Fan Forced Electric Heaters

Electric heaters are broadly divided into two types which are the radiative space heaters and convective space heaters. Due to its efficiency, electric heaters are now widely used by many. Moreover, electric heaters provide plentiful heating in the space within minimum usage of apparatus and not much heat is wasted. Although space heaters are effective by themselves, the correct usage of these heaters further enhances their productivity. A fan forced electric space heater with a blower can improve heat transfer.

How Fan Forced Electric Heaters Work

In a fan forced electric heater, there are metal coil elements encased in cool-touch plastic housings. When the coil heats up, the fan distributes warmth into the area. In every room, there are spots or a corner of the room which are still cold due to the insufficient heat from the central heating and that is where a fan forced electric heater plays its role.

Fan forced electric heaters are a good addition and work well in such situation. Fan forced electric heaters are convection heaters which works by using natural currents of warm air to heat up a space. When the cold air enters the heater, it gets heated up by the heating element which then rises up to the room. This type of convection heater’s purpose is to heat up an entire room instead of focusing the heat on a particular object. While the natural convectors let the hot air current rise naturally, a fan forced convector uses a fan to help with the circulation.

On the upside, this fan forced convectors are the fastest for heating the whole room since the air is moved past the heating elements instead of allowed to move throughout the room naturally. On the other hand, the area directly in front of the heater may be warmer than the rest of the room and a room can feel drafty due to the stirring air.

The Safety Cautions With Fan Forced Electric Heaters

Fan forced electric heaters can be compact and economical with some models to be priced as low as $15. However, fan forced convection electric heater is not as safe as the natural convection heater because a failure of the fan will cause the unit to overheat. Moreover, the fan forced electric heater could also get too hot if there are any objects near it which could block the airflow.

But, users need not worry too much as there are many safety measures being invented to counter such disadvantages such as overheat sensors which can prevent the unit from overheating and tip-over switch which turns the unit off if it is not in an upright position. An all-metal construction is also preferable compared to a plastic one as an overheated metal unit would not melt down or ignite.

However, it is still recommended that users use natural convection heaters compared to fan forced electric heaters whenever possible. Natural convection heaters are the safest type of electric heater because although their surface can get warm, it would not be hot enough to burn people and probably not hot enough to set the household materials on fire.

Since a fan is not used to keep the elements cool, there is very little chance of it malfunctioning and overheating. Although natural convection heater takes a longer time to heat up a room, but when the room is heated, the whole room will be heated uniformly from wall to wall.