Home and Space Heater Information
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 and grounded operation and avoid electrical accidents.
Ceramic element heaters are safter 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 but 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 an hydronic or oil filled heater would leading to higher efficiency.
Oil filled radiators use a contained fluid in a sealed radiator setup, no need to ever refill or topup. The internal heater 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 always need to be on. Once up to temperature, the heating oil gradually releases the warmth to keep your room comfortable even while the internal element is off. And because there is no fan, radiators are extremely quiet.
Coil based convection or fan forced heaters use the 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 contacting the internal elements. Baseboard electric heaters are similar to coil heaters, except baseboards release the heat over a wider area do to their length.
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 objects and people nearby rather than heating the air in the same fasion as the sun. This direct-heat method provides much higher comfort levels than older technologies because you will immediately feel the warmth provided by the heater as you would sitting in a sunlit living room on a brisk, sunny winter day.