Deciding upon the purpose and requirement of the heater:
Deciding the purpose of the heater is the first step in narrowing down your choice of options. If you want to heat the entire room, buying a convection heater is the ideal choice. However, if you spend most of the time in one part of the room, an even more localized heating solution can be provided by a radiant heater. The radiant heater will not heat the air but radiate heat that is absorbed by objects placed in its path.
To calculate whether any heater will satisfy your heating needs, the first step is to ascertain the amount of heat in BTUs (British Thermal Units) that the heater generates. To calculate the requirements of the room, the square footage of the room is multiplied by the difference of the desired and starting temperature. The resulting number needs to be less than the BTUs generated by the heater for the room to be adequately heated.
BTU = (Desired Temp – Starting Temp) x Square Footage of Room
Child safety measures to look for:
Ensure that your heater is child friendly by looking for convection heaters that have non-glow or ceramic elements in them. Children are less likely to burn themselves around these heaters. Ceramic heaters also have an additional benefit that their outer casing always remains cool even when the heater is being operated.
Energy-saving heaters:
Heaters with ceramic elements are considered to be self regulating and energy efficient. The resistance of the ceramic element increases as the temperature of the room increases. This means that less electricity is used and less amount of heat generated.
Convection heaters with temperature dials are another way to save on electricity bills. These heaters help you to regulate the amount of heat that is being generated. Unlike normal heaters that turn on and off to maintain a heat level, these heaters slow the output of heat once the desired temperature is achieved. This results in an overall even temperature in the room.
