Looking to purchase an electric space heater for the bedroom. Got a suggestion and place to puchase?
Can you recommend a safe electric space heater?
- Thread starter Stax
- Start date
-
Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.
We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.
We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
- Status
I always go for the electric oil filled units - usually Delonghi brand. I have at least 4 of them and they served us really well. The last two were purchased at a big box - I think Lowes.
Here is one example....
http://www.acehardwaresuperstore.com/795-oil-filled/5593.html
You can certainly buy it online as well as local. You'll be pleased.....in the bedroom you will probably only have to use it on low and with the thermostat on.
Here is one example....
http://www.acehardwaresuperstore.com/795-oil-filled/5593.html
You can certainly buy it online as well as local. You'll be pleased.....in the bedroom you will probably only have to use it on low and with the thermostat on.
depends on what you want it for. I have the oil one (listed above) its nice and does a good job. Doesnt heat up fast but holds the room well. The thermostat isnt great though, expect it to drift around the set temp a lot... This one seems to bounce around 4F (60-64 for my settings).
The ones that have a fan do a nice job of getting it up to temp quickly, but make noise. Its not as constant of a "heat"... If you have a cat watch out, they will nuzzle into it and maybe knock it over, most have knock over sensors.
The ones that have a fan do a nice job of getting it up to temp quickly, but make noise. Its not as constant of a "heat"... If you have a cat watch out, they will nuzzle into it and maybe knock it over, most have knock over sensors.
Pretty much all of them are safe as far as shut off and fire protection. The problem I would worry about is if you are running a circuit in your house close to max for a long period of time.
Gary
Gary
IPLUMB said:
That depends on what you pay for each and the efficiency of your furnace.
Any electric resistance eater is 100% efficient and produces exaclty 3,412 BTUs per kilowatt hour. you can get he KWh rate off you bill and figure how may BTU you get per $
LP is something like 91,000 BTU per gallon. Multiply that by the efficiency rating of your furnace and you get the delivered BTUs per gallon. Using the rate you pay in $/gallon will get you a BTU per $ figure you can compare with the electric heater.
This is assuming you use bot to heat he entire house to the same temp. If you use the electric heater just to heat one room and let the rest of the house go cold it could end up cheaper even if its raw cost per btu is higher than gas.
the big savings there is only heating a limited area with the electric heater. $/btu, chances are that electric is more expensive.
I use an electric oil filled radiator and a small fan forced ceramic heater. I run the radiator in a small (14x12) bedroom for about an hour a day and it brings the temps up about 8-9 degrees in that room during normal winter conditions (say 10-15 degrees F overnight, low wind) and keeps that zone from having to fire the boiler. The ceramic heater is in the master bedroom and bath...works great in the bath for the wife's shower, but is totally inadequate for the MBR which is 26x18 with 12 foot ceilings.
If you want quick heat like for a shower or something, get a fan forced heater...while they all burn the same energy (1500 watts), but generally the smaller the thing is, the smaller area it'll heat adequately. If you want to heat a small to medium sized room over longer durations and instant heat isn't what you want, get the oil based heaters.
They're all UL listed and safe to operate, provided you're not overrunning your house's wiring or anything like that.
If you want quick heat like for a shower or something, get a fan forced heater...while they all burn the same energy (1500 watts), but generally the smaller the thing is, the smaller area it'll heat adequately. If you want to heat a small to medium sized room over longer durations and instant heat isn't what you want, get the oil based heaters.
They're all UL listed and safe to operate, provided you're not overrunning your house's wiring or anything like that.
I would also add to this, there are models that have an auto timer. In the coldest part of the winter, we use one in the MB. Wifey hates waking up and getting ready for work in a "cold" room. Not that I think it is that cold but.... It turns on 1/2 before she wakes up, and shuts down around when she leaves. It is an oil filled unit and does a nice job in the MB. Happy wife = Happy life.
Shawn
Shawn
the ace hardware one shown has a timer on it. You could also just plug it into an appropriatly rated wall timer.
yep, not sure how long they stay warm, but keep putting out heat for a while after they cycle off.
I used to use 2 oil filled radiators and a regular fan forced one.
After I saw people complaining of their oil filled radiators bursting open @ seams I stopped using them.
I guess they cause NASTY scalding burns if you're nearby, and stain your walls/carpet and smells nasty.
Some Chinese manufactures also use funky oil (what do you expect from chinese manufacturers?) with other crap mixed in.
I don't want to have to try to get that out of my floor and drywall, or have it explode on my electronics or furniture... OR CATS
! NOT MY CATS!! =(
A quick google search can turn up a bunch of info about it. Ever since then I stopped using the oil filled. It's not worth it to me. a 1500kW heater puts out the same amount as another 1500kW heater.
Oil filled are going to be a slight bit more consistent no doubt... But I don't see the risk as being worth it for me.
Granted, there's probably hundreds of thousands of these in use, and only a few hundred have been reported to rupture so the safety odds are in our favor. The heaters I have are Lakewood, which actually had a recall on the product for weld seams rupturing. Not for the same model that I have, but the model produced before it. So that also played in my head when deciding...
After I saw people complaining of their oil filled radiators bursting open @ seams I stopped using them.
I guess they cause NASTY scalding burns if you're nearby, and stain your walls/carpet and smells nasty.
Some Chinese manufactures also use funky oil (what do you expect from chinese manufacturers?) with other crap mixed in.
I don't want to have to try to get that out of my floor and drywall, or have it explode on my electronics or furniture... OR CATS
! NOT MY CATS!! =(A quick google search can turn up a bunch of info about it. Ever since then I stopped using the oil filled. It's not worth it to me. a 1500kW heater puts out the same amount as another 1500kW heater.
Oil filled are going to be a slight bit more consistent no doubt... But I don't see the risk as being worth it for me.
Granted, there's probably hundreds of thousands of these in use, and only a few hundred have been reported to rupture so the safety odds are in our favor. The heaters I have are Lakewood, which actually had a recall on the product for weld seams rupturing. Not for the same model that I have, but the model produced before it. So that also played in my head when deciding...
Never heard of one busting open, but given enough usage (and likely MIS-usage), there's bound to be one pop here and there. Mine has been in use for about 20 years now.
Google the different brands and see what the reviews are.
Google the different brands and see what the reviews are.
- Status
Similar threads
