Reviews for the Best Kerosene Heater of 2017

A portable kerosene heater is a great way to get heat if you for any reason you suffer a power outage or do not have access to an electrical supply point. You can also use them in any outdoor spaces, such as on camping trips or to make sitting out in the garden more comfortable as the evening draws in.

Types of Kerosene Heater

There are two different ways that kerosene heater provide heat on the market today. Convection kerosene heaters and radiant kerosene heaters. Both types of heater use a wick as a source of burning for the fuel.

Convection kerosene heaters

As with all convection heaters, a kerosene convection heater provides heat by creating radiant or conductive heat onto some form of heat exchanger, usually fins with a large surface area. The fins then warm the air surrounding them and as the warm air rises it is replaced with cooler air from below which in turn is heated. Convection kerosene heaters often shaped as small towers, with the heat-exchanger surrounded by a metal frame preventing unwanted contact.

Radiant kerosene heaters

Radiant kerosene heaters are perhaps the more traditional form of kerosene heater. The burners are placed at the center of a reflector area which directs the heat forward. This radiant heat warms objects that fall in the line of sight of the heater. They do not directly warm the air, but after a period of use the air temperature will tend to increase to due heat transference occurring from the heated objects being heated by the heater.

Due to the design of the radiant heater and the need to reflect heat in one direction only, parts of radiant kerosene heaters can become extremely hot and extra care should be taken when using them.

Important Kerosene Heater Features

When choosing the best kerosene heater you should ensure that the model you are considering has some important features that ensures it operates safely and effectively.

• It should be UL or ETL listed, or CSA certified.
• It should have an auto shut off feature in the event that the heater overheats for any reason.
• It should incorporate a tip-over switch that turns off the heater should it be knocked over.
• Your kerosene heater should have a carry handle that allows you to carry your portable kerosene heater easily without having to come into contact with any hot areas.
• Always consider the heating capacity of your heater. Try to buy a kerosene heater that closely matches the area you intend to heat with the power of the heater.

The Advantages of the Best Kerosene Heaters

Although the kerosene heater has largely been replaced most American homes by electric space heaters, the reality is that owning a kerosene heater, even one that is only occasionally used has a number of distinct advantages.

• The obvious advantage that a kerosene heater has over electric space heaters is that it does not need an electrical supply to operate. This means that having a kerosene heater is an extremely useful back up heating device. They are also useful for using in situations where an electrical supply is not readily available, such as on camping trips.
• A properly maintained heater burns kerosene very efficiently. Unlike other forms of heating that burn fuel this means that the heat provided by kerosene heaters is very clean and does not result in the build-up of soot and other by-products.
• Kerosene heaters are versatile and can be used in both indoor and outdoor environments. There is a general concern often expressed that kerosene heaters should not be used indoors, but by taking sensible precautions noted below and by ensuring the space you are heating is properly ventilated there should be no risk to their indoor use.
• Kerosene as a fuel is stable and can be stored for long periods of time. Additives are also available that will ensure long term storage is extended further still. This ensures that kerosene heaters are indeed a useful device to keep stored for use only in the event of power outages or similar emergency.
• Modern kerosene heaters tend to be well made and robust, and you should ensure that any kerosene heater you are considering have a UL listing or similar quality assurance mark. With few if any moving parts within your heater you can expect a long life of inexpensive and efficient heat from your heater.

Kerosene Heater Safety

It is a fairly common misconception that kerosene heaters are dangerous. However, kerosene heaters do burn fuel in order to provide heat and therefore anyone using such heaters should behave sensibly and take basic operating precautions.

• Using impure, or the incorrect fuel in a kerosene heater may well cause pollution and a sooting up of the burner. This may increase the risk of fire. Only use 1-K grade kerosene in your heater. If it is not water-clear then it is not 1-K grade quality. Never use gasoline or other volatile fuels. Using such kerosene alternatives are potentially very dangerous as you risk fire or worse, an explosion.
• If you intend to store your kerosene then you should ensure that you store it in a container specifically designed to keep it. Not doing so increases the risk that the kerosene will become contaminated, which will affect the efficiency of burn. Do not use gasoline containers as this may result in confusion and you may well risk burning the wrong fuel in your kerosene heater.
• Only purchase kerosene from a supplier who is able to certify that it is 1-K grade kerosene.
• Take particular care when refueling your heater tank. Do not refuel indoors. You should only refuel outdoors in an area that is clear of anything that might be easily flammable. The heater should always be off and cool when refueling. Never overfill the tank. Only fill to the “full” mark.
• Should the heater flare-up for any reason, of if unexpected or uncontrolled flaming does occur then you should immediately attempt to turn off the heater, either using a manual “off” switch if the heater has one, or cut-off the fuel from the heater. Under no circumstances should you try to move the heater. This is potentially very dangerous and might result in serious injury. If you cannot reach the heater to turn it off, then you should leave your property and call the fire department.
• Ventilation is a commonly misunderstood topic when it comes to kerosene heaters. Kerosene heaters do not, in fact, emit carbon monoxide or other pollutants into the atmosphere. They tend to burn very efficiently. It is advisable however to ensure the room is properly ventilated. This can be achieved by simply opening a window by as little as an inch. This ensures an adequate flow of fresh oxygen to keep the heater burning efficiently. Ventilation also helps address any issue of condensation arising as a result of the burning fuel indoors.
• The wick is perhaps the most important element of your kerosene heater. You should ensure it is clean and in good condition by undertaking a simple cleaning and maintenance. This cleaning and maintenance routine should be provided to you by the kerosene heater manufacturer.

Regular Kerosene Heater Maintenance

Kerosene heaters are great heating options with several pros over other heating solutions. Unlike electric heaters, they can be used anywhere whether indoors or outdoors. Unlike gas heaters on the other hand, kerosene heaters are very safe. If you have one or are thinking of getting one, below are four tips on how to maintain the kerosene heater.

Regular replacement of the wick

The wick is probably the most important part of the kerosene heater. However, it also happens to be the main culprit when the heater starts to malfunction. To avoid this, make sure that you regularly replace the wicks whether they are cotton or fiber glass. This is because prolonged use leads to build up of tar on the wick surface. This reduces the efficiency of the entire heating system.

Clean and lubricate the wick raising system

Failure to pay attention to this system also leads to functionality problems with continuous usage. Contact with the kerosene on the wick increases attraction and accumulation of dirt and tart on the raising system. This could lead to clogging that makes it difficult to raise the wick. To avoid this, make sure to regularly clean the raising system to remove accumulated dirt and grime. You can use a toothbrush and some warm water. Just make sure to fully dry the system before putting it back into the heater.

Regular cleaning of the oil filter and oil plate

The oil filter and the oil plate are two other important parts that require regular cleaning as part of the heater’s maintenance. With the filter, the aim is to get rid of the accumulated particles in order to allow proper filtration. Here, you can first manually scrap off the grime then clean the filter with pure kerosene and leave it out to dry. For the oil plate, you will have to pump out the excess oil and dirt that accumulates there in order to allow proper functioning of the heating system.

Regular cleaning of the fan filter

The fan filter filters air sucked into the system for the combustion process. With continuous use, dust and other particles in the air might accumulate on the filter causing obstruction of the air pathway. To avoid this, make sure that you regularly clean the filer. You can do this by removing it, rinsing in clean water and drying it before reassembling the heating unit.

After all is said and done, your kerosene heater’s longevity is entirely dependent on how you take care of it. The tips above should help you maintain it for long term optimum functioning.

Summing Up

Kerosene heaters were at one time a very popular portable space heater option. However, advances in space heater technology and the far greater extent to which the electric current is cheap and available in our homes has meant that kerosene heaters are a less common choice of portable space heater.

However, as we have seen above, there are times when having a space heater that does not depend upon power in your home can be a valuable item to own. Indeed anywhere where access to electric power many not be taken for granted will benefit from a kerosene heater. For this reason we recommend that all households have at least one kerosene heater available should they need it.

Kerosene is a fuel that is readily available and can be stored, using sensible storage precautions, for long periods of time safely. In addition, kerosene heaters are very affordable and it should be an easy process to identify and purchase the best kerosene heater you can for the budget and for your household needs. We recommend you review our list of best kerosene heaters and purchase one for your family today.

The post Reviews for the Best Kerosene Heater of 2017 appeared first on Space Heater Pro.

Cheap Ways to Heat Your Home in Winter

Many people find the winter months a difficult time. The cost of heating your home can add up especially during some of the coldest and bitterest winter months. In this article, we’re going to take a look at some simple and cheap ways to help you heat your home in winter.

Before diving into the detail, lets divide the topic into two manageable sections. First, we will look at ways to prevent heat loss in your home. Secondly we will examine some of the best ways to generate heat without breaking your budget.

Preventing heat loss

Roof insulation

Have you ever looked at a row of houses that are covered in snow? If you ever see one that has no snow on it next to one that has the snow piled high you will know that you are looking at a home that has little or no roof insulation.

Can you imagine how much heat is required to keep that roof free of snow? If you can, then you understand how important it is to insulate your roof.

Roof insulation can be done in a number of different ways, ranging from quite expensive to very cheap. At the cheaper end of the market, you can easily find suppliers of rolled up woolly attic insulation. This wool can range from natural wool to recycled plastic fibres.

The important thing is that it is both readily available and inexpensive. If you do not have insulation in your attic then you should attend to this as soon as possible, and certainly before the winter months kick in.

Seal household draughts

A major source of heat loss in most homes is down to warm air escaping through windows and doors and other sources of draughts.

In addressing the issue of heating your home in winter, you simply cannot overlook the need to ensure that you seal up as many causes of draughts as possible.

Fortunately, most of us know exactly where the warm air escapes in our homes. If not there are easy ways to find out where your money is going. As a guide, make sure that you examine the gaps beneath doors, poorly fitting door fittings and keyholes, ventilation bricks, weather strips and chimneys.

Dealing with most of these issues is relatively straightforward and should certainly not cost very much money. There are many different options for preventing draughts underneath doors the simplest and most obvious being a fabric draft excluder laid down to block up any gaps. Replacing windows strips is straightforward, with the relevant materials being readily available at most hardware stores. And, it is relatively easy to find a way to insert something into a chimney to prevent warm air flowing literally into the heavens.

Thermal Drapes and Temporary Double Glazing

Windows are another culprit when it comes to losing heat from your home. Heat can be lost through a conduction process whereby the warm air inside the home is conducted by the window itself or the window frame to the outside.

One potential option, is to cover the windows with inexpensive thermal boards which should deal with most of the issues. However this would also have the effect of blocking out the light, and should only be considered really in rooms that you are not using much.

An alternative, is to use temporary double glazing. This temporary double glazing can be purchased from almost all hardware stores, and is effectively easy to install. Essentially, the double glazing is plastic sheets which are attached to the frame of your window and then stretched by warming gently with a hairdryer to make a transparent plastic barrier.

Another good option to limit heat loss via your windows is to use a thermal drape. Thermal material can be expensive. However, it is well worth it if you can afford it. If you cannot however, it is easy to purchase some relatively inexpensive heavy material, such as velvet or equivalent, from which you can make simple window drapes that should prevent much of the heat loss, especially in the evening.

Wrap up Warm

One should never overlook the option of simply wearing warmer clothes or more layers when at home, which is not so much a way of heating your home, but sidestepping the need to heat at all. Woolly sweaters, thermal tops and bottoms, and wearing slippers around the house are all easy ways to keep you warm and delay the point at which you start to think about turning on the heat.

Heating Your Home Cheaply

Ensure Your Heating is Working

If you do use your home furnace to heat your home, then it is clearly sensible to make sure that it is functioning properly and efficiently. When thinking about the need to heat your home cheaply this step is often overlooked. However, a poorly maintained home furnace means that you will spend money generating heat but not benefiting from it.

Simple steps to take to make sure that all events are clear and that the warm air circulates freely throughout your home. This will not need a professional to get involved as you will know all the access points yourself.

However, you should still not overlooked a regular service of your home furnace to make sure that the furnaces burning efficiently and effectively. This will almost certainly require the assistance of a professional as there are obvious safety issues in dealing with your furnace that you may not be comfortable with.

Portable Space Heaters

Another effective way of minimising costs, is to sensibly use portable space heaters to generate heat. It is generally accepted that the cost of creating heat using portable space heaters is higher than the cost of using your home furnace. However, the reality is that it can be significantly cheaper to heat small spaces with a portable space heater, than by turning on the home furnace for the whole home.

In effect, you are attempting to create heating zones in your home without having to go to the expense of an intelligent thermostat controlling your home heating.

As a working approach, when using portable space heaters it is most sensible to consider heating you, and not necessarily the room. Space heaters these days are very inexpensive, can be extremely small and portable, while generating more than sufficient heat to keep you warm.

Ceramic space heaters are particularly good at providing personal heating, they are safe to use, are naturally self-regulating and very inexpensive to purchase. There are a number of brands of ceramic space heater and we have looked at the best ceramic space heaters elsewhere on this site.

Ceramic space heaters are not the only option however, infrared heaters are also very effective and very affordable. If you are interested in the most energy efficient heaters, we have looked in detail at this subject too.

Summing Up

In conclusion, we hope that we have provided some useful information within this article. In essence, the best advice is to ensure firstly that you do not lose any heat unnecessarily from your home, and the second piece of advice is to make sure that any heat that you do generate is both energy efficient and targeted at heating only what is necessary to heat.

The post Cheap Ways to Heat Your Home in Winter appeared first on Space Heater Pro.

Best Ceramic Space Heater Reviews 2016

How Does a Ceramic Heater Work?

A ceramic heater has three components. The heating elements, which are made from PTC ceramic material, aluminium fins for heat transference and a fan for warm air distribution.

PTC stands for Positive Temperature Coefficient. PTC ceramic material has the property that when an electric current passes through it the material does two things. It warms up, but as it warms up its resistance to electrical current increases. This makes PTC ceramic unusually good for incorporating into space heater. The material is naturally self-regulating, meaning that it does not overheat due to the increased electrical resistance it exhibits as it becomes hot.

The heat created by the ceramic material is transferred onto the aluminium fins which as placed in contact with the ceramic inside the heater. These aluminium fins have a large surface area, which in turn heats the air surrounding them through convection.

Finally, the fan is required to force the warm air into the room in a particular direction. Some ceramic heaters push the warm air out the front of the space heater casing but others are tower or cylindrical in shape and the heating element revolves or oscillates inside forcing the air in a much wider arc.

The beauty of ceramic heaters is that the temperature of the ceramic material inside the heater never gets hot enough to ignite combustible material such as paper. This makes them a safer option than conventional fan heaters with wire elements.

It also means that the casing does not need insulation, which means many ceramic heaters are both small and light. As a result, they are often thought to be one of the best portable space heaters for many homeowners.

The Advantages of the Best Ceramic Heater

As previously noted there are a number of advantages that ceramic heaters have over other types of space heater.

They are small and light making them extremely portable and easily moved around.

The self-regulating nature of the PTC ceramic heating element means that they are considered to be a safer option than other forms of space heater. However, as noted below, sensible use of space heaters should never be overlooked. No space heater is completely free from risk.

Ceramic space heaters often include a function which can allow them to be operated without the heating element turned on. This means that they can double up as a cooling fan during warm summer months as well as a heater during the cooler winter months.

Many modern ceramic space heaters have a remote control for easy operation.

The best ceramic heaters are able to direct warm air straight at you, providing immediate warmth, but also have an oscillating function which is able to distribute the air more widely into the room. This means they can be used for both personal heating and for more general room heating.

Ceramic Space Heater Efficiency

These days no discussion of heaters would be complete without examining whether they are energy efficient. So, how efficient are ceramic space heaters. The answer to this question is – it depends.

PTC ceramic is a naturally efficient material for use as a heating element. The reason for this is that as it becomes warm it becomes more resistant to electrical current, meaning that the power used drops off sharply as it reaches its set temperature and increases as it cools.

This means that ceramic heaters are naturally self-regulating which makes them more energy efficient than many other types of space heater.

However, ceramic heaters provide heat through convection heating and require a fan to force the warm air into the space surrounding them. The fan requires electrical current to operate but is not actually involved in producing the heat provided. This introduces an element, in a similar way to all fan-forced heaters, which is less energy efficient.

In addition, ceramic heaters suffer from issues that affect other types of convection heaters and that is energy or heat loss through draughts or conduction heating.

If you intend to use your ceramic heater in a room that is a large open space, or has draughts from either windows or doors then it is likely that you will not be impressed with either the heat provided or the apparent energy efficiency you achieve.

Heat in rooms can often be lost by conduction if you have for instance metal window frames which are excellent heat conductors.

Finally, rooms heated by convection heating also suffer from a circumstance described as temperature stratification, meaning that warm air rises as it is heated resulting in a warm ceiling, but cooler temperatures experienced below. So unless you work near the ceiling then convection heating systems are sometimes slightly underwhelming.

In summary, ceramic heaters are energy efficient but are best used in relatively small rooms free of draughts or open doorways.

Important Features of Ceramic Space Heaters to Look Out For

Obviously when choosing the best ceramic heater you will want to consider the size, shape, portability and aesthetic looks. However, we suggest you also add to your list the following essentials:

1. Thermostatic control.
2. High and low power settings.
3. Tip-over protection, to ensure the heater switches off in the event that it gets knocked over, especially important in busy family households or where there are pets.
4. Automatic overheat protection.
5. A sufficiently long power cable to ensure convenient placement without the need for an extension cable.
6. Fan only setting to allow the ceramic heater to double us as a cooling fan in summer.
7. Fan oscillation to allow the heat generated to be distributed as evenly as possible throughout the room.

Ceramic Space Heater Safe Use Guidelines

All space heaters should be treated with caution when in use. Ceramic space heaters tend to be naturally safer than other types of space heater, but nevertheless sensible use is recommended in all circumstances.

1. You should ensure that any space heater that you are considering is ETL or UL listed.

2. Although ceramic space heaters are naturally self-regulating you should ensure that the model you choose includes a thermostat to ensure that they cut-out at pre-set temperatures which improves the heater energy efficiency and helps to ensure that the heater does not overheat.

3. Set the thermostat for you heater at a sensible temperature. We recommend around 70 F. Overheating the room is energy inefficient, may be uncomfortable to site or work in and represents a clear increase in risk.

4. Do not leave your ceramic heater unattended. If you leave the room or the house always turn the heater off. Leaving it on is a waste of energy and represents a fire hazard in an unattended place.

5. On a similar theme to the above two points always make sure that you operate you ceramic heater in-line with the manufacturer instructions, especially when it comes to heater clearances.

6. You will achieve maximum energy efficient use from your ceramic heater in a small room with few draughts or large windows that will allow the heat you generate to escape. If necessary you can deal with temperature stratification issues with a small fan placed high up to ensure the heated air circulates within the room.

An interesting demonstration of ceramic heater safety can be found in the video below:

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Conclusion

Ceramic space heaters are great heaters for your home. They are small, energy efficient and often extremely portable. They are also a safer form of heater than many others that use either electrical resistance or fuel based heating systems.

We like them a lot and they feature prominently in our list of best space heaters.

The post Best Ceramic Space Heater Reviews 2016 appeared first on Space Heater Pro.

Understand Electric Space Heaters and What Makes Them Efficient

There are a wide range of personal or portable electric heaters available these days. Picking the right one can be a tricky task. We have created this site to help you pick the best space heater for your particular circumstances and needs.  Different models claim to be more efficient, or in some way better than the others. This article explores how electric heaters work and, looks at the question of efficiency. It also examines the pros and cons of the two main forms of personal heating – convection and radiant heating.

How Heaters Work

Electricity is a common source of power to create heat in many different types of space heater. We look at the three main ways in which electricity is used to heat an individual or group of individuals in a particular space:

Convection heating

Convection heating is the process of heating the air around the heater. Air, when heated, either rises or gets moved with fans so that it mixes into the air around. This warm air then raises the overall temperature of the air making the room feel warmer to its occupants. The reduced temperature differential between the occupants of the room and the air in the room means that each person will lose less heat to the surrounding environment. These type of heaters include oil filled radiator heaters, PTC and fan forced heaters. Some radiant heaters heat the air, although this process tends to be indirect – see further discussion below.

Radiant Heating

If you move from a shady area into the sunlight you immediately feel the warmth from the sun. This warming is as a result of the sun’s radiant heat. The rays from the sun contain the full spectrum of light, including visible, ultraviolet and infrared light. It is the infrared light that heats. Infrared light is also used to generate heat in radiant heaters. These “light” waves travel outwards from the heat source, heating everything in their path, including importantly people in their path.

The energy from infrared light does not heat the air, but because in warming the objects surounding the heater they in turn become mini convection heaters transferring some of their heat into the air surrounding them.

Conductive Heating

Conductive heating occurs when the heat energy in an object is passed to another object in close proximity to it. As an example, if you were to place your hands on an oil filled radiator your hands would immediately feel warm. This warming is the heat transferring to your hands through convection.

Conductive heaters also include electric blankets in the home and heated car seats outside the home. Similarly conduction is the way in which you are warmed by a hot bath. One good type of personal heater is a heated floor mat. When placing your feet on such a mat some of the heating is as a result of conduction, however this does not tend to be a significant part of the total heat provided.

Do Heaters Warm People ?

This may seem like a strange question. Most heaters, especially oil heaters and other convection heaters, do not heat people at all. That is they do not transfer energy from the heater to the person. Instead they reduce the rate of heat loss a person experiences and this makes the person feel more comfortable. Radiant heaters are a bit different – they do put a bit of heat into a person’s body, and this can help the individual reach a comfortable thermal balance with their environment.

Check out our review of the best infrared space heaters

The human body has a number of mechanisms to maintain its temperature at around 37°C. If it is losing too much heat to the environment to maintain the target temperature in all parts of the body then it reacts to reduce the loss. Blood circulation to parts of the skin and extremities is reduced. Circulation to the feet is curtailed first and the next step is to reduce circulation to the hands. These changes make us feel cold. Generating more internal heat through shivering is also part of the body’s response to cold conditions (or more correctly – thermal imbalance).

Now if we sit in front of a fan heater the air being blown onto us feels warm. The air from the fan heater is not actually heating us unless its temperature is above 37°C when it strikes our body. Instead it is significantly reducing the heat loss from the part of our body in the warm air–stream. If this reduction is enough to compensate for losses from our head, our hands and elsewhere, then we feel comfortable.

Similarly an oil heater by raising the overall temperature of the air in a room reduces the rate at which we loose heat from our body. It does not actually heat us. We feel warm, but not because the air is warmer than our skin. We feel warm because our heat loss is reduced and our circulation system has allowed warm blood to come close to the surface of the skin.

This may all seem a bit academic but it is important background to understanding how we should deal with winter and the pros and cons of different heating methods (outlined below).

Heater Efficiencies

There are a lot of claims and counter claims about heater efficiencies. The issue to consider when talking about efficiency is “what is the heater efficient at doing or achieving”. All electric heaters are virtually 100% efficient at turning electrical energy into heat. It is what they do with the heat that matters. If the ultimate objective is to heat air then all portable heaters will eventually put their heat output into the surrounding air.

If the objective is to heat the air at a given point in a room to a specific temperature with least energy consumption then some differences between heaters are evident. These differences will revolve around whether the heater has an effective fan to mix the warm air from the heater with the cooler room air. Another point of difference will be the heater control strategy. How well can the heater detect the air temperature and maintain it within close limits?

Check out our review of the most efficient space heaters

Heater efficiency is often linked to how quickly a heater heats, or starts to heat the surrounding air mass. On this score a ceramic fan heater can be said to be more efficient than an oil heater. The large thermal mass of the oil heater means a long lag time between turning the heater on and getting some useful heat out. The ceramic heater delivers heat quickly. Using the speed with which a heater starts to generate useful heat as a criterion, a micathermic radiant panel heater would also be deemed highly efficient.

This leads to an important point; is the real objective to heat air? When dealing with an office environment and taking an energy efficiency perspective, the issue is “how can we make people comfortable with least consumption of electricity” (or alternatively – with minimum carbon footprint).

Heating the air in an office is only one way to make people comfortable (another way is to encourage people to dress appropriately for winter). An efficient heating solution is to use radiant heaters to heat people directly. These heaters reach their full infrared output within a minute or so. In draughty and poorly insulated rooms, they use less electricity to make a person comfortable than convection heaters. On this basis, radiant heaters could be said to be the most “efficient” form of portable heating.

The important point is that whenever you are confronted with an efficiency claim, ask “efficient at doing what?”

Convection Heating

Most homes are not air-conditioned and share similar characteristics, as a result portable convection heaters are not particularly energy efficient or effective. In order to raise the temperature sufficient to make a person comfortable they need to use a large amount of electricty. For  larger rooms they are really unable to heat enough air quickly enough to make them practicable. They suffer from four major problems:

• Air stratification from temperature gradients;
• Too much energy is lost through your windows, your walls and the ceiling;
• Draughts causing resulting in warmed air to be lost; and
• Their inadequacy in heating larger spaces.

Air Stratification

Imagine a person sitting with a convection heater, an oil heater say, in their room. Convection heaters work by heating the air to a temperature that a person to feel comfortable. This approach generates a particular problem, that of temperature stratification. As we know, air warmed by the heater rises but this creates a vertical temperature gradient, which sounds complicated but simple means that the air near the ceiling is hotter than the air lower down, and more importantly the air near the person who needs warming up.

The convection heater will hopefully have a thermostat. This control may only be 3 ft above the floor. If a person tries to use the heater efficiently they will usually adjust the thermostat so that they are comfortable when seated. This means a band of air between 3 ft and 7 ft above the floor will feel to be a good temperature.

But unfortunately the air in the upper space in the room will be too hot and of little benefit. Finally at feet level the air will still be quite cold. People that use oil heaters will often have cold feet and legs. They deal with this by placing the heater right beside their legs in the hope of getting a bit of radiant heat from it. Oil heaters are inefficient at generating this type of heat.

Fan heaters and convection heaters with fans create a bit of local air mixing but stratification still develops and a band of hot air forms in the top half of the room. This is a problem because the band of high hot air exacerbates heat losses from the room through uninsulated walls and ceilings and single paned windows.

Overcoming Stratification

Air conditioners are used to try to negate this problem by using techniques which mix up the air in the room. Ironically air conditioner systems are actually better at this air mixing process in the summer months than they are able to do when the mixing is more necessary.

You can achieve a degree of air mixing in a non–air conditioned room by using a ceiling fan switched to winter mode. In winter mode the fan pushes air up and across the ceiling. The air then descends beside the walls and rises back up the fan. This mode generally does not create troublesome draughts for the room occupants (using a fan to get most of the air in room heated to a comfortable 70°F is a much more energy efficient proposition then having to heat over half the room to 77°F or more).

Of course the big problem with this is that not every home has air conditioning. In such a case there is little the average homeowner can do to overcome temperature stratification.

Major Energy Losses

You may live in an older building with higher ceilings. If so then it is likely that in order to achieve a comfortable temperature you will have to heat far more air than you would like. Using a fan can help to mitigate these problems old and indeed some newer building also have other problems that mean that such gains are rarely sufficient to fully overcome the main problem.

The warmer an air mass is the greater the rate of heat loss to the cold outside air. Most homes are insulated but still lose a significant amount of energy via ceilings, the walls and even windows, especially if they are single glazed. Some types of window coverings such as a Venetian or Roman blind, provides little in the way of insulation. If you have window frames made from metal you can also lose heat quickly through heat conduction. This heat loss can be significant.

All in all it remains a stubborn fact that if you have a poorly insulated building then convection heating is not a particularly efficient way to keep people in that building at a comfortable temperature.

Draughty Rooms and Homes

Many older buildings (and indeed some newer ones too) are quite poor at preventing draughts. Draughts allow warm from inside a room air leaks and gets replaced by air from outside which is much colder. You can mitigate some of this by closing your doors and repairing broken windows or catches as soon as you notice them. Fundamentally however, it should be clear that convection heating is not ideal for heating draughty areas.

Convection heaters do not do a particularly good job larger open areas and/or workshops. Due to many of the problems identified above a convection heater will often continue to heat the air because the air in the room never reaches the threshold necessary to trigger the thermostat. The warm air gets lost, leaking out from open areas or through opening doors whenever that occurs.

Check out our look at the best garage and workshop heaters

Often, those using oil-filled radiators or other convection heaters in such areas only really feel warm if they huddle up close to the heater. Elsewhere in the room the effect of these heaters is difficult to determine.

Radiant Heating

Traditional high temperature radiant heaters, called strip heaters, bar radiators or quartz infrared radiant heaters are often not suitable as personal or portable heaters in some homes.

These high temperature heaters typically have one or more very hot infrared elements backed by reflectors. Sometimes a radiant heater will contain other types of heating element (such as ceramic elements) and they may also have fans to create a degree of convection and well as radiant heating. The problem with all these types of heater is that the high temperature heat source is inherently dangerous and creates a fire risk and burn hazard.

There are modern safe radiant heating alternatives and these are described below. Generally they have three characteristics:

• Low intensity radiant source;
• Unidirectional radiation; and
• Efficiently converting electricity into radiant heat energy.

A typical modern radiant heater will be configured as a flat panel. They also tend to be thin, being between 2 to 6 inches thick. They tend to be larger in overall surface area than more traditional model of radiant heater. In addition the heat generated is not quite as intense. This means that when you touch such a heater you feel it as hot, but it should not be hot enough to burn you. The design of these panel heaters is usually such that the heat is created on one side of the heater only.

This allows convenient placement with the non-heating side being placed against a wall or other piece of furniture safely. With these types of heaters approximately 80% of the heat created is through infrared radiation. The remaining 20% or thereabouts is down to convection heating. Energy outputs range from around 160 W to over 1 kW. There are two main types of modern, safe radiant heaters:

• Compact radiant panel heaters
• Micathermic radiant panel heaters

Compact Radiant Panel Heaters

These heaters come in a range of sizes. A typically useful sized model is about 18 inches long and 15 inches tall. This should easily be able to warm the legs of a person who is sitting in a chair or at a desk. Most of the heat generated will be absorbed by the person sitting there and warm them effectively.

The energy output of a typical compact model is 160W. The energy density should be around the 75 W/ft² level, this compares with around 900–1,400W/ft² for many strip heaters. This means that a compact radiant panel heater is a lot safer to use.

Because they use a relatively small amount of energy they do not get overly hot to the touch. This allows them to be positioned close to the person needing heat without fear. Much of the heat generated is directed at this person, making them very efficient. The high temperature of a strip heater means it has to be placed some distance from the user. Much of the energy from a strip heater warms up nearby furniture and other objects rather than the user.

Because they require a low wattage thermostats do not normally get included. Indeed all they really require is an on and off switch. A case could be made for building a timer into these types of heater to counter people who forget to turn them off at night. Otherwise they are a very efficient form of heating.

Micathermic Panel Heaters

Micathermic panel heaters tend to be a bit larger than the compact panel heaters mentioned above. They are around 24 inches long and 24 inches wide and 2 inches thick. Maximum energy output of the model chosen for single person application may be 1000 W (more powerful units may be suitable for large rooms where people are standing and moving around).

They produce an energy density of approximately 230 W/ft². This is more than that of the compact panel heater although a lot less than many other types of heater. As a result you can position these heaters close to where you need the heat without fear of burning or damage.

Micathermic panel heaters allow you to select a number of different heat settings. A thermostat is normal as they also generate some convection heat. You will also find other safety features such as a timer and tip over auto shut off protections.

Micathermic heating elements can be arranged to create column heaters or other forms of double-sided radiant heater. A double-sided heater could be useful if two people were sitting side by side at say, a table. The column heater spreads the infrared rays across a wide zone. This could be helpful if a person is moving around at a workshop or large room.

Radiant Heating Pros and Cons

Here we look at various pros and cons relating to radiant heaters, comparing them with convection heating:

• They provide a good degree of heating in many everyday conditions; but
• They are unable to provide effecting heating further away from the heater; and
• They are more complex to use;

Many of the problems associated with convection heating can be dealt with by using radiant heat. They sidestep the issues of draughts or use in large open enviroments. In addition they tend to be efficient as they warm people close to the heater but little else. Over time, some of the air in a room will be heated through convection and this will suffer from the problems associated with convection heating but the problems are significantly less severe.

A person sitting directly in front of the radiant heater will experience the best heating result. Sometimes re-configuring furniture is a bit tricky. However, with not too much experimentation a good configuration is usually found and people position their heater where it works best for them.

The main problem is that as you move away from the heater the effect of the heat generated drops sharply. In smaller rooms the heater will eventually warm the air somewhat, but in larger rooms the effect of this convection warming is less noticeable.

As a final point, it is worth remembering that before using any heating you should first consider dressing more appropriately for the cold weather. By doing so you become far less dependent upon the heater for your comfort.

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How to Keep Warm in Winter

Winter May be Short but Needs Preparation

Getting the heating right in your home or workplace is of course and obvious first step and we have dedicated this site to providing as much good advice about the most efficient space heaters you can get in order to achieve this. However, we also want to look at what else you might consider as a way to stay warm.

Winters in many parts of America are short and mild, however elsewhere they are long and deeply cold and that can be a problem. In some parts you may be able get away with wearing shorts and a T shirt on a sunny winter’s afternoon, but elsewhere that is simply not the case. Here we try to provide some advice on how to keep warm in winter.

Having said that, In some ways it is easier in harsher climates to adapt to the seasons and put away summer clothes and shift from autumn and then to winter wardrobes, etc.

Fortunately it is no great burden to make a few small changes so that you are more comfortable during cold mornings and on the grim and grey days when there is a cold southerly. People respond differently to cold conditions. Nonetheless two small changes can make a big difference to how you feel when sitting in your home in winter:

Remember for nearly nine months of every year you can let fashion reign in America and pretty much wear what you want. Winter is rarely more than three months of genuine biting cold. With a few small changes that balance fashion and practicality you will see out this period in comfort and style.

A Little Exercise

Exercise, even just walking, raises your body’s metabolism; that is, it increases the amount of body heat you generate. This effect can run on for an hour or so after you stop excercising and sit down.

Generating a little bit more body heat helps you to deal with cold conditions and can make you more comfortable. So if you take the bus to work why not get off a few stops early and finish the trip with a brisk walk.

It is a great way to counter a cold morning. Winter is the time for wrapping up warm and taking a brisk stroll. No problems with sunburn, excessive humidity etc. Try to finish your lunch every day with a brisk walk as well, or make a visit to the gym etc.

Staying in your home for long periods at a time, especially if it is cold, is not good for your health and is a sure way to get uncomfortably cold. Sitting in one position for long periods of time can increase the risk of deep vein thrombosis (TMV) and is implicated in a range of other health problems. You can reduce these risks and counteract winter cold at the same time.

Make sure you move around at least every 20 minutes or so and stretch your legs. Get up and walk up the stairs, or to the back kitchen. If you need to stay seated try doing the leg exercises that airlines advocate for passengers to avoid DVT. Just a little movement is good for your health and alleviates coldness.

Slightly more Clothing

The human body has number of major heat radiators; the feet, the hands, the inside of the forearms, the neck and head. Your body will curtail circulation to the hands and feet to reduce heat loss in cold conditions. Large blood vessels in the front of the neck and forearms mean these areas continue to radiate a lot of heat even when we are cold. The head also remains a major heat radiator. This simple information can be used to dress appropriately for winter.

Most people do not like to cover their hands (fingerless gloves for example) or their head (hats, caps and beanies etc.) when at home. As a result we have to make up for the heat loss from these areas by reducing the loss of body heat from the feet, neck and forearms.

For men this is fairly simple. Just wear study shoes and slightly heavier socks in winter. Wearing close collar has a similar effect to increasing the ambient air temperature by degree or two. Using a long sleeved shirt and possibly a jacket, vest or pullover completes the picture. You may have heard of the layering principle.

By wearing number of layers you can easily adjust to changing conditions as the day warms up or a southerly comes through. Wearing a T–shirt or singlet, long sleeved shirt, a tie and a jacket, vest or pullover, gives enormous flexibility.

For women a light scarf around ones’ neck will significantly reduce heat loss without a feeling of restriction. A shawl or similar garment placed across the shoulders can help compensate for light clothing. Long sleeved blouses and jackets/pullovers are invaluable. If you dress casually then a sleeveless vest (fleece, polypropelene or down filled) can provide warmth without excessive body restriction.

Feet and shoes pose a challenge. It is hard to beat sturdy shoes and socks to stave of the cold. Some woman will want to continue wearing pumps during winter, or other forms of light weight open shoes often without socks.

It is very difficult to compensate for lightly clad feet. If your feet are warm the odds are so will the rest of your body. Have you considered boots (a fashionable pair if you wish – we are not suggesting bushwalking boots)? If you want to wear pumps, floor heating mats may be an answer.

While at the desk kick off the shoes and place your feet directly on the electric heating mat. If you are otherwise dressed for winter, you may find this is the only supplementary heating you need.

Obviously this is not a comprehensive list and does not address the use of space heaters in your home or workspace at all. Choosing the best space heater is covered elsewhere on this site. This article is simply intended to get you thinking. To try to suggest that buying a space heater is not always the most cost effective solutions even if you purchase the best infrared heater on the market.

The post How to Keep Warm in Winter appeared first on Space Heater Pro.

How to Save Money on Heating

As heating bills always see to climb, consumers are looking for less expensive ways to heat their homes. In some cases, the use of portable space heaters may reduce the total fuel bill without significantly reducing the comfort level in the house. The best space heaters are also the most efficient space heaters. But here we look at why consumers feel the need to heat their homes as the temperatures drop.

In general, room heaters will not save money if they are used to heat the whole house. The central heating system can provide the same amount of heat for the same or less cost. However, the total heat needed may be reduced by keeping a major part of the house at a lower temperature and using room heaters to warm only the areas in use at any one time. This is called zoning.

If at least two-thirds of the house can be kept at 50-55°F. and the rest heated to comfort level with room heaters, some savings may be possible.

Comfort

Comfort is not the same to all people. Thermal comfort is when the amount of heat produced by the body is the same as the heat easily lost to its surroundings. This heat is lost in four ways.

Radiation

A major heat loss from the body is by radiation. Any surface will radiate heat to any colder surface nearby. This applies to our bodies also-our skin surface will radiate heat to a cold wall or window, or even to the sky.

Convection

Heat is also lost by convection-that is, air moving across the skin surface. This is the source of the “wind chill” factor that makes cold weather seem even colder than it really is.

Evaporation

Our bodies are also cooled by evaporation from the skin surfaces and from the lungs. It takes heat to evaporate moisture, and that heat remains in the water vapor as it leaves our body.

Conduction

The fourth method of bodily heat loss is by conduction, commonly through direct contact with cool floors and furniture. Fortunately, most surfaces that our bodies touch, such as carpeting, are relatively poor conductors of heat. However, a football fan on an aluminum stadium seat in cold weather will certainly feel the effects of heat loss by conduction.

Considering these ways to lose heat, it is easy to see that individual comfort is affected by the ease with which we are able to maintain a satisfactory body temperature. The temperature of surrounding walls and windows can cause heat loss by radiation. Air temperature will control heat loss by convection. Warm air moving past will warm us, and cool air will cause a chilly feeling.

The amount of heat produced by our bodies, called metabolism, varies considerably. When we are active or working, the body produces much more heat than when we are at rest. Age and state of health also change our heat production. Researchers know much about the “average” individual, usually a college or medical student, but very little about infants, the elderly, and the ill.

Conditions comfortable to active young persons are almost certain to be too cool for their grandparents.

This understanding of conditions which produce comfort is important in understanding the advantages, disadvantages, and use of room heaters to produce comfortable conditions.

Radiant Heating

While nearly all room heaters use a combination of radiant and convection heating, some are designed to produce primarily radiant heat. A large surface, such as a radiant panel, may be heated to a moderate temperature (about ll0°F.). In this case, the radiation component is relatively small and less likely to be felt on the face and head of the occupant.

If a small surface, such as a heating element, can be raised to a very high temperature (1100°F.), the radiation component is higher and the occupant will feel concentrated heat focused on his body.

A radiant heater will transfer heat to our bodies with or without air circulation, just as the heat of the sun reaches the earth through the vacuum of outer space. However, it will heat only surfaces which “face” it.

This is the effect of facing a roaring fire in a cold room-one side fries while the other freezes. Any surface on the body or in the room that is heated by a radiant heater will become warm and heat the air near it, causing some convection, but this is not the primary means of heating.

Radiant heat can be useful because it can be directed toward a small area. If the work area in a large room is small, a radiant “spot” heater, backed by a reflector, can heat the person working there ·without raising the air temperature, thereby conserving energy.

The wing chair was developed as a means of being comfortable in a cold, drafty house. It provided insulation and draft protection on three sides of a person seated facing the fire or heat source.

Convection Heating

Convection heaters primarily heat the air in the room. A typical convection heater is the electric baseboard heater, which warms the air passing over a finned heating element. A heater with an air-circulating fan is also a type of convection heater.

When the air temperature in the room increases, surfaces within the room are eventually warmed. This reduces the amount of heat lost from the body by convection. Heat supplied to the body by warm air can offset most of the heat lost by radiation to cold surfaces. However, because the convection heater warms the air, as well as the body and other objects in the room, more total heat will be used. This makes them less energy efficient form space heaters.

Use of Room Heaters

In the development of a comfortable home environment, the American people have demanded that comfort conditions be maintained in every room. This has led to centrally controlled heating systems.

The centr.al heating system is the main user of fuel in the house. For most of the country, the total heat used will decrease by 2-3% for each degree the thermostat setting is lowered. The major savings comes from lowering the thermostat setting for the whole house and then using room heaters to warm the occupied rooms.

A room heater in a kitchen or family room, and the bathroom, can make those rooms quite comfortable, while the remainder of the house is at 50-55°F. In a sense, energy savings are obtained by reducing the comfort standards to those of an earlier era. However, the discomforts of an earlier era will be less noticeable because of the improved thermal construction of today’ s housing.

A house temperature lower than 50-55°F. may cause problems with frozen pipes and damage wall finishes or foundations unless special precautions are taken. Accurately maintaining a background temperature of 50-55°F. may be difficult. If the thermostat is located in the same room as the room heater, the thermostat will “think” the rest of the house is warm. The thermostat will not turn on the furnace or boiler until the temperature in that room drops. Unless the thermostat is located in the 50-55° zone, the heat in this portion of the house may drop below an acceptable level.

If the house thermostat is set down 15° for the entire winter, the central heating system might use 30-45% less fuel for the year. Since additional, often more expensive, fuel is used in the room heaters, overall savings on the order of 20-30% is about the most that can be expected. When using unvented fuel-burning heaters, ventilation is necessary, and the total heating bill may stay about the same, or even increase.

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Essential Guide to Fuel Burning Heaters

Fuel burning heaters often require a better understanding of the manner in which they generate heat and due to the inherent risk associated with volatile fuels a greater appreciation of safety requirements. This article will mainly look at portable space heaters, however we have looked at other fuel burning heaters on the site, for example we looked at the best pellet stoves elsewhere.

Room heaters burning kerosene, natural gas, or propane are often used. A few require permanent installation and may be vented through the wall. Most are portable and unvented. In some states and cities, unvented gas or kerosene heaters are in violation of state and local laws. Be sure to check with your local building code official before installing one. Check with your insurance company to verify that there will be no loss of coverage if you purchase and use a fuel-burning heater.

Kerosene-burning Heaters

Most kerosene heaters are portable, although some of the newer models require permanent installation and venting through the wall. This section will be limited to portable heaters, since they are the most common.

While kerosene-burning heaters have been available for several generations, they were seldom used because of safety and odor problems. Beginning in 1975, kerosene heaters of a new design began arriving from Japan. They were highly efficient-about 98-99%. They had convenient, electric ignition, and they incorporated a safety switch, which shut the heater off immediately if the unit was tipped. New refining techniques also provided a purer grade of kerosene, reducing the odor problem. In Japanese houses, however, natural ventilation prevented the accumulation of indoor pollutants generated by the heaters. Even with improved design, modem kerosene heaters are only safe when they are used in well-ventilated spaces.

Of course that was a long time ago now and space heater technology has moved on. Check out our most efficient space heater guide for the latest in top rated most efficient space heaters.

Any fuel-burning heater needs oxygen from the air to bum the fuel. People also need oxygen to breathe. A fuel-burning heater can use enough oxygen to reduce the oxygen content in the room below that needed for breathing.

Some gas and kerosene heaters feature an oxygen depletion sensor. The sensor will shut off the heater if the oxygen in the room drops below the level needed to sustain life. While it does prevent asphyxiation, the sensor does not warn of high levels of other pollutants in the air.

Both radiant and convection heaters are available. Both usually have electric ignition from batteries carried within the unit. Most bum the kerosene as it evaporates from a wick, but a few direct vaporizing models are available. The kerosene tank may be built-in or removable for filling.

Radiant heaters

Radiant heaters are usually square or rectangular. The heater’s wick, burning with a blue flame, heats the metal mantle covering it to incandescence. A polished metal reflector backing the mantle directs the heat into the room. Because of the reflector, the back of the heater does not become as hot as the front and may be placed as close as 18″ to a wall or furniture. The heat is directional, similar to an electric radiant heater. Some models have an electric fan, which can be used to circulate heat from the back of the reflector, so that they function as both a radiant and convective source.

Convection heaters

Convection heaters involve air being taken in at the bottom of the heater rises past the hot mantle and is discharged into the room. Since all surfaces are hot, the convection heater should be kept at least three feet from the nearest flammable surface or material.

Gas-fired Heaters

While not portable, unvented gas-fired heaters are sometimes used as room heaters. A gas line is connected to the heater. They may be either of the radiant or convection type, and are similar to the kerosene-burning units.

Ventilation

When any fossil fuel is burned, it produces carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, water vapor, and traces of other compounds, depending upon the contamination present in the fuel. In vented systems, such as a furnace or boiler, the by-products of combustion escape up the chimney, along with a certain amount of heat. With an unvented heater, heat stays in the room, but so do the combustion products. To be safe, these pollutants must be removed.

While not immediately life-threatening, carbon dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and sulphur dioxide can produce long-term harmful effects. They produce a risk of acute and long-term respiratory problems, and increased risk of cardiovascular disease and possibly cancer. Therefore, it is recommended that young children, the elderly, pregnant women, and those with anaemia, vascular, and respiratory problems should avoid exposure to unvented fuel burning heaters of any kind.

In certain kinds of housing, residents run a greater risk of asphyxiation. Very tight, but poorly insulated, buildings in cold climates have a high heat demand but low natural ventilation. Residents of poorly insulated apartments or trailers may have already caulked and weather-stripped. Unless ventilation is provided, the build-up of pollutants and carbon monoxide can prove life-threatening.

Moisture

In addition to the effects on the health of the occupants, unvented fuel-burning heaters can damage the structure of the building. When one gallon of kerosene is burned, slightly more than one gallon of water in vapor form is released into the air. Water vapor can pass through the inside surfaces of walls and ceilings into the stud spaces and the attic.

When the water vapor comes in contact with a cool surface, it condenses, wetting the insulation and the wood. Even in rooms where vapor barriers have been installed, the band joist area between the first and second floors is vulnerable. Damage to window frames and sills from moisture condensing on the glass can be extensive

Condensation in the attics of houses built with roof trusses can corrode steel truss plates. Excessive moisture is one of the most serious problems resulting from the use of unvented fuel burning heaters.

Safety

These safety precautions must be followed if the heater you are using burns kerosene. Heaters with built-in tanks must be allowed to cool and carried outdoors for refilling. Heaters with removable tanks can remain indoors while the tank is taken outside for refilling. Outdoor refilling is a must, since a small spill onto a warm heater might ignite the kerosene. Similarly, a spill indoors on a carpet might ignite when the heater is relit. Any drops of fuel spilled on the tank or heater must be wiped up before relighting.

Kerosene storage is also a problem. It should never be stored in the house, basement, or attached garage. It must be stored in a tight metal can clearly labelled “kerosene”, which has never been used to store any other fuel. Kerosene vapors are dangerous because they are heavier than air and will flow along the floor for a considerable distance, where they can be ignited by the heater or a pilot light on some other appliance.

Only the purest grade of kerosene, 1-K, should be used in heaters. Fuel oil and diesel fuel contain impurities, which will increase the odor problem, add air pollutants, and increase maintenance on the heater.

For portable kerosene heaters, the following safety precautions should be strictly observed:

• Use a heater listed by Underwriters’ Laboratories.
• Read all of the instructions with the heater.
• Always refuel the heater outdoors.
• Let the heater cool before refilling.
• Wipe up spills before relighting.
• Keep heaters away from drapes, curtains, furniture, clothing, children, newspapers, and pets.
• Do not carry the heater when it is lit.
• Keep a Class B fire extinguisher (for oil fires) near the heater. Have it close by when refuelling the heater.
• Do not use the heater where gases or vapors from aerosol cans are present. Many times the propellant is propane. The can may ignite and act as a flame-thrower.
• Store fuel in a tight metal container marked “kerosene”. Never put any other kind of fuel in the container.
• Store kerosene in a detached structure, away from the house.
• Watch for signs of excess moisture on windows and doors. Provide some amount of ventilation to overcome high relative humidity. Follow these precautions when using any fuel-burning heater.
• Never leave a child in charge of a fuel-burning heater.
• Never go to sleep with the heater on.
• Always provide sufficient ventilation.

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The Ultimate Guide to Different Types of Space Heater

Personal space heaters work by either heating the surrounding air mass or by using radiant energy to heat people and objects, or via a mixture of both modes. This heating tutorial goes over the pros and cons of convection versus radiant heating. This page looks at different types of heaters.

Discussing different types of heaters can be a bit confusing; heaters can be classified based on how they heat but also their physical configuration. Panel heaters are a case in point. A panel heater may be a convection heater or a radiant heater. The thing both types will have in common is that they look like a flat panel.

Difficulties aside, we will attempt to describe the major types of personal heaters in use today:

• Compact Radiant Panel Heaters;

• Micathermic Radiant Panel Heaters;

• Ceramic PTC Heaters;

• Heated Floor Mats;

• Oil Heaters;

• Panel/Convection Heaters;

• Fan Heaters;

• Traditional Radiant Heaters;

• Portable Reverse Cycle Air Conditioner Systems.

Compact Radiant Panel Heaters

Radiant heaters generated focused infrared energy that heat the user directly rather than the surrounding air. Since they do not try to heat a large volume of air, radiant heaters avoid the high-energy losses that occur when convection heaters are used in large or draughty spaces. Radiant heating is efficient at heating people. Modern compact panel heaters and infrared heaters are much safer than traditional high temperature radiant heaters (described below) such as bar radiators, strip heaters and quartz infrared heaters.

Compact radiant panel heaters are small enough to be placed under desks (make sure to provide a safe clearance around the heater). These panel heaters have a low energy density. This means that it can be positioned close to the user without risk. The result is that most of the energy output provides comfort for the user. The high temperature of a strip heater means it has to be placed some distance from the user. Much of the energy from a strip heater warms up nearby furniture and other objects rather than the user.

Compact heaters work by using a simple resistance element. This element is backed with a material which has reflective properties. It is  then given an insulation layer so that it projects infrared heat on one side only of the heater. The heating element is not substantial in size and as a result it only takes a few minutes to get fully hot (this is generally much faster than that achieved by a conventional oil radiator).

As these heaters have a low wattage they do not generally need to have a built in thermostat. Typically an on=off switch is all they need. A case could be made for building a timer into these types of heater to counter people who forget to turn them off at night. Otherwise wise they are a very efficient form of heating.

Micathermic Radiant Panel Heaters

These heaters tend to be larger than compact panel heaters mentioned above. A typical size might be approximately 600mm long and 600 wide and 60–70mm thick. Maximum energy output of the model chosen for single person application is usually around 1000W.

A micathermic heater generates  an energy density of in the region of 2500W/m². This is actually more than the panel heaters discussed above. However, it is a lot less that from other forms of heater.

As with the compact panel heaters a micathermic panel heater is able to be positioned near the user. In doing so they are good at providing quality and efficient individual heating.

Micathermic radiant panel heaters use a special technology, second generation micathermic II to direct infrared heat in one particular direction. They are efficient in that they are able to turn approximately 80% of the input energy into radiant heat, The remaining 20% creates convection heat.

Once switched on micathermic heaters can reach maximum temperature output in a short time, as little as a few minutes.

A micathermic panel heater will normally come with several temperature settings. A thermostat is usually incorporated into the heater due to the convection element to the heating provided.

The heaters also tend to incorporate a number of safety features such as the guarding against overheating or damage done to the surroundings should they be tipped over. A micathermic will often come with a timer.

Micathermic heating elements can be arranged to create to column heaters or other forms of double-sided radiant heater. A double-sided heater could be useful if two people were sitting side by side at a desk or seating area. The column heater spreads the infrared rays across a wide zone. This could be helpful if a person is moving around in a workshop or small office.

Ceramic PTC Heaters

A typical ceramic PTC heater has a ceramic heating element and a fan, usually with a couple of heat and fan speed settings.

The primary heating mode is via convection and so they have the inherent weaknesses of convection heating in large draughty spaces.

The heating element in a ceramic heater is made from titanate ceramic (with additional ingredients to achieve the design specifications – see below). The ceramic element can be configured into a honeycomb structure or otherwise designed so that a relatively large surface area is presented to the airflow created by the fan. Ceramic elements heat up quickly which means there is little delay before the heater delivers warm air (unlike an oil heater).

PTC materials experience an increase in electric resistance when their temperature is raised (PTC stands for positive temperature coefficient). PTC materials can be made into self-regulating heating elements that in effect switch off the current when a pre-set temperature is achieved.

By using the right combinations of materials, PTC heating elements can be made operate efficiently at temperatures below the ignition temperature of highly flammable materials, like tissue paper, and turn off very quickly once this temperature is reached.

As a result they can be made to be inherently safer than conventional fan and convection heaters (see below). The risk of fire or a burn injury is reduced, but common sense is still needed when using these heaters.

Fan heaters have a slight advantage over other convection heaters in that they direct a warm of stream air at the user. This stream of warm air can provide some useful heating (or reduction in body heat loss) for the user before going on to generally heat the air around them. The subsequent general heating can, however, be inefficient due to temperature stratification and losses from such causes as draughts.

If a fan heater is used at all in a space, then the preferred type of fan heater is a ceramic PTC heater designed to keep its element temperature below the ignition temperature of highly flammable materials like tissue paper. If you use a fan heater make sure that it has this feature (not all "ceramic" heaters do). It should also have tip over protection and a thermostat.

A ceramic fan PTC heater might be suited to a small room or an office that can contain the warm air produced and not lose excessive heat, namely a room that:

• is free of draughts (no faulty windows or doors);

• does not have a large amount of glass or window area (these cause heat loss);

• has an overhead fan that can be set to winter mode to disrupt temperature stratification.

One of the problems with ceramic heaters and other convection or fan heaters is that they are overpowered resulting in excessive load on circuits. Users also overheat their rooms – to temperature that would be a cause of complaint (too hot) in summer.

Ceramic heaters should only have a moderate heat output. There is at least one model on the market with 1800W maximum output and a 900W setting. In all cases the thermostat should be set to achieve a reasonable room temperature -20 to 21°C. The heater should not be left on whilst unattended.

Heated Floor Mats

These consist of a low wattage (~70W) heating element sandwiched between two robust carpet squares. They normally have over-heat shut-off and often come with two energy settings. Heating mats provide radiant and conductive (contact) heating.

They are very useful in ground or basement spaces where the concrete floor slab will quite often be cold. They can neutralise the tendency of the concrete to draw heat from the occupant's feet. In less challenging environments they can warm feet, especially if the occupant can/is willing to remove their shoes.

One shortcoming of the heated floor mats arises when people are using foot stands. It can be hard to secure the mat to the top of the foot stand. Often the mat is larger than the stand and it is undesirable to have the mat overhang the edge of the stand. We are trying to source smaller mats to deal with these issues (remember, to be effective a floor mat only has to be big enough to cover the area where you place your feet).

Heated floor mats are a low tech, low energy heating technology. They are efficient at achieving their intended purpose, namely countering cold feet. They can be used on their own if cold feet are the only problem or in combination with other sources of heating such as compact or micathermic radiant heating panels.

Oil Heaters

Also known as oil filled column heaters or oil filled radiators. These have a hollow steel shell body with fins. The body is filled with oil which surrounds an electric resistance element. The element heats the oil which in turn heats the body and fins. Air is warmed as it rises past the fins. The main heating mode is convection.

A small amount of radiant heat can be felt at very close range. Some oil heaters are enclosed in cowl or panel structure and have a fan to speed up the transfer of heat to a room (as a result, modern oil heaters are increasingly looking like convection panel heaters).

While modern oil heaters may have features like a fan, thermostat and timer, they still have a number of serious shortcomings. The problem most people experience is that they take a long time before they deliver any useful heat. When they are turned off at the end of the day they continue to transfer heat to the room until they cool down. In other words they do not heat you as soon as you want and they heat the room when you are not there. They are not efficient.

The only reason they have any currency is because they are a relatively low temperature form of heating and, compared with a bar radiator, they are viewed as reasonably safe.

Oil heaters heat mostly via convection and therefore have all the problems of convection heating. People often use them in large rooms or draughty situations where they are ineffective. To overcome ineffective performance, people huddle right beside the heater and try to use it as a radiant heater.

While oil heaters are often sold as "oil filled radiators" they are very inefficient as radiant heaters. A compact or micathermic radiant panel heaters will do a much better job.

Partly in response to their ineffectiveness, people buy high wattage oil heaters thinking big is better. The large current draw of high wattage heaters can trip circuit breakers and cause inconvenience to others.

Panel and Convection Heaters

These typically have electric resistance wires that directly heat the surrounding air. There are usually grill openings at the top and bottom of the heater to allow air to flow (hot air rises principle) across the heating wires.

The sides of the heater are often flat sheet metal (hence the use of the term panel heater). Heat exchange usually takes place over a fairly long length of heating element (combined with a bar radiator). This combined with the generous clearance between the heating element and the panel sides prevent the sheet metal from becoming too hot.

The main heating mode is convection although a small amount of radiant heat may be felt at close range. These heaters may also have a fan that blows air vertically through the heater to speed up heat transfer.

Panel heater heat mostly via convection and therefore have all the problems of convection heating. People often use them in large rooms or draughty situations where they are ineffective.

To overcome ineffective performance, people huddle right beside the heater (as with oil heaters) and try to use it as a radiant heater. Once again, panel heaters are designed for convection heating and are inefficient as radiant heaters.

While modern panel heaters will usually have thermostats and often have timers, they are not very effective in large rooms and draughty spaces. In spite of tip over protection and overheat protection, they can still create a fire risk and particular care must be taken to ensure that the top of the heater is never obstructed (by an item of clothing, sheet of paper etc).

Like oil heaters panel heaters are often over-sized in order to overcome their weaknesses. In technical terms they are sized beyond the point of diminishing returns. A lower wattage heater would provide a better balance of costs (including the problems they create) and benefits (comfort). In the few places where a personal convection heater may be OK, a ceramic PTC fan heater would be a better option.

Fan Heaters

Fan heaters are quite compact. The conventional types have a fan that blows air across high temperature heating wires (ceramic PTC fan heaters are discussed above). The air typically exits the fan almost horizontally so that warm air can be directed onto the user, typically onto their feet and legs.

The air is usually heated to a higher temperature than in a panel heater. If the air is hot enough (above 37°C) then a degree of heat conduction occurs as the air flows over the user's body.

The main effect of fan heaters, however, is to heat the air in room and consequently they have the same shortcomings as oil heaters and panel/convection heaters. Blowing the warm air horizontally (almost) might mean that fan heaters mix the air in the room a bit better than the other convection heaters. If so then this is a slight plus in their favour.

In the few places where convection heating may be OK, a ceramic PTC fan heater would be better (safer) than a conventional fan heater.

Traditional Radiant Heaters

Also known as strip heaters, bar radiators or infrared quartz heaters. These have long tube like quartz elements (typically one to four in number) that get very hot, glow red and radiate infrared energy.

They invariably have a reflector behind the element(s) to increase outgoing radiation and a grill in front of the element to reduce the risk of objects (and hand/feet/clothes/magazines) coming into contact with the element and burning. This grill is usually very hot itself but it mitigates the burning problem. The main heating mode is radiant.

Parts of the heater can get quite hot and these areas heat the air directly and produce a degree of convection heating.

Overtime the reflector element often becomes corroded or the chrome surface peels off. This causes the radiant efficiency of the heater to drop away. Consequently the heater casing often gets hotter and more of the energy is transmitted as convection rather than infrared radiation.

Bar radiators are an intense heat source (10,000 – 15,000 W/m² of reflector surface) and most people find they need to place them at a distance (a meter or more away) to avoid getting too hot. The radiant heat output is strong enough to ignite objects in front of the heater (in other words an object does not have to touch the grill or quartz infrared element.

Bar radiators were once a popular form of heating due to the quick heat up time, cozy glow and ability to heat people in draughty rooms. Safer radiant heating alternatives now exist and bar radiators are widely recognized as dangerous form of personal heating that has had its day.

There is still a lingering role for traditional radiant heaters. In some applications they can be seen fitted high up on a wall away from people or the risk of contact with inflammable materials. You will see them used in this situation in sports changing rooms and practice areas, workshops and sometimes receptions or other large spaces. Even in these areas better radiant heating technologies are available in the form of underfloor and ceiling radiant heating.

Portable Reverse Cycle Air Conditioning

Reverse cycle portable air conditioners are a modern variation on the window rattlers (aircon units installed through windows or walls). They are called "reverse cycle" because they can cool in summer and then be reversed so that they heat in winter.

They use the refrigeration cycle whereby a liquid under pressure is allowed first vaporize and is then recompressed back to a liquid. When the liquid vaporizes it absorbs heat from its surroundings. When it is compressed back to a liquid it gets hot enough to reject heat to its surroundings. A reverse cycle aircon unit can take heat from a room in summer and dump it outside. In winter it can be reversed so that it takes heat from outside and then brings it inside (even on a cold day the outside air contains heat).

Modern reverse cycle aircon units are freestanding appliances that be placed fully within the room rather than with part of the unit sticking through a wall opening (like the window rattlers). They need a connection to the outside air though. This is usually achieved via a length of ducting connected to a fairly discreet fitting that sits below the window sash (there are various conversion panels for different types of window).

As part of their normal operation the reverse aircon units condense moisture from the air. Some modern units get rid of this water by using surplus heat from the cycle to evaporate the water. A fan blows the moist air out through the duct. This approach actually improves the overall efficiency of the refrigeration cycle. Other units require a drain for the water or have a storage reservoir that requires regularly emptying.

One of the features of the refrigeration cycle is that more useful energy can be obtained from an air conditioning system then goes in as electrical energy. This is because the electrical energy is used to pump heat that is already present from one place to another. This multiplier effect can be significant - x2 or more in heating mode. So why isn’t more made of portable reverse cycle air conditioning units? There are several reasons:

1. They are many times more expensive to buy (x 5 for the same heat output) and more costly to install than other types of personal heater;

2. Practical problems often arise with installation especially with finding an opening for the duct outlet;

3. Their heating mode is via convection and this is not efficient in large, tall or draughty work spaces;

4. The smallest portable reverse cycle unit with auto water removal (4000w heating capacity) is often overkill for rooms where convection heating could be realistically considered; and

5. Since they can be used for summer air conditioning, it is quite likely they would end up being used for this purpose even if the thermal comfort of the space without air conditioning was satisfactory.

The energy efficiency of reverse cycle air conditioning heating would be quickly wiped out by summer use. This factor and cost considerations rule this technology out for general application.

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