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Space heaters are very useful devices in case people only want to heat a small area or room instead of an entire house or office. It can be compared to central heating systems that are designed to heat entire facilities. These devices are meant to be portable or at least easily mounted on walls.

This type of heating equipment is usually designed to run on electricity. Using propane or natural gas as energy sources for such a small device can prove to be quite hazardous since they are most likely to be used in small enclosed areas. That is also the case in spite of having ventilation systems installed in the said room.

Types of Space Heaters

Heating devices of this kind can be generally categorized into two different types depending on how they transfer heat. The first category is called convection heaters while the other class of devices is called radiation heaters. Take note that these two heat transfer methods are absolutely different from one from another.

The first variant of this type of heating device is called the convection heater. Judging by the name, convection refers to the transmission of heat by mass motion of either air or water. In the case of these mobile heaters, heat is transmitted from the device via the air molecules that are directly heated by the device's heating element.

Convection heaters either use heat oil to transfer the intensified temperature or warm the air directly using heated wire elements. Convection heaters that use oil (sometimes referred to as oil heaters) tend to heat a given area rather slowly. However, oil heaters do not reach any potentially dangerous surface temperatures that can become a bit of a hazard.

On the other hand, convection heaters that use wire elements heat the surrounding air directly. The heat is then spread throughout a given area using fans installed on the device. These devices are sometimes referred to as fan heaters, though it isn't exactly a very precise description of what the device actually does. Compared to oil heaters, fan heaters can pose fire hazards since the heated coils of the wire element have the potential to cause a fire.

The second category of space heaters is called a radiative heater, which describes the process it uses to heat a given area. This type of small utility heater uses radiation to transfer heat. A good example of such a heater is a halogen heater. The radiant energy created by a halogen heater serves as the means of transferring heat. This constitutes 86% of the total energy input that this device consumes.

Some people ask whether radiative heaters are much better than convection heaters. Although there is actually no definitive answer to this question, the best answer thus far would be that it depends on the intended purpose or need to be addressed.

Radiative heaters are better suited for heating clothing or even a human body without necessarily heating the surrounding environment. This works best if the goal is to warm people in rooms that have very poor insulation. On the other hand, if the goal is to heat an entire room including the occupants then convection space heaters are better suited for the job.