Electric heaters are the most efficient of all space heaters because they convert nearly 100% of the energy they use to heat (compared with 80% or less for fuel burning space heaters).

With the exception of oil filled radiators heating is instantaneous and they cool very quickly, so when turned off they are safe to leave unattended.

All electric heaters with the same Kilowatt (kW) rating will use the same amount of heat when switched on.

A 2 kW fan heater will use  the same amount of energy as a 2 kW oil filled radiator or a 2 kW radiant heater.

Buying a more expensive electric heater  with the same kW rating  will not save  money on your fuel bill, what will is the way you use it.

Choosing an electric  heater depends on your requirements, a fan heater will blow hot air into the room heating it up quickly, an oil filled radiator will use a convection current slowly warming up the room and keeping it warm.

We've taken a look at each type, how they work at delivering heat and where best to use them.

If you want a more detailed explanation of how an electric heater  works then have a look at the bottom of this page. 

» Read less

This is because unlike a convection heater, which heats up the room slowly by slowly circulating warmed air, transferring heat into the objects in the room, a fan heater quickly warms up the air, and air by itself, doesn't have much ability to store heat.

A fan heater is ideal if you need to warm up quickly but as the room cools quickly the fan heaters  thermostat  will keep switching on and off much more than a convection heater or oil filled radiator.

There are thousands of different styles of fan heaters, from the standard flat basic flat types, to oscillating tower heaters and models built to resemble wood burning stoves.

Most fan heaters now use ceramic elements instead of heated coiled wire elements,  we  recommend buying a ceramic fan heater as they don't glow red-hot and  are safer than the wire wound type

Fan heaters are usually portable, but fixed wall models are available. For bathrooms wall mounted ones are the preferred choice.

Suitable ones will come with an IP (waterproof) rating and be marked 'suitable for bathroom use'.

Only  use an electric heater Ip rated as waterproof in a bathroom!

Fan heaters suck air though them andblow dust around the room, some of the  dust will build up inside settling on the fan & slowing it down (most ceramic fan heaters have micro filters to prevent this).

For a quality heater it's worth paying an electrician  every 3 years to open it up and clean the dust out, it will take  him about 10 minutes and the heater will run like new again, with the cheaper ones  replace them every 3 - 5 years.

Prices vary from the cheap sub £10 basic ones up to £700 + for top of the range models designed to resemble  wood burning stoves with real flame effects and sophisticated controls.

Warning :- A fan heaters element gets very hot very quickly, if the fan stops working the heater  WILL catch fire, never switch on a fan heater if the fan stops working.

» Read less

This is called the convection cycle, because of this convection cycle this  type of electric heater will gradually heat up the air in a whole room and keep the temperature constant.

However they are not effective in draughty rooms as the warm air will escape and cold air will be drawn in from outside.

Micathermic heaters are new generation heating appliances, they  use mica heating plates instead of traditional wire elements

These radiate heat as well as use a convection current so heat objects in front of them as well as the air in the room. They are one of the many examples  of electric heater that uses multiple ways to deliver heat.

Open wire  heaters with vents above the heating elements  are the most common type of convection heater.

If you leave one in the same place long enough, you will see a dark patch form on the ceiling above it, this is the smoke residue from dust drawn into the elements and burnt.

Because wire-element convection heaters have the heating elements exposed directly to the air, and these glow red-hot, they heat up quite quickly and can pose a fire or burn risk if anything comes in contact with the elements.

They must not be left  unattended around vulnerable people and they are not recommended for bathroom use.

Both open element and micathermic  convection heaters should have  thermostats which are necessary to keep the room temperature constant and to prevent  overheating.

We advise never  buying one without a thermostat as if the element is continuously on there is a high risk of overheating.

Electric convector heaters can be just a metal box open at the top and bottom with wire heating elements strung across the inside (open element, a basic model like that can cost under £10.

Or they can be sturdy framed micathermic  multi element ducted chambers, with sophisticated programmers, thermostatic controllers and fan assistance, these top models can cost £200 or more.

Most of the better models use a combination of radiated heat and / or fan assistance to aid heat distribution.

» Read less

They are ideal if your watching TV , working at a bench or desk,  or eating a meal.

This is because  they work by directly heating  whats in front of them (you & your surroundings) instead of the whole room (think of them working like a torch, only heating what they shine on).

If you  want to heat up the whole room then radiant bar heaters are not a good choice as they can take a very long time to heat up a space,  whatever is in front of them will get  hot, yet things a few feet away will still be cold.

Halogen Radiant heaters have now taken over from  the old bar type, the  problem with cheap halogen heaters is  the quartz tubes are filled with pressurized gas and are fragile  so break easily.

Touching or getting dirt on the tubes creates a hot spot which causes the element to burn out. Due to these faults cheap halogen heaters do not last very long.

Other more robust  alternatives are ruby sleeved tubes, Infra red tubes, and ceramic elements which are all much more expensive.

A good, high-powered radiant bar heater will have  tungsten halogen lamps, with ruby-red quartz outer sleeves. These are durable, long-lasting and because of the high price are usually reserved for commercial use.

Typically wall or ceiling mounted a 1.5 Kilowatt heater mounted on a wall at the recommended 2.5 meters high and angled down at 45 degrees will directly heat a floor area of 3.4 x 3.7 meters, that's 12.58 square meters or 999 square feet, that's the size of an average room!

Because the lamps have a temperature approaching 2200 ºC,  walking underneath them can be uncomfortably hot. Radiant heaters like these cost over £200.

Any heater of this type with a greater rating than 1.5 Kilowatts would be unsuitable for domestic use, unless you live in a property with a very high ceiling.

» Read less

Thespanels do not get as hot as oil filled radiators so present less of a burn hazard.

They are thermostatically controlled and once the room is up to heat they  only switch on power for around 20% of the time to maintain the room temperature.

Infra red panels are ideal for nuseries, sickrooms and  art studios as they dont give off any fumes or smells and do not consume any oxygen, they do not dry out the air or change the humidity of a room, are silent , and unlike convection and fan heaters do not create heavy air currents carrying dust around the room, as even when the air in room is fully heated  only 32% of the of the heat is maintained by convection.

These panels are the most versatile of all electric heaters as they can be placed in any room; bedrooms, children rooms, rooms with elderly or ill occupants and are splashproof.

They can be freestanding or mounted on walls or ceilings. The range  is astounding, with new technology such as engineered plastics with metallic filaments, carbon nano fibers, and carbon crystal panels allowing a degree of design flexibility not seen in other forms of heating.

Some are designed to be painted to blend into a rooms decor, there are transparent or colored thermo-glass panels, some can be printed with any picture or scene you like, including family pictures and company logos, animated scenes such as flickering fires and  even be formed into blinds and screens.

» Read less

the element heats the liquid which heats the case. Depending on the design of the radiator, the heat generated can be radiant or a combination of both radiant and convected heat.

Traditionally oil was used to fill this type of electric heater, some modern designs now use water or thermo gels, this is becoming more common as in case of leaks oil is messy and difficult to clean up. Recently  liquid free designs have been produced, unlike wall mounted electric radiators which have a solid filling, these heat up an airspace within the casing.

Oil filled radiators are great keeping a single room warm when the central heating is turned off. They have no exposed elements, but they can get very hot if used at full heat, so are not suitable for bathrooms or for children or elderly peoples bed rooms unless fixed on a low setting, cool touch infra red  panel heaters  are best used in these locations.

» Read less

» Read less