More Information on Portable Electric Space Heaters | Rebates and Energy Saving Tools |
More Information on Heating and Cooling Your Home
With the cold winter months upon us, there have been a number of advertisements for electric space heaters that claim significant savings in heating costs. While there is savings potential with space heaters, it's important to understand the circumstances necessary to reap those savings and consider potential safety hazards that come with using a portable heater.
Space heaters can effectively take the chill out of the air in a single room and even maintain the desired temperature, depending on the model and assuming you keep doors to other rooms closed. The cost savings may occur if you turn off the heat or turn down the temperature in other rooms. The size of the room and the outdoor temperature will also affect the performance of a space heater.
There is some basic functionality common to all electric space heaters. For example:
- They all efficiently turn electricity into heat.
- They convert one watt of electricity into 3.4 British thermal units (Btu) of heat.
- Plug-in space heaters are limited to 1,500 watts or 5,120 Btu/hour.
A 1,500 watt heater, based on current electric prices, costs approximately $0.11/hour to operate. Based on these figures, running it eight hours per day for 30 days would cost $26.40/month.
Features such as resistance coils or quartz lights shining on a "cured copper element" or "ceramic quartz tubes" do not change the amount of heat a space heater can produce. The wattage consumed determines heat production. A 1,500 watt heater will produce the same amount of heat, regardless of its cost or other unique features.
If you're in the market for a space heater, there are a number of factors to consider when making your selection, including temperature control, safety features, convection versus radiant, portability, and cost. For more information about space heaters and their ratings, you are encouraged to log on to consumerreports.org, search for "space heaters," and click on the first article listed.
