Big spaces may require more powerful gas heaters or an air conditioner with a reverse cycle split system to stay warm during bitter winter days. However, an electric heater is often enough to keep smaller enclosed spaces like bedrooms and bathrooms pleasantly toasty. The following are the best types of electric heaters that you can choose from to enjoy the winter season better:
- Radiant heaters – A radiant heater is just as its name suggests—a radiator that disperses heat from a heating element. They are relatively inexpensive, and they come in wall or floor mounted configurations. While efficient as a personal heater, radiators may not be as effective in heating the air inside the room as other types of heaters like fan and convection heaters.
- Oil-filled column heaters – These heaters don’t necessarily burn oil. What their mechanism does use electricity to warm the oil sealed inside the columns or fins. Heat generated from the oil is transferred to the casing and the air that’s circulating the fins. They are particularly useful in rooms that require heating for long periods of time (such as over the course of the night) unattended. Their surfaces don’t get as warm as other types of heating devices, although they may need the help of a low-speed fan to distribute heat more quickly and evenly.
- Convection heaters – A convection heater draws cold air from a heating element, which then leaves the heater (now warm) towards the ceiling. Cooler air then moves in to replace it, and the cycle goes on until the room is warmed evenly. Convection heaters would often include a fan, which enhances the convection effect by forcing warm air out of the heater. This helps heat the room up more quickly and more evenly. This type of heater is a lot more portable than oil-filled and radiant heaters and has the capability to heat the air more evenly.
