How Does a Ceramic Space Heater Work?

Generating Heat

Ceramic heaters are a type of convection heater. Like other convection heaters, they work by directly heating the air around them. First, the heater must actually turn the electricity into heat. It does this by running it through ceramic plates that resist the flow of current. This resistance generates heat in much the same way as the coil in an electric range top does.

Distributing Heat

Ceramic heaters use a blower fan to distribute heat. This fan is placed behind the ceramic plates. It blows air between them, where it picks up some of the heat from the plates. Many ceramic heaters are set up like oscillating fans, turning back and forth as they blow hot air. This can help to heat a room more evenly.

Comparing Ceramic To Coil Heaters

Ceramic heaters are very similar to older, coil-powered forced-air convection heaters. Like the coil heaters, ceramics work by blowing air past a hot surface. In ceramic heaters, however, the plates never get as hot as the coil does in a coil heater. It is believed that this makes ceramic heaters safer. In some cases, however, it also makes them less efficient heaters.