Electric heaters are the most efficient of all space heaters because they use 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 virtually instantaneous and they cool very quickly, so when they are turned of they are safe to leave unattended.

All electric  heaters rated the same will use the same amount of heat when switched on, a 2 Kilowatt (KW) fan heater will use exactly the same amount of energy as a 2 KW oil filled radiator or a 2 KW radiant heater so buying a more expensive electric heater  with the same KW rating  will not save you any money on your fuel bill, what will is the way you use your electric heater.

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 given brief outlines on each type of electric  heater, 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.

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This is because unlike a convection heater (which heats up the room slowly and allows the slowly circulating warmed air to transfer some heat into the stuff in the room, which then holds onto the heat and then slowly lets it back out) the fan heater just quickly warms up the air, and air by itself, doesn't have much ability to store heat. This type of electric heater is great 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.

Many fan heaters now use ceramic elements instead of heated coiled wire elements, if your budget allows it we would always 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, usually mounted over the door, appropriate ones will come with an IP (waterproof) rating and be marked 'suitable for bathroom use'. Only ever use an electric heater Ip rated as waterproof in a bathroom!
The  fault all fan heaters have is that as they suck air though them they blow 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 just  buy a new one.
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.

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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, with the exception of burning this tiny amount of dust these convection heaters do not burn oxygen or give off toxic or harmful fumes.

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, so this type of electric heater must not be left on unattended around vulnerable people. Also because of this exposed element 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.

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They are great if your  sitting watching TV or on a computer, working at a bench or desk,  or eating a meal.  This is because  they work by directly heating just 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 do 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,  you will find whatever is in front of them will get very hot, yet things a few feet away will still be cold.

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

If you want a really good, high-powered radiant bar heater then the best ones are 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. A radiant heater such as the Dimplex QXD1500 1.5kW Ruby Lamp Quartz Heater costs £210.71, 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.

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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 splashproof models are available for bathrooms. Infrared electric panels can be freestanding or mounted on walls or ceilings. The range of these panels is astounding, with new technology such as engineered plastics with metallic filaments, carbon nano fibers (microscopic heating elements) and carbon crystal panels (agitating carbon molecules suspended in the panel to generate heat), 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 thermo-glass panels which can be completely transparent or colored, some have screens which can be printed with any picture or scene you like, including family pictures and company logos, animated scenes such as flickering fires and electric panels can even be formed into blinds and screens.

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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.

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