What is the best type of space heater?
Today, space heaters come in a multitude of designs and forms, from electric to infrared to micro-thermal, from quartz to baseboards, and from kerosene to propane to natural gas. This can make choosing one of these appliances very confusing; however, there are, for all intents and purposes, only two fundamental types – radiant and convection. Your circumstances will ultimately dictate which one you choose.
Convection heaters work by heating the air surrounding the appliance, which in turn will heat you. Oil- or water-filled radiators, electric baseboard heaters, and almost all heaters that directly burn fossil fuels are classified as convection heaters. As a simple explanation, imagine that you are in front of an outlet connected to the central heating system of your house and you feel the hot air flow over you; this is known as convective heating.
On the other hand, radiant heaters make use of light waves to heat a particular object or item, and it is then this item that heats the surrounding area. It’s similar to the way the sun warms you, but you can still feel the cooler air around you; once the sun goes down, it seems that the temperature drops. This is radiant heating. Halogen, quartz and infrared heaters fall under the banner of radiant heating.
For a human being to feel “comfortable” with room temperature, three very important elements come into play: humidity, heat and wind (speed). The heat part of the equation is self-evident, however, when humidity levels are low, it evaporates through your skin, making you feel cooler; with a blowing breeze it will lose heat at a faster rate.
With radiant-type heaters, you’ll find that they don’t create any “wind speed” or air movement as such, and they don’t reduce humidity either. However, since these elements heat and then it is the elements that heat the room, the overall temperature rises more slowly. So, if the area you need to heat is a small area, then a radiant heater would be the best option for you, but if it is a larger room that you want to heat, a convection heater is usually the best option.