Air Conditioning & Heating
The different types of home heaters
It can be difficult to find the most suitable heater for your home. We give you a quick review of the most popular types of home heaters, how they work and their advantages and disadvantages.
Staff Writer
Sep 5, 2013
It’s hard to choose a heater. With so many heating options available on the market, it can be difficult to find the most suitable one for your home. But by finding the right heating system, you can keep your house warm and comfortable while keeping your running energy costs low.
To help you decide, we give you a quick review of the most popular types of home heaters, how they work, and their advantages and disadvantages.
Gas heaters
Gas heaters have been around since 1856. They heat a room by burning natural gas, propane, liquefied petroleum gas or butane. These heaters are categorised into two types: fluid/vented or unfluted/vent-free. Since gas is relatively inexpensive, gas heaters are the way to go if you’re looking to save some money. Heat-wise, gas heaters beat the electric ones hands down. However, because of the gas emissions, gas heaters, especially the unflued type, might be fire-prone.
Electrical heaters
Electric heaters have no emissions, nor do they leave pollutants. There are also many electric heating systems to choose from. Here are the most common:
> Fan heaters – These heaters work by using a fan to pass over a heating element, thus heating up the air. It’s very effective at heating small rooms. Since it’s a fan, you can expect to hear noise when it’s turned on.
> Radiant heaters – This type of heating uses radiant heat instead of the more traditional radiated heat. These types of heaters are not very efficient at heating entire rooms but are commonly used as personal heaters.
> Convection heaters – This heater operates by drawing cold air over its heating element; once it releases the hot air, cooler air moves in to replace it. It uses a fan to heat up the room quickly and more evenly.
> Column heaters – The heat comes from the oil sealed inside the columns. They take longer to heat a room than fan-assisted types of heaters.
Aside from using home heaters, there’s another way to make sure that heat won’t escape your home. It’s insulation. By having a well-insulated house, you don’t need as much heat as compared to poorly insulated houses.
Heating systems installation is best left to the experts. Post your job today and get free quotes.