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All basic 1500W space heaters are the same?

energy efficiency, they can consume same amount of energy but output less heat... I go with brand names, Costco is a good place IMHO...
 
Some are the "radiant" design where the elements warm the air and you nicely if you stand close, others are forced-fan where a fan blows across the element to circulate air through the heater and warm the room quicker..
 
Not all the same. Energy efficiency and safety features will be important, they use a lot of juice and are pretty serious fire hazards. Shopping carefully now will save you a lot of money down the road and could save a whole lot more than that.
 
herm0016 said:
why?


ceramic, ni-crome wire, quartz radiant, halogen... fan or fanless? of course different designs will have different efficiencies and have different heat transfer characteristics. I prefeer quartz radiant designs like this:

http://www.shopping.com/Mat-Prismatic-Quartz-Tower-Heater-14w-x-9-3-4d-x-24h-22461279/info
Click to expand...
Considering they all convert to heat I can't imagine there's waste. Heat is usually the waste. I'm sure some are more efficient at heating a room because of how they distribute the head but I'd expect the output is almost identical.
 
GagHalfrunt said:
Not all the same. Energy efficiency and safety features will be important, they use a lot of juice and are pretty serious fire hazards. Shopping carefully now will save you a lot of money down the road and could save a whole lot more than that.
Click to expand...

Well there are many choices but they all operate by electric current heating up some kind of element so it would be difficult for one brand to have a large difference in efficiency vs another. Your right about safety though, the cheaper you go the less safety features get put in the heater and they are inherently dangerous..
 
Phoenix86 said:
Considering they all convert to heat I can't imagine there's waste. Heat is usually the waste. I'm sure some are more efficient at heating a room because of how they distribute the head but I'd expect the output is almost identical.
Click to expand...
Exactly this. Heat energy is the lowest form. With the exception of radio waves and really loud music, if it spins the meter it is in the house. It does not escape except as heat.
What you do with that heat is different. Where you place it in the house, how it is insulated, how many windows, those things.
OP, I'd buy a heater that had good tip over and overheat safety features. Don't listen to any claims about efficiency as they are patently false. That is if you believe in science.
 
I have some tiny Sharper Image one that barely does anything. Maybe raises the room temp by 1-2 degrees.. I cant even burn my hand if I touch the front of it.
 
Why don't you buy a decked-out Socket 2011 rig with three high-end graphics cards, overclock the whole thing, and use that as a space heater? Running Distributed Computing projects for science and the good of humanity of course.

That's how I've heated my apt in past years during the winter. (Well, not Socket 2011, but whatever computers I had on hand.)
 
VirtualLarry said:
Why don't you buy a decked-out Socket 2011 rig with three high-end graphics cards, overclock the whole thing, and use that as a space heater? Running Distributed Computing projects for science and the good of humanity of course.

That's how I've heated my apt in past years during the winter. (Well, not Socket 2011, but whatever computers I had on hand.)
Click to expand...

Buy a piledriver rig, it will cost less and produce more heat.
 
VirtualLarry said:
Why don't you buy a decked-out Socket 2011 rig with three high-end graphics cards, overclock the whole thing, and use that as a space heater? Running Distributed Computing projects for science and the good of humanity of course.

That's how I've heated my apt in past years during the winter. (Well, not Socket 2011, but whatever computers I had on hand.)
Click to expand...

A single space heater or 9 different computers all running simultaneously, I'd just buy the $30 space heater..
 
VirtualLarry said:
This goes for computers too!
Click to expand...


Except heat pumps are over 100% efficient! (when it comes to how much energy you put in to the house vs how much electricity you use). 100% efficient for heat is extremely poor. (I know, efficiency is never used when describing a heat pump for this very reason)
 
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Ferzerp said:
Except heat pumps are over 100% efficient! (when it comes to how much energy you put in to the house vs how much electricity you use). 100% efficient for heat is extremely poor. (I know, efficiency is never used when describing a heat pump for this very reason)
Click to expand...

Compared to forced-air electric heat pumps are of course more efficient, anything else is, we have electric strip heater in our air handler, I try to use it as little as possible because of the huge power bills that follow..
 
BUTCH1 said:
Compared to forced-air electric heat pumps are of course more efficient, anything else is, we have electric strip heater in our air handler, I try to use it as little as possible because of the huge power bills that follow..
Click to expand...

Indeed, but it's very important to make the clarification because you all to often see silly claims that high power draw PCs are "free" in the winter due to resistive heat which is just silly because that's the most expensive kind of heating with electricity. They're usually made un-ironically, and make me think that people really don't understand this.
 
I had this thread before and it was pretty much a mirror image. Several people saying to go for nice brand name ones and everyone else saying 1W of heat is 1W of heat.

I would go for a SAFE model!
 
VirtualLarry said:
Why don't you buy a decked-out Socket 2011 rig with three high-end graphics cards, overclock the whole thing, and use that as a space heater? Running Distributed Computing projects for science and the good of humanity of course.

That's how I've heated my apt in past years during the winter. (Well, not Socket 2011, but whatever computers I had on hand.)
Click to expand...

I can attest to this. My studio at work is literally a poorly ventilated closet. Between the four computers and the lights in there, that thing is like an oven, cooking me with soothing warmth. I'll be glad when they're done renovating and I get a proper workspace.

BUTCH1 said:
Compared to forced-air electric heat pumps are of course more efficient, anything else is, we have electric strip heater in our air handler, I try to use it as little as possible because of the huge power bills that follow..
Click to expand...

Ugh, electricity is the worst way you could heat your home. My natural gas bill is never high enough to ever justify using space heaters. Especially since electricity rates have skyrocketed in Ontario over the past few years.

The only difference is how they heat. Convective heaters heat the air while radiant heaters heat objects. The latter is more instant but works best if pointed at you. They're intended for poorly insulated and outdoor environments. A lot of people swear by oil heaters. They supposedly heat a room faster since they have more surface area. They're also safer since the heating element is protected form anything that could be flammable.
 
mmntech said:
I can attest to this. My studio at work is literally a poorly ventilated closet. Between the four computers and the lights in there, that thing is like an oven, cooking me with soothing warmth. I'll be glad when they're done renovating and I get a proper workspace.



Ugh, electricity is the worst way you could heat your home. My natural gas bill is never high enough to ever justify using space heaters. Especially since electricity rates have skyrocketed in Ontario over the past few years.

The only difference is how they heat. Convective heaters heat the air while radiant heaters heat objects. The latter is more instant but works best if pointed at you. They're intended for poorly insulated and outdoor environments. A lot of people swear by oil heaters. They supposedly heat a room faster since they have more surface area. They're also safer since the heating element is protected form anything that could be flammable.
Click to expand...

Back when my house was built (1973) heat pumps were not an option and here in FL the heating requirements are much lower than Canada. Home builders loved electric strip heating, cheap to install and no chimneys to build, unfortunately electric rates have gone WAY up so I bought a portable propane heater and use it during really cold spells, when my AC needs to be replaced it will be a heat pump unit, I'd do it now but it's $4,000 for a complete system.. :|
 
Ferzerp said:
Indeed, but it's very important to make the clarification because you all to often see silly claims that high power draw PCs are "free" in the winter due to resistive heat which is just silly because that's the most expensive kind of heating with electricity. They're usually made un-ironically, and make me think that people really don't understand this.
Click to expand...

Thing is if it's cold outside the extra heat generated by the rig will not be wasted because your using a heater to heat the house anyway, kinda like using the oven, I try and not use it during the summer as you have to pay to heat up the oven then pay again for your AC system to remove the extra heat, a good quality gas grill is a huge money saver in the summer, I use it (and a charcoal one) a lot during those months..
 
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