Welcome to Electric Garage Heaters
Is An Electric Heater Right For You Article
Is an Electric Heater Right for You?
By Jeanie Wong
Most heaters are usually powered by either electricity or fuel, and while both types of heaters have their own individual benefits, electric heaters seem to be the most popular option because they are often inexpensive to purchase and easy to maintain. They primarily work by converting electricity into heat via an electric resistor within the heater, and an electric current flowing through the resistor then coverts the electric energy into heat energy.
Some of the benefits of an electric heater are obvious - electricity is available anywhere, and they do not require any fuel to be stored.
It is also important to understand safety issues when purchasing a 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.
Although all electric heaters use the same basic principle to generate heat, there are variations in how they provide this heat to the environment. Here are some different electric heating methods available:
Convection Heaters:
These types are great for providing background warmth for a closed space. Convection heaters warm the air near the element or body of the heater by using air convection currents to generate heat, and these currents circulate throughout the appliance and across its 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 a bedroom or lounge area.
Infrared Heaters:
Infrared heaters transfer thermal energy via electromagnetic waves, and all infrared heaters share one common characteristic: heat is emitted or radiated from the heated object or substance, and only objects are warmed (as opposed to entire areas). In general, infrared heaters are energy efficient and great for multi-purpose use, but they are 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 the airflow. This 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, but these may not be the best choice if sound is a concern, as fan-type heaters can sometimes be noisy. However, fan heaters work well in areas where installing other types of heating devices would be impractical, and examples of fan heaters would be portable fan garage heaters, which are placed on the floor and provide blasts of warm air onto the body.
Of course, fueled heaters such as those using propane or kerosene are also heating choices, but these types of heaters may not suitable for home use because they need to be vented due to carbon monoxide emissions. However, if you are concerned about the cost of electricity and are looking to rapidly heat your patio, warehouse, or other large, well-ventilated area, these can also be considered.
Jeanie Wong is a marketing writer with extensive knowledge of heating, cooling, and purification systems.
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