| There are primarily two types of heaters Radiant | | | | not heat up the air. Instead the heat is focused |
| heaters and Convective heaters - each serves a | | | | toward one specific area. It works by the heating |
| bit of a different purpose and each will have its | | | | element getting very hot and giving off heat. |
| own group of fans. In general, a radiant heater is | | | | Usually the heat will not be felt beyond five feet |
| more than sufficient to warm a room, although | | | | maximum into a room. The element heats up and |
| both the radiant and conductive models have their | | | | usually turns a bright red or orange and emits |
| own good and bad points. | | | | heat from the elements thereby warming |
| What Does a Convective Heater Do? | | | | anything in the immediate vicinity. The element |
| A convective heater warms the air. That is the | | | | gets very hot to the touch and can cause burns. |
| air is pulled in heated and then pushed out. These | | | | There is usually a warning grid in front of the unit |
| heaters are typically used in larger spaces to | | | | that will shut the unit down quickly if something or |
| warm the air thereby warming the room. | | | | someone bumps up against it or if it tips over. |
| Convective heaters usually have a fan system as | | | | Radiant heaters are very good for small spaces |
| well as a heating element. The system will drive | | | | or to keep one or two people warm that are |
| the air in and heat it using the heating element | | | | sitting in the immediate vicinity of the heater they |
| than push it back out through the fan system this | | | | are not very effective at keeping an entire room |
| is a continuous cycle that is complete when the | | | | warm. |
| air reaches a certain temperature and registers | | | | Costs |
| on the thermostat attached to the heater. Usually | | | | The cost for initial purchase of the heaters is |
| the heater is set to a certain temperature and will | | | | around the same. The operating costs may be a |
| shut down when that temperature is reached. | | | | bit higher with the radiant models simply because |
| Convective heaters typically use electricity as | | | | they do not heat as effectively and may be ran |
| their power source, but can sometimes rely on a | | | | more often. Typically it is going to cost around |
| combination of energy sources. | | | | ten dollars a day to run either type of heater. |
| What Does Radiant Heaters Do? | | | | They are not very energy efficient. |
| Unlike a convective heater a radiant heater does | | | | |