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OT electric space heaters
I like a cool bedroom but not a chilly bathroom. Is there a rating system
for small electric space heaters (bathroom is about 12 ft. X 9 ft.) that rates how energy efficient they are? Is one type of electric heater more energy efficient than another? (This is for USA heaters and use, of course.) TIA! Leslie & The Furbabies in MO. |
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#2
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OT electric space heaters
DD has a huge bathroom in her new house and has complained about the cold
bathroom. She has central heating and air but added a small heater (that uses a fan) last winter. She claimed that only created a draft. I think she is going to try a radiant type heater this winter. I really don't think there are very efficient space heaters. I'll look forward to reading any good solutions too. How are the window coverings coming along? I like that you are getting so into this efficient ways to stay comfortable. We just got back from a visit to out sons home in San Diego. Nice and warm there but the dampness makes me hurt. Taria "Leslie& The Furbabies in MO." wrote in message ... I like a cool bedroom but not a chilly bathroom. Is there a rating system for small electric space heaters (bathroom is about 12 ft. X 9 ft.) that rates how energy efficient they are? Is one type of electric heater more energy efficient than another? (This is for USA heaters and use, of course.) TIA! Leslie & The Furbabies in MO. |
#3
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OT electric space heaters
Mr Esther has one for his 'on the north side of the house' bathroom. It is
ceramic, made by Holmes, came from WalMart, not expensive. DH says it is a fine, safe heater and will drive you out if you don't keep the little heater turned low. He says it uses less electricity than the old kind and puts out more heat. ( How's that for technical?) Polly "Taria" wrote in message ... DD has a huge bathroom in her new house and has complained about the cold bathroom. She has central heating and air but added a small heater (that uses a fan) last winter. She claimed that only created a draft. I think she is going to try a radiant type heater this winter. I really don't think there are very efficient space heaters. I'll look forward to reading any good solutions too. How are the window coverings coming along? I like that you are getting so into this efficient ways to stay comfortable. We just got back from a visit to out sons home in San Diego. Nice and warm there but the dampness makes me hurt. Taria "Leslie& The Furbabies in MO." wrote in message ... I like a cool bedroom but not a chilly bathroom. Is there a rating system for small electric space heaters (bathroom is about 12 ft. X 9 ft.) that rates how energy efficient they are? Is one type of electric heater more energy efficient than another? (This is for USA heaters and use, of course.) TIA! Leslie & The Furbabies in MO. |
#4
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OT electric space heaters
On Oct 14, 7:07*pm, "Leslie& The Furbabies in MO."
wrote: I like a cool bedroom but not a chilly bathroom. * Is there a rating system for small electric space heaters (bathroom is about 12 ft. X 9 ft.) that rates how energy efficient they are? * Is one type of electric heater more energy efficient than another? * (This is for USA heaters and use, of course.) TIA! Leslie & The Furbabies in MO. That's a bit of a nebulous question. Electric heaters are all pretty close to 100% efficient (high 90s, anyway) as far as converting electric energy into something else. The question is, what's the something else? Those that just heat convert nearly all the energy into heat, but the heat stays near the heater (or rises straight up). Those with fans/blowers don't convert as much energy into heat because some is used up to run the mecahnical fan, but the heat that is generated gets distributed around (which can also make it seem like less heat because it IS distributed throughout the volume of the room. If you have forced air heat, one energy-saving tip is to leave the fan running all the time - 24/7. This puts more of the heat used to heat up the furnace and ducts into the living space, and reduces the highs & lows between the furnace turning on (when it's cold) and off (when it's hot). Believe it or don't it'll actually lower your overall energy bill. Many new thermostats now come with that option (separate blower control). Another advantage is that it helps take the place of a blower in a space heater. OTOH, if you have forced air, a cold room could also be an indication that the system isn't balanced. There are dampers in the ducts and registers, and they may need to be adjusted to keep all rooms evenly warm, opening some up and restricting others. All that said, heaters should be rated by BTU output (British Thermal Units) which is a fancy term like watts to indicate how much heat it puts out. The higher the number, the more heat (A-C units are rated the same way.) Heaters are likely also given an energy star rating indicating how *energy* efficient they are (which as noted earlier - they're all pretty close, so the ratings should be pretty close in similar size/functioning heaters). Thirdly, they're rated (or should be) for the size room or cubic feet. Room sizes usually assume 7 - 8 ft ceilings; cubic feet will require a bit more math, but it's not that big a deal. FWIW, there's also such a beast as a heated seat, if that's your preference. 12 x 9 is pretty big for a bathroom unless the house is new with a huge master bath or something. Some bedrooms aren't that big, and I'd guess the bathroom in question may have been converted from a bedroom if the house is older. (but we all know I was wrong that one time...) That big a room might warrant a wall or baseboard type supplemental heater rather than a freestanding one. The first two are pricier, but should last longer and heat better/more. Wiki has a lot of articles on different types of heaters. Start with "Heaters" for a list. |
#5
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OT electric space heaters
underfloor heating would work.
j. "Leslie& The Furbabies in MO." wrote ... I like a cool bedroom but not a chilly bathroom. Is there a rating system for small electric space heaters (bathroom is about 12 ft. X 9 ft.) that rates how energy efficient they are? Is one type of electric heater more energy efficient than another? (This is for USA heaters and use, of course.) TIA! Leslie & The Furbabies in MO. |
#6
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OT electric space heaters
Oh goodness- this opens a whole can of worms. :-/ The master suite is a
13 X 50 single story addition with 8 ft. ceilings built perpendicular to a 90 y.o. long, narrow two story house with 10 ft. ceilings downstairs and 8 ft. ceilings upstairs. There are two large heat pumps and a second propane fireplace in the main part of the house- one heat pump for the upstairs (upstairs heat pump and bedrooms/bath are not used) and one for the downstairs. But no heat or a/c in the master bedroom addition other than a thermostatically controlled, unvented propane fireplace and a big window a/c. Both are located about central along the longest wall in the master bedroom. The bath is across one end of the addition and the walk-in closet and laundry room are side-by-side at the other end of the addition with the bedroom in the middle. The fireplace heat just doesn't make it into the bathroom, so I need an additional heat source. (I HATE getting out of a warm shower or bath and facing a chilly bathroom. Ugh.) So, I'm looking for some kind of suitable and reasonably energy efficient solution. Any ideas, Doc? Leslie & The Furbabies in MO. "Dr. Zachary Smith" wrote in message ... On Oct 14, 7:07 pm, "Leslie& The Furbabies in MO." wrote: I like a cool bedroom but not a chilly bathroom. Is there a rating system for small electric space heaters (bathroom is about 12 ft. X 9 ft.) that rates how energy efficient they are? Is one type of electric heater more energy efficient than another? (This is for USA heaters and use, of course.) TIA! Leslie & The Furbabies in MO. That's a bit of a nebulous question. Electric heaters are all pretty close to 100% efficient (high 90s, anyway) as far as converting electric energy into something else. The question is, what's the something else? Those that just heat convert nearly all the energy into heat, but the heat stays near the heater (or rises straight up). Those with fans/blowers don't convert as much energy into heat because some is used up to run the mecahnical fan, but the heat that is generated gets distributed around (which can also make it seem like less heat because it IS distributed throughout the volume of the room. If you have forced air heat, one energy-saving tip is to leave the fan running all the time - 24/7. This puts more of the heat used to heat up the furnace and ducts into the living space, and reduces the highs & lows between the furnace turning on (when it's cold) and off (when it's hot). Believe it or don't it'll actually lower your overall energy bill. Many new thermostats now come with that option (separate blower control). Another advantage is that it helps take the place of a blower in a space heater. OTOH, if you have forced air, a cold room could also be an indication that the system isn't balanced. There are dampers in the ducts and registers, and they may need to be adjusted to keep all rooms evenly warm, opening some up and restricting others. All that said, heaters should be rated by BTU output (British Thermal Units) which is a fancy term like watts to indicate how much heat it puts out. The higher the number, the more heat (A-C units are rated the same way.) Heaters are likely also given an energy star rating indicating how *energy* efficient they are (which as noted earlier - they're all pretty close, so the ratings should be pretty close in similar size/functioning heaters). Thirdly, they're rated (or should be) for the size room or cubic feet. Room sizes usually assume 7 - 8 ft ceilings; cubic feet will require a bit more math, but it's not that big a deal. FWIW, there's also such a beast as a heated seat, if that's your preference. 12 x 9 is pretty big for a bathroom unless the house is new with a huge master bath or something. Some bedrooms aren't that big, and I'd guess the bathroom in question may have been converted from a bedroom if the house is older. (but we all know I was wrong that one time...) That big a room might warrant a wall or baseboard type supplemental heater rather than a freestanding one. The first two are pricier, but should last longer and heat better/more. Wiki has a lot of articles on different types of heaters. Start with "Heaters" for a list. |
#7
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OT electric space heaters
I don't want to tear up the ceramic tiles on the bathroom floor- I'd love it
if it was feasible. Leslie & The Furbabies in MO. "J*" wrote in message ... underfloor heating would work. j. "Leslie& The Furbabies in MO." wrote ... I like a cool bedroom but not a chilly bathroom. Is there a rating system for small electric space heaters (bathroom is about 12 ft. X 9 ft.) that rates how energy efficient they are? Is one type of electric heater more energy efficient than another? (This is for USA heaters and use, of course.) TIA! Leslie & The Furbabies in MO. |
#8
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OT electric space heaters
Years ago, when the bathroom was remodeled we put in a ceiling heater/vent
thingie from Home Depot. It has work well ever since. Feels good when it is freezing out. Nana....just a thought "Leslie& The Furbabies in MO." wrote in message ... I don't want to tear up the ceramic tiles on the bathroom floor- I'd love it if it was feasible. Leslie & The Furbabies in MO. "J*" wrote in message ... underfloor heating would work. j. "Leslie& The Furbabies in MO." wrote ... I like a cool bedroom but not a chilly bathroom. Is there a rating system for small electric space heaters (bathroom is about 12 ft. X 9 ft.) that rates how energy efficient they are? Is one type of electric heater more energy efficient than another? (This is for USA heaters and use, of course.) TIA! Leslie & The Furbabies in MO. |
#9
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OT electric space heaters
ah, sorry, didnt realize you had ceramic tiles down.
how about one of those 3 purpose ceiling things with lights, heater, 'suck out the humidity' fan. dont know what is available there. just thinking outloud. j. "Leslie& The Furbabies in MO." wrote ... I don't want to tear up the ceramic tiles on the bathroom floor- I'd love it if it was feasible. Leslie & The Furbabies in MO. "J*" wrote ... underfloor heating would work. j. |
#10
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OT electric space heaters
On Thu, 14 Oct 2010 18:07:20 -0500, Leslie&
The Furbabies in MO. wrote: I like a cool bedroom but not a chilly bathroom. Is there a rating system for small electric space heaters (bathroom is about 12 ft. X 9 ft.) that rates how energy efficient they are? Is one type of electric heater more energy efficient than another? (This is for USA heaters and use, of course.) No, anything affordable for space is going to be electric resistance heating of one flavor or another, and the COP (coefficient of performance) of electrical resistance heating is 1.0 You've got to get a little more exotic (like Peltier junction heaters or heat pumps) to get the COP over 1. The trick is to match the way you want to use the heat produced to the type of heater. In and out in a few, don't mind doing a bit of a dance to keep yourself from broiling or freezing? My first choice would be one of the radiant heaters like the Presto parabolic heaters. They focus the heat where you aim it. In the few minutes it's on, you can work up quite a sweat, but when you turn it off when you leave, you haven't actually heated much of the room, saving you $$$. The ceramic rod heaters scare me less in a bathroom than the Presto type heaters, fwiw. Top part of you does ok with chill, but you really, really hate cold feet? There are sealed heating mats that can go under tile or just put them on top of the floor. Leave them on a long time, and the whole room gets warm, which may also be what you want. Nice, even heat that, like all heat in rooms with little air circulation, collects at the ceiling and warms the guys upstairs instead of you. Add a small fan pointed straight up and you get the air moving and cut the power bills because you're not heating the upstairs room, or the roof. I don't find them useful in the short term because the heat isn't "instant", but they're lovely luxuries if you leave them on. Me, I guess I'm used to slippers, but they're DH's holy grail of bathroom heating. I keep threatening to get him a farrowing mat from the farm store. g Most of the fan heaters, like the old milkhouse heaters, blow too much air around for a small bathroom, and you get sort of a windchill effect going on... you really need to match the fan size to the room and keep it from blowing right on you. Don't mind cold feet, but you really want your back warm when you're cogitating on the state of the world? Maybe the old heat lamp type heaters that were common in motel bathrooms are more your style. Again, you're only using them part of the time, so the cost is lower compared to heating the entire bathroom up so everything is warm. Got little kids that you don't want getting burned or kicking over a heater? Or just no room to put a heater in? Then you might be looking at a baseboard heater or one of those thin radiators that you stick on the wall under the towel rack. Like the floor heaters, they're best left on so the whole room heats up. More of a cheapatarian than that? Take a look at the oil filled "radiator" heaters -- you heat up the oil in the radiator, it warms the room gently, worst of the electrical dangers nicely enclosed, not a huge footprint. Just make sure that the heater you get is rated for bathroom or wet area use, and properly connected. |
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