Radiant Space Heater

An appliance created to heat an indoor area, usually a specific place inside a house, is called a space heater; only a small targeted portion is being heated, thus its name. A heater needs an energy source or a fuel to run, as in every appliance.

Manufacturers of space heaters may opt to use any of the approved fuels for their products – electricity, kerosene, natural gas or propane. It is not surprising that electricity-run or electric space heaters are quite popular, for electricity is considered the most versatile form of energy and in itself can create heat.

Basically, there are two major types of electricity-run space heaters – convection-type space heaters and radiant space heaters. A convection space heater, as its name implies, makes use of and heats the air in the surrounding area. A radiant space heater makes use of infrared radiation to directly heat up objects and even people who fall directly within its area or line of sight.

Although most electric space heaters belong to the convection category, increasing interests in the radiant system is already being observed. This is because a radiant space heater takes up a comparatively shorter period of time to generate heat, and may be attributable to its “direct to the point” heating technology; a radiant-type heater saves time by heating directly the objects and people and not the surrounding air (which a convection space heater does).

But users of radiant-type heaters point out the drawbacks – the appliances emit light which may make people difficult to sleep and most units are noisy as these try to keep up with the heating. It is a common suggestion that radiant space heaters be used only when people need to stay inside a room in a short time.