Space Heater Quick Guide -- Common Space Heater Questions

1. What is a space heater?

Space heaters come in a wide variety including ceramic, oil-filled, coil convection, and halogen based heaters. However, the most common set of features include up to 1500W settings, tip-over protection, and overheat protection. Most space heaters are also powered by a standard 120V, three-wire power cord to provide safe, grounded operation and avoid electrical accidents.

2. What benefits come with a ceramic heater?

Ceramic element heaters are safer than normal, coil-based products. Because the ceramic core is larger than heating coils, it can operate at a lower temperature, releasing the same amount of energy over a larger area. Furthermore, due to the properties of the material used, it holds its temperature for longer than a standard, electric heater in the same way that a hydronic or oil-filled heater would, resulting in high efficiency heating.

3. What are the benefits of an oil-filed heater?

Oil-filled radiators use a contained fluid in a sealed radiator setup. There is no need to ever refill or top up this heater. The internal heating mechanism transfers heat to the oil which in turn radiates the heat into the surrounding area. These heaters are highly efficient because the internal heating element does not constantly need to be on. Once heated to a higher temperature, the heating oil gradually releases the warmth to keep your room comfortable even while the internal element is off. Because there is no fan with an oil-filled heater, radiators are extremely quiet.

4. What benefits come with a coil-based, convection heater?

Coil-based, convection or fan-forced heaters use infrared wavelength to their advantage by heating metallic coils within the heater. The coils release infrared energy to heat the air passing through them before pushing the air into the surrounding area. All coil-based heaters have safety meshes to prevent objects from contact with the internal elements. Baseboard electric heaters are similar to coil heaters except baseboards release the heat over a wider area meet a longer length.

5. What benefits come with a halogen heater?

Halogen or reflective heaters are the newest in heating technology. Using the well-known and energy-saving, halogen bulb technology, a reflecting heater uses light to deliver warmth to the nearby objects and people rather than heating the air in the same fashion as the sun. This direct heat method provides much higher comfort levels than older technologies because the warmth provided will be felt immediately by the heater as if one was sitting in a sunlit living room on a brisk, sunny winter day.

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