Efficient Electric Heaters

An electric heater works by converting electrical energy into heat. This includes space heating, cooking, water heating and other industrial processes. Most of the time, electrical heat is the most expensive and the least efficient form of heating. This motivates the users to improve sealing and insulation to offset the higher cost.

Electric heaters work by passing electric current through a wire that supplies electrical resistance which in turn converts it into heat. Since short circuit happens if any electricity passing through the wire isn’t converted into heat, most of the electric heaters are energy efficient electric heaters where they have 100% efficiency in the case of electric heater without fan and 95% to 98% efficiency in the case of electric heater without fan. However, a large percentage of energy is lost during generation and transmission.

The Way Efficient Electric Heaters Work

The efficient electric heaters are judged by the way the heat is spread. First off, let’s look at the central electric heating system. The first type consists of a forced-air electric furnace with ductwork and room vents. It operates by forcing the heated air through the furnace by a fan which is then pumped through ducts throughout the house. The second type is a forced-air boiler with radiators in each room. The boiler heats the water which then circulates through radiators through the home. This forced-air boiler is typically more expensive.

The disadvantage of this central electric system is that it’s more costly than natural gas since electricity rates have been going up. The system can be made as a more efficient electric heater if you adjust the furnace fan to start blowing at a lower initial temperature, stop blowing after the heating elements stop receiving power and again at a lower temperature. This allows the heat to begin circulating through the house earlier and more heat to be extracted from the furnace and sent to the house after the heating elements go off.

Other Types of Efficient Electric Heaters

The second type of efficient electric heaters is the baseboard heater. Heat is spread using a combination of conduction and convection. The transfer of heat from heating element to the air immediately is conduction while convection occurs when the lighter heated air rises out of the heater and draws in cooler air from below. The air currents produced will draw the heat up into and around the room where the heaters are. Baseboard heaters are economical, inconspicuous and require no ducting although the need extra electrical work. Since there is less circulation of air inside the house, there is a tendency for moisture build up on windows.

The third type is the movable energy saving space heaters. The first type is the movable convection heater which is like the baseboard heater, except that a fan can be added to drive the heated air to a certain direction and improve its distribution. The second type being the movable radiative heater which consists of a very hot heating element in a glass tube. Only solid objects that absorbs the infrared radiation are heated which is why a radiative heater is a great choice for cold rooms such as garages or workshops. However, great caution should be exercised when using it since it can set an object on fire if the object is too near or is exposed too long.

The most energy efficient electric heaters are active heaters, either convection or radiative. For example, if you’re working in a poorly insulated den, a small heater may be all you need to keep you warm. An effective electric heater is when you can get the heat to where it is needed. For example, if a baseboard heater is placed on an outside wall, the wall will get hotter that the air of the room causing the heat to escape through the wall while using an active convection heater would not heat the outside walls nearly as much resulting in lesser heat loss.