How to Choose The Best Electric Space Heater

A space heater will make a cold room comfy in minutes.

There are so many times when it makes more sense, and saves you money, to warm up just one room of your house instead of heating the whole house. On cold winter mornings, it's nice to take a shower and dress in a warm bathroom. Or, if you're working on a project in the garage or basement on a cold day, turning the heat up in the house isn't going to help. These are times you bring out the electric space heater. If it's time to buy a new one, learn what features are available before you shop.

Instructions

1. Choose between a radiant heater and a convection heater. Radiant heaters focus their heat onto one specific area. You'd have this heater pointed straight at you. A convection heater, on the other hand, are designed to radiate heat throughout the entire room.

2. Decide if you want a heater with or without a fan. An electric space heater with a fan will circulate the heated air around the room faster, and some fans even oscillate to further speed up the process. The downside to fans is that they may be noisy or produce drafts. The best electric space heater will not only have an oscillating fan, but will also let you turn these options on and off.

3. Ask yourself if you want an electric space heater with a thermostat. Set the temperature, and the heater will turn off when it reaches that temperature. It will turn on again when it cools down a bit. While thermostats are installed in most new space heaters, there are some quality heaters that don't have this feature. Think about how important it is for you to control the exact temperature of the heated air.

4. Consider what safety features you need. Most modern electric space heaters shut off if they overheat or are accidentally tipped over. In fact, some even advertise that they shut off if something, such as a blanket or towel, falls over the heater. This is an important feature, especially if you're not going to be in view of the heater when it's on. A space heater with a ceramic core is safer than one with coils, because of the larger ceramic surface stays cooler.

5. Decide if different heat settings -- low, medium and high -- and a timer in a space heater is important to you. The low setting will use less electricity, while the high setting will use more. Depending on how you intend to use it, this feature may be important to you. Setting a timer for when the heater will turn on and off give you just that much more control.

References

• U.S. Office of Compliance: Space Heaters