Winter is right around the corner, but in some areas, temperatures are already dropping. Cold fall nights are normal, but it seems like winter has arrived early this year. Many experts are predicting an exceptionally cold winter season. Do you have a plan to heat your home?
If you don’t have central heat, you’ll need to rely on space heaters to stay warm, but not all heaters are the same. In fact, some heaters are ideal, while others should be avoided if you have other options. If you’re not familiar with all the types of space heaters available, here are some tips to help you choose the right unit.
- Go for infrared heat
When it comes to space heaters, you can find units that produce heat in several different ways. For instance, there are convection heaters, ceramic heaters, radiant oil heaters, and infrared heaters. Each type of heater produces heat using a different method and not all are equal.
Convection heaters work by heating a coil that heats the air around the unit. This method is the least efficient way to heat a space because only the air gets warmed. Your space will only stay warm as long as the unit is running. Ceramic heaters work by heating up a ceramic plate that radiates heat into the space around the heater. Ceramic heaters are a little more powerful than convection heaters, but are still not ideal.
Radiant oil heaters have a little more potential than ceramic heaters when you get a large enough unit. With these heaters, a metal frame is filled with oil that gets heated up and the metal absorbs and then radiates the heat into the space around the unit.
Infrared heaters, on the other hand, are the holy grail of space heaters. Infrared heat is unique in the sense that it gets absorbed by objects in the space, including your clothing and skin. Infrared heat is the same type of heat emitted by the sun, and is nearly 100% efficient, and that’s why it’s the ideal way to heat your home, as seen in most apartments near Tacoma.
- Get the right size heater
It should go without saying that it’s important to find the right size heater for the space you want to heat. Size is important because you don’t want to have to run multiple space heaters at once on the same electrical circuit. This could cause your breakers to trip from an overload.
If you have a big room, you’ll need a large heater. However, large heaters work great in small rooms, too. If you don’t want a large, traditional heater in your space, get an electric heater that looks like a fireplace. They’re a bit classier than the standard look.
- Use small tabletop space heaters
If you spend a lot of time in a room like an office where you have a desk, get a tabletop ceramic or infrared space heater and put it a couple feet from you on your desk. A small heater can keep you warm when it’s close to your body. These small heaters make a great addition to any other heaters you have going in the room.
Most desktop heaters come with a feature where they will automatically shut off if they get tipped over, and you can select the power you want from low to high. Some even double as a fan for summertime.
- Get a heater you can clean easily
It’s important to be able to clean your space heater to prevent it from breaking down or having other problems. Some units are easier to clean than others, so just be sure you know how to clean your heaters.
Radiant heaters are easy to clean because they’re mostly made of metal. As long as you wait for it to cool, it’s easy to wipe down a radiant oil heater. Other heaters require dusting and you’ll probably need to use compressed air to blow the dust out of the back of the unit where the air is sucked inside. However, before attempting to clean your unit, refer to the user manual to make sure you do it correctly.
Still not sure what to get? Ask your friends
Choosing a space heater seems easy, but it’s not always that simple. If you’re not sure what type of heater to get, ask some of your friends for recommendations. If they live in the same area as you – especially in a cold climate – they’ll have some good recommendations that will help.
