Electric Heater Information | Portable Electric Heaters, Convection Heaters, Infrared Heaters

All About Electric Heaters

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Most heaters are powered by either electricity or fuel. While both types of heaters have their own individual benefits, electric heaters seem to be the most popular option because they're often inexpensive to purchase and easier to maintain.

Electric heaters work by converting electricity into heat via an electric resistor within the heater. An electric current flowing through the resistor then coverts this electric energy into heat energy.

Heater Tip:

Some of the benefits of an electric heater are obvious - electricity is available anywhere, and electric heaters do not require any fuel to be stored.

It's important to understand safety issues when purchasing an electric heater. New models of electric heaters are required to pass rigid safety tests in order to ensure safe operation. Wire grills, tilt switches, automatic shutoff controls, and thermostat controls are all safety features to look for when choosing an electric heater.

Although all electric heaters use the same basic principle to generate heat, there are variations in how electric heaters provide this heat to the environment. Take a look at the table below to learn more about the different electric heating methods available.

Different Electric Heating Methods:

	Convection Heaters	These electric heaters are great for providing background warmth in closed spaces. Convection heaters warm the air near the element or body of the heater by using air convection currents to generate heat. Then, these currents circulate throughout the appliance and across the heating element. Examples of convection heaters are oil-filled radiators, which are perfect for personal spaces such as under desks, and electric baseboard heaters, which are great for heating rooms such as bedrooms or lounge areas.
	Infrared or Radiant Heaters	Infrared heaters transfer thermal energy through electromagnetic waves. All infrared heaters share one common characteristic: the heated object or substance emits or radiates heat and only the objects are warmed, as opposed to entire areas. In general, infrared heaters are energy-efficient and great for multi-purpose use, but they're especially effective for industrial use such as warehouses and even greenhouses where high temperatures are required to be quickly reached.
	Fan Heaters	A fan heater is a type of convection heater that uses a fan to pass air over a heating element in order to speed up airflow. The heating element heats the air, the air leaves the heater, and the surrounding area is warmed. This can result in extremely rapid heating in a room. Fan heaters work well in areas where installing other types of heating devices would be impractical, but these heaters may not be the best choice if sound is a concern, as they can sometimes be noisy. Examples of fan heaters would be portable fan garage heaters, which are placed on the floor to provide blasts of warm air onto the body.

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