Types of room heaters

Electrical Room’s heaters are essential home appliance to keep home warm in winter season. Various Types of room heaters are available in market with different heating technology. The cost of room heaters depends on the technology used and cost variation is probably the most in these house hold equipment.

Lets check Types of room heaters available with its advantages and limitations.

• Radiant Tube Heaters are most economical heaters, In this type of heaters resistant heating technology is used to generate heat. Mirror finish radiation plates are used to dissipate heat to surrounding area. As tube is having live electrical energy, It needs to be used safely and kept out of reach with children or pets. Safety grill are provided to prevent accidental human contact with the heating coil but it is not sufficient. Coil failure can be a major problem with this type of heater if heat is not dissipated properly, mirror finish surface needs to be cleaned regularly and if any corrosion problem is observed it must be replaced to operate heater trouble free . Heat released in these type of heaters are not very comfortable as heat is localized. Oxygen burning or reduction in RH in room is another disadvantage of this heater.

• Halogen tube Heaters Halogen tube heaters are also one of type radiant heater only. In this type of heater halogen tube is used in placed of heating coil. Halogen tubes are more efficient than coil heaters, with higher reliable and higher life expectancy. These heaters are light in weight and generally have safety feature like overheating protection and cutoff due to tilt or fall. The problem of oxygen burning or reduction of RH in surrounding can be major disadvantages with this heaters. Halogen tube heaters have superior looks than conventional tube heaters and are available with 30-40% higher cost than conventional radiant tube heaters.

• Fan Heaters , Major component of these heaters are coil and fan. In radiant heater heat is dissipated though mirror finish surface while in fan room heaters heat is dissipated though convection with the use of fan. Cold air is passed in the coil and hot air is taken out for heating room. Being mechanical heat dissipation these type of heaters are more reliable than radiant room heaters. Lot of automation with capacity adjustment, fan speed adjustment are available with this type of heater. These heaters may be considered as better choice than radiant heaters because of generation of hot air and load adjustment features. Oxygen burning problem in this type of heater are lower than radiant type of room heaters.

• PTC room heaters PTC Stands for  Positive Temperature Coefficient (PTC). These type of heater consists of PTC materials that exhibit a positive resistance change in response to the increase in temperature. As the temperature increases, the electrical resistance of the material also increases, thus limiting the current flow. Simply, the material allows current to pass when it’s cold, and restricts current to flow as the threshold or higher temperature reached.

While traditional fixed-resistance heaters employ wires and coils to generate heat, PTC heaters use conductive inks printed on thin, flexible polymer-based substrates.

These heaters are reliable, efficient and provide safer, faster and more uniform heating. The properties of the material allow the PTC heater to act as its own sensor, eliminating the need for any external feedback controls. As a result, the heater inherently eliminates the risk of overheating. Also as the heating temperature is restricted to desired levels RH loss problem in room can be minimized. These heaters are costlier than halogen heaters but less expensive than Carbon fiber infrared heaters. oxygen problem problem can be reduced with the use of this type of heater

• Carbon fiber infrared room heaters In carbon fiber infrared heaters, the electricity triggers the impact and friction of carbon atoms to do Brownian movement thus producing thermal energy. Heat generation in carbon fiber heaters are instantly and within 2 minutes temperature of 100 Deg C can be achieved. These heaters have lower luminescence and idle for night use. Heat dissipation in this type of heater occurs with the generation of infrared heat waves. These infra red waves distributes heat evenly in the room and are healthy for human consumption. It also helps in alleviating pain from sore muscles. Oxygen burning is also minimized.The cost of these heaters are higher than PTC room heaters but lower than OFR heaters.

• . Oil filled radiator type room heater, OFR As name suggests oil filled radiator type room heaters uses oil and radiator for heat transfer. Oil is circulated in radiator and with large surface area of radiator, heat is dissipated efficiently.  These heater are safer than radiant or fan heaters. Temperature of heaters is controlled through thermostat for achieving comfortable room temperature. Further with addition of PTC technology in OFR heaters heating is made quick and efficient. Although trolley is provided for movement, but because of size and weight these heaters are not very portable. Oxygen burning problem can be minimized with this types of room heaters. The cost of heater is highest among all other types of heater available in market.

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