Room heaters are essential during winters. All of us are aware of the fact that room heaters help in artificially warming a room or a place in winters. They make the room cozy and comfortable just as an air conditioner does in summers.
Gone are the days when people used to burn angethis and sat in front of burning woods. Now days people use electric room heaters and prefer these over the traditional one as they are easy to use and hassle free. Therefore, it is becomes important to look into the types of heaters. There are mainly three types of room heaters. That are-
- Fan or convection heaters
- Infrared or radiant heaters
- Oil filled heaters
There are many factors that should be take into consideration before selecting one of the above like area covered while heating, oxygen burning level, electricity consumption, time taken to heat a particular space and last but not the least safety. There are other factors but main factors are stated above.
Let us look one by one into the above types.
- Fan or convection heaters-
- The room is heated with the help of a fan.
ADVANTAGES
- These are heaters which provide instant heating.
- These types of heaters are immediate heaters and start heating as soon as they are switched on. The temperature can be altered with the help of a thermostat present in it. This makes it desirable to some users.
- They are budget friendly and are not very expensive.
- They are child safe which means the safety part is good.
DISADVANTAGES
- They make noise which can be annoying after some extent. It is bad in terms of noise and both the other types of heaters are better in this aspect.
- They burn oxygen. It means that it can be suffocating after sometime. This can be harmful if left open for long duration so it is better to close them after heating.
- It is not energy efficient which can result in long electricity bills.
- These heaters use infrared rays to warm the surroundings.
ADVANTAGES
- This type of heater is for sure energy efficient. They do not consume much electricity and are economical both in terms of buying cost and utility cost. Thus people prefer it over others as it is pocket friendly.
- They make less noise. It is a very important feature for those who need perfect silence while sleeping.
- They come with automatic temperature control. This reduces the risk of overheating and tension to switch it off after sometime.
DISADVANTAGES
- They are not children friendly i.e., children should not be brought near radiant heaters.
- It does not heat the room instantly. It takes time to heat a specified area.
- Does not heat large areas. Infrared heaters only cover a small area and not large rooms or areas.
- Infrared heaters do not filter the air around. This is a drawback as most of the heaters today have inbuilt air purification.
- It does alter the amount of oxygen present ion the room. This makes it undesirable as after sometime there is suffocation.
Oil filled heaters are a solution to almost all the problems with the above two heaters.
ADVANTAGES
- They are ideal for large rooms. It can heat larger areas.
- It retains heat. The room is warm even after switching off oil filled heaters.
- They are children safe means can be used while children are there in the room.
- The oil inside is not used as a fuel and is thus not used anytime.
- It does not make noise which is helpful with children around.
- It does not have any effect on the oxygen around. It means that there will be no suffocation even after long duration.
- They have a longer lifespan when compared with other type of heaters.
DISADVANTAGES
- They are expensive. They cost more than the other two types of heaters.
- They do not provide instant heat. They take time to heat the room unlike fan heaters.
Based on these factors one can decide which are the best alternative according to your needs.
Thank you
