So much for not getting hot enough to burn you, I could cook food on this thing.
The point, if it is getting that hot on only the 600watt low setting then putting it on a higher setting would be pointless because the thermostat would just cycle to keep it from overheating. Hence the higher settings can only be useful for getting the unit’s oil up to temp faster but not for actually heating the room faster. If the heater were bigger the higher settings would actually be useful.
So if you have a space heater get yourself a power and energy meter like the Kill-A-Watt, plug your heater in to it, put the heater on its highest settings, wait 1 hour, see if the kwh consumed actually matches up to the rating of the heater, chances are good it won’t.
I own a comfort furnace for the past 3 years and I must say I am very satisfied with its heating efficiency. I chose this for its performance and it’s ability to heat large rooms.
Daniel, I have to thank you for your 11/04/2015 posting on electric heaters! I remember some of my 1968 high school physics, so I could follow ( O.K., I read it twice first ) your energy output evaluations, but I just plain never thought of the idea,that a unit like the oil filled electric heater would Not actually run at its stated rating whenever it was On.
We use 5 such units for everything from keeping basement pipes from freezing to heating our high-use rooms to spare our old oil furnace,& my wallet.
I Will be getting a use meter to verify actual hourly output on each of these in turn. Thank you again, you have done us a real service !
good article I got a good fire place to heal and heat to heat our place
My daughter recently moved into a VERY old apartment, poorly insulated or maybe even no insulation. It has baseboard heat in each room, LR, Kit, MB, a very small spare br and bath and probably old as well. She understands baseboard heat is expensive. However not only is it costly the problem is it’s also not doing a good job of heating the LR/ Kit which is open to each other. IMB is ok as she can close the door and use it only at night. She thinks a space heater will help. I would appreciate any recommendation of what type of space heater would be best for her. I have searched the Internet until I’m blue in the face and confused as ever with all the choices, infrared, convection, ceramic, oil filled, water filled, etc. the living room is about 14×16 open to same size kitchen.
The windows are decent, vinyl, double pane and she has just put plastic film over the 3 windows in living room.,
We will appreciate any advice. We know that operating a space heater isn’t cheap either but at least she will be warmer and more comfortable.
Many people are missing the point. There is no differrence between the costs of running a heater. Heaters are rated by the watts they are capable of using. They are 100% efficient. Every watt is used to produce heat. Wether it is a 750 Watt oil filled, quartz, ceramic, radiant, or convection they all cost the same to operate.. The effectiveness is different because of design etc., but the cost to run them is exactly the same. A heaters electrical output is measured in watts. 1 watt/hour = 3.412 BTU’s/hour. A BTU is a measure of heat produced. 1 cubic foot of air requires 0.018 BTU/hour to raise the temperature 1 degree fahrenheit. The Electric Utility Company charges you a rate by the kWh (1000Watts/hour). A heater is not like a light bulb. As of yet, there is no light source that is 100% efficient. They all produce some amount of heat instead of light. This is why there is a difference between CFL, LED and incandescent bulb efficiency.
“….the halogen or ceramic heater will provide more heat per kilowatt hour of electricity.”
This statement is FALSE!!. They are exactly the same. A $10.00 1000W convection heater will give the same heat as a $100.00 1000W halogen, ceramic, oil filed, radiant, etc. Watts are watts. BTU’s are BTU’s.
See earlier post.
good article thank you for posting this
It is a good product. You use perfectly
We use Infrared Heaters for our house since 2015 but our all neighbors are using pellet stoves, wood stoves and fireplaces. We like Infrared Heaters because it has a lot of pos as it Uses less energy, Low-maintenance, Eco-friendly as well as Much more efficient than other heaters. Before 2015, when we were using stoves it was boaring for me.
I need a small heater to use under my desk at work. It can’t reach a surface heat of more than 212 degrees. How do I know if it does?
Maggie–
All heaters would reach well beyond 212 degrees as far as the heat elements are concerned. But what you feel coming out of the heater would likely be substantially less or it wouldn’t be approved for sale. Read online reviews of the heater you’re considering, as well as the operating instructions.
another point is, where is the thermostat for the house-wide or appt-wide temp control. mine is in the living room. so at night i turn it down and have a small ceramic heater with a thermostat in my bedroom.
Michael, it sounds like you have a good plan and you have also made a good point about thermostat location. It should be fairly centrally located and reasonably shielded from drafts of cold air or heat from direct sunshine. For people whose home is empty during day (or night), a programmable thermostat is a good investment.
What’s the most safe electric space heater?
I’m building a very small insulated container for my motorcycle. The space is 7 foot long by 6 foot high by 5 foot wide. Since the motorcycle is gas engine, I need a safe heating system. In the past, I’ve owned small ceramic heater that did catch on fire. This electric heat source needs to be continuous, so it needs a thermostat.
Thanks in advance.
The issue with modern fireplaces is that they’re inefficient, bad for the environment and cost a fortune to run. Me and my husband recently started looking at wood stoves, pellet stoves and boilers to heat our home, it’s a tough decision don’t get me wrong, but a god quality, EPA certified stove works great, especially with a wood stove fan to distribute the heat throughout your home properly.
I have 5 space heaters all rated at 1500W/12.5A, but none of them pull more than 8 amps/960W on their highest setting; not at startup or at any other time while running. Can you please explain why that is, and if it’s a safety feature, can you explain the details? Since my 1200W microwave actually pulls about 10A while running, seems to me it’s just plain old hype to make folks think they’re getting something they’re not…. more BTUs for those wanting more heat, and more amps for those wanting to prevent over loading a circuit and blowing a fuse. Thanks! Skip
I highly recommend Lasko. The heater has a thermostat. It’s perfect for heating a small room. It ?s not expensive heater . The unit itself is plastic with a metal grille, but it feels very sturdy and well made. The fan noise level is acceptable.
This is so helpful. We have an extremely drafty family room on a cold slab. We’re saving up for better windows but until then we need to bring in a few space heaters. Thanks!
Relying on your furnace to heat the entire home isn’t always the best idea. Space heaters and fireplace inserts are great ways to heat your rooms and save money while doing it.
I live in a 50’s built house with original windows and huge old furnace. The furnace runs on electric and oil heat. I live on below poverty level so I’m very limited in how much I can purchase in oil. The furnace is set at 67 but I will come home after work or wake up with it being so hot in the house and the furnace will not shut off unless I shut it off manually, wait for the house to cool down and turn it back on. This is the Winter cycle I repeat and I live alone. I have 4 lasko space heaters that literally get me through the Winter. I am on the “heap/Pip program but I only get 150 gals of oil heat per season and I end up having to purchase at least 300 or more through out Winter. Any advice? I do the window plastic around windows and doors.
Vicky–
Hard to think to any ideas that don’t cost more money. However, I think it would be money well spent to have a heating and air company check out the furnace. You may only need a new thermostat or other small part to have the furnace operate properly. A programmable thermostat would allow for you to keep the heat low while you’re away, and have it get to temperature just prior to your return.
Some infrared quartz heaters are advertised as having different numbers of heating elements. The Lifesmart ZCHT1001US space heater is highly rated and supposedly has ‘6 elements’ while others have 4 (Soleil 4-Element Quartz Electric Room Heater) and I”m pretty sure the one I have now has only 1-2 visible elements/coils. But they all are listed as the rather standard max 1500 watts/5200 BTUs. How does or doesn’t the listed # of elements impact the function and cost of operating the various units??
I appreciate your efforts for writing such a post which consist all the relevant info about the topic.
The space heater is handy in the winter season. It warmth my bedroom very quickly, but it is hazardous to use. At any time, it can burn our home. In this article, you mentioned the best way to use space heaters at home. Thanks, mate for sharing this. Can you tell me what types of space are safe to use?
All things to consider, a space heater is one of the excellent options to offer the heat to your home
during the chilly weather. So, don’t think about the budget to buy the superb as well as the expensive
products to enjoy the lifetime of the space heaters.
However, Space heaters are small as well as it comes with the affordable price. So, if you want to warm
up your living home, then buy any one of the above-mentioned products and enjoy this cold weather
simply without making any effort.
Excellent article on a space heater. Space Heating is specifically designed to heat large rooms and shielded outdoor areas. Due to its high surface temperature, the infrared radiation is more efficient and can reach a distance of up to 4m heating up rooms very quickly. Thanks for sharing such an informative blog with us.