Winter is coming and with great winter, comes the need for a great heater! Getting maximum comfort has always been our primary concern. With chilling winter is already here, it’s time to take a look at our current heating system. In addition to a central heating system, a space heater can be quite effective in heating a smaller area. In this article we are going to guide you through different types of space heaters and how do they work.
We realize how time-consuming it can be to choose a perfect space heater. we’re here to do all the research for you and give you some basic ideas.
Table of Contents
What is a Space Heater?
As we have said earlier, a space heater is a device that can heat smaller areas, especially closed ones, unlike the central heating system. A space heater works better if it is supplemented with the main heating system. It may come in different shapes, sizes, technologies, and capacities, however, the key function always remains the same—giving you a comforting feeling during winters. It usually consumes electricity to heat up, in addition, some consume other resources such as propane or natural gas as well. When it comes to spreading heating, it comes with two different technologies— radiation and convection. Given its variety in terms of operation and technologies, choosing the right space heater for your home might require some serious thought.
What Are the Benefits of Space Heaters?
A space heater can undoubtedly be the most convenient way to solve your heating problem during this winters. It’s not just it, other things can be piovtal when it comes to choosing a heater. Let’s take a look at some of its benefits.
- A space heater consumes relatively lower electricity which means it does not add much up to your billing
- It’s a great supplement to enhance your current heating system—it can only get better
- Not all spaces can be covered with a central heating system. That said, a space heater plays a crucial role in heating those spaces and edges effectively.
- It’s portable, which means your usages are not restricted to a particular space or room, something that comes in handy in biting winters.
- It comes with multiple fuel options and you can choose one based on your affordability and necessity
- They are mostly portable and easily mountable
- Most of them are protected from overheating and any overheating-related fire hazards
Different Types of Space Heaters
There are a variety of options for you when you are to buy a space heater. It sounds great until you start to feel dilemma about which one to buy. We know, not everyone can cope with the pressure of having multiple options and therefore we have come up with our research to guide you through some factual traits of different kinds of space heaters so that you can choose which one you need. Let’s take a look at a few and their pros and cons.
1. Convection Space Heaters
The name says it all. The space heaters that use convection currents to heat and circulate air are known as Convection Space Heaters. To make it look easier to understand, just think about a convection oven. It works more like that and depends on the movement of air. The process follows the same principles of thermal conduction. Long story short, a heated air molecule displaces the cooler air molecule and forces them down to get heated up by the appliance. This is an effective way to heat up your room temperature.
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Cons
2. Micathermic Panel Space Heaters
This can easily be one of the oldest heating technologies. The primary component of Micathermic Panel Space Heaters is mica stones, a group of minerals with outstanding physical characteristics that have been in use for centuries. It is capable of producing both convection heat and radiant heat. The best thing about Micathermic Heaters is how they deliver heat. The technology might come up with a lot of complexity at first, but once you get to learn about it, you will realize it’s quite simple. Long story short, the main component of this heater is Mica stone and the heating produced by those stones once they are fully heated up and eject electromagnetic rays.
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3. Fan and Forced Air Heaters
The name itself says it all. Fan and Forced Air Heaters are very common types of space heaters. The heating process of these heaters is quite simple. It used its internal fan to force the warm air to reach around a room. It’s an effective way to make an immediate heating impact on a room.
Pros
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4. Fuel Burning Space Heaters
This cost-effective heating system burns fuels instead of consuming electricity for heating. This is an ideal way to heat up large rooms or spaces. The emission of carbon monoxide is an issue you should consider before going for these heaters.
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5. Infrared and Radiant Space Heater
If you are looking for something cost-effective and quick heating system for your family, the Infrared and Radiant Space Heater can be a decent choice. Infrared heaters use their radiation to heat up objects, unlike other heating devices that mostly work by heating up the air molecules. That said, it works more effectively since it heats up every objects its radiation comes across. It always provides much natural-like warmth.
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6. Ceramic Space Heaters
A Ceramic Space Heaters used ceramic with a positive temperature coefficient as its main element of heating. Easily portable and can be used to heat small rooms or offices. There are different kinds of Ceramic Space Heaters in the market depending on price and frequency, you can choose yours based on your requirement.
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7. Panel Space Heaters
This heater is easily mountable on the wall and a perfect choice for your family regardless of how large or small your rooms are. Perfect for ejecting instant and controllable heat, something you might find quite useful this winter. Let’s take a look at some of its pros and cons.
Pros
Cons
How Do Space Heaters Work?
Well, as we have stated in the beginning, space heaters work great as a supplement to the central heating system. We have also given some ideas about how they work generally. A space heater is powered either by electricity or combustion of flammable fuels such as natural gas, kerosene, propane, or wood, etc. There are two ways a space heater does its business—radiant heat or convection.
- A convective heater usually heats the air particles rather than an object. It might come with or without a fan. While they work faster if come with a fan, slower if not. The process is simple— pulling air from the room, warming them, and then pushing them back into the room.
- Radiant heaters produce warmth by producing infrared radiation, which means, instead of heating the air or entire space, they focus on objects such as body skin or anything on the path. It gives a natural warmth just like the one we get from the sun. The process varies depending on what kind of heating element they use. For instance, some common elements for its heating system are Metal wire elements, Heat lamps, Ceramic infrared heat systems, Far-infrared, Quartz heat lamps, Quartz tungsten, Carbon heater, and Gas-fired.
FAQs
Can you leave a space heater on all night?
Most modern space heaters are overheat-resistant and their cutting-edge technologies can make sure you do not face any fire-related hazards due to overheating. However, we never recommend you to leave it on all night for precautionary purposes. First of all, a space heater works as a supplementary heater to your central heating system. That said, you are not going to need it once you are under your blanket, so leaving it on for the entire night is redundant. Regardless of how strong safety features your space heater comes with or what power source it uses, never leave your space heater running all night as no technology is immune to an accident.
Is it cheaper to run the heat or a space heater?
A space heater is a wonderful device that can warm your room atmosphere the quickest way possible. Usually, run as a supplementary device to your central heating device, but still plays an important role in comforting you during biting winter. However, nothing comes for free. Natural power resources such as natural gas, kerosene, propane, or wood tend to cost you less than those electric ones but they are not always as healthy as the former one. Electricity-powered space heaters are more efficient, healthy, fast, and also relatively higher energy-consuming. That said, it can still vary depending on the frequency and size of your space heater had. In a nutshell, it’s not cheaper but it can be reasonable depending on your device.
Do space heaters use a lot of electricity?
It totally depends on the size and frequency of your heater. Usually, any electric heating device tends to consume a significant amount of electricity which means additional expenses. However, you can optimize your cost by choosing the perfect space heater for you based on the size of your desired heating areas. For instance, if you choose a heater that is able to cover up a 200 sq ft room but yours is a 100sq ft room, you are only wasting both heat and your electricity. Therefore, choosing the right space heater is crucial to optimize your bill.
Final Thoughts:
We hope we have been able to assist you in getting ideas about Different Types of Space Heaters and How Do They Work. Buying an electric product might seem a bit puzzling at first, but once you choose the right one, it’s totally worth it. Our goal has been to guide you through the best product you need to buy for your home this winter and we believe our thorough research and distinctive approach to explaining those technical terms has been a help.
