Which type of room heater is better?

[Wrichik Basu]

We were thinking about buying a room heater. The minimum required would be 1000W (?), considering room size of about 120sq.ft. The temperature doesn't drop below 10°C normally.

We found that there are two types of heaters: coil type and halogen lamp type. We will buy one that has a fan, otherwise the chance of overheating the coil/lamp will increase.

Which of the above types generally lasts longer, given that the heater will not be running for more than 6-8 hours per day, and that also for not more than four months in the year?

 

[Borek]

Never heard about the halogen lamp type heater. In my experience portable ones are mostly either oil heaters or coil heaters (the latter are often easy to mount on the wall). Both types can work for eons (that is, if anything fails, it is not the heating element, but the switch or thermostat).

That's from a place where heating is a must, so doesn't have to directly apply to your to your situation :)

 

[Dr. Courtney]

I agree with Borek. It's the thermostat that usually fails first, and from the info on the package it's hard to know how long these things will last.

 

[russ_watters]

We were thinking about buying a room heater. The minimum required would be 1000W (?), considering room size of about 120sq.ft. The temperature doesn't drop below 10°C normally...

Which of the above types generally lasts longer, given that the heater will not be running for more than 6-8 hours per day, and that also for not more than four months in the year?

That's an awful lot of run time for an electric resistance heater. Do you have the option to use a fuel-fired heater or heat pump? Either would be much, much cheaper to run. At my electricity rates, that would cost $115 / yr .

...or how about better insulation? Given the room size and outside air temperature, I would have expected it to need very little heat.

 

[Wrichik Basu]

Never heard about the halogen lamp type heater.

Here is one of those types:

And one from Amazon.in:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KJB4WVZ/?tag=pfamazon01-20

 

[OmCheeto]

Wow! 27°C during the day?

Too bad you can't just leave a window open during the day, and shut it at night.

 

[Borek]

Here is one of those types:

OK, never knew they are halogen based (their name here doesn't reflect the construction, and I was always under impression they use just an inert gas inside of the quartz tube, not a wolfram coil in a halogen mixture). Makes a bit of sense, at the same time I would expect them to have shorter life span. But that's just a gut feeling.

 

[DEvens]

Heh. Places where the temperature usually does not get to dangerous low temperatures, but only to uncomfortably low, often have significant trouble with heat. They will sometimes not even have central building heat. You even find such places where the plumbing is exposed outside the building because they don't expect it to ever get cold enough to freeze. Canadians look at such places and just shake their heads.

The thing you should look for in a space heater is safety. Is this thing going to operate safely, not start fires, not be producing "charring" smell, not heat up the wires or mess with your electrical system. Make sure your sockets are rated for the load you might be putting on them. Make sure it has guards to keep stuff from falling on the heat elements. Make sure it has the appropriate safety association approval. Make sure it won't tip over easily.

Then after all that has been satisfied, choose the cheapest one remaining.

 

[Tom.G]

That Halogen heater in your photo will yield more of spot heating from radiant energy. These are good for colder ambient temperatures where you want to warm yourself but don't want to heat the whole room.

The lower temperature bare resistance element types, especially those with vents or a fan for air circulation, are better for heating a whole room; not so much of a 'hot spot' when you walk in front of it.

Heating the whole room will be more comfortable but cost a bit more in electricity.

As a teenager, I lived in a house (at 43°N) that had electric radiant baseboard heaters. The effect was that it kept the people warm but the air was cold enough that you noticed it with every breath you took. This was in snow country though, with outdoor temperatures in the -18°C to -10°C range (0°F to 15°F).

Cheers,
Tom