electric heat

[manlymatt83]

I have one of those electric heat baseboards in my bedroom that spans the entire length of one wall. I also have one in the living room. It's a small apartment, so it works well. I usually keep my hamper about 6 inches from it, but somehow the door in my bedroom must have pushed the hamper against the electric heater. Needless to say, after about 20 minutes the hamper was smokin' hot, and it almost felt warped.

Surely, these things can start fires right? Am I missing something? Should I not have anything on the same wall as the electric heater? But then where am I supposed to put 1/4th of my stuff?

 

[Red Squirrel]

I don't know if the surface gets hot enough to start a fire but I would rather not take chances! I'm sure it can melt stuff, or maybe even smolder certain materials which can then start a slow burning fire, almost like a dead camp fire still burns, but there's no flames.

If something small falls in the coil it's probably a bigger danger.

I prefer force air over baseboard, for the safety aspect. Though baseboard is more efficient if you only heat the rooms you want heated, and keep the others very low.

 

[0roo0roo]

cheap to install, but well it has its downsides as u found out.

 

[BoomerD]

Looks like the good folks in the Puget Sound area have your answers...

http://www.seattle.gov/fire/pubEd/brochures/homeHeatingSafety.pdf

http://www.piercefire.org/pcfd5/Home%20Heating Safety Tips.htm

 

[BoomerD]

WTF? double post.

 

[Sea Moose]

electric heaters are extremely power hungry and inefficient , if your going to upgrade get reverse cycle air conditioning... make sure you get an inverter.

 

[Jeff7]

electric heaters are extremely power hungry and inefficient , if your going to upgrade get reverse cycle air conditioning... make sure you get an inverter.

No, they are incredibly efficient, converting pretty much all of the power delivered to them into heat.
Where they're inefficient is monetarily - electric heat is generally the most expensive option, short of burning purebred puppies.


But yes, it's a very bad idea to put flammable things near a heat source.

 

[Sea Moose]

No, they are incredibly efficient, converting pretty much all of the power delivered to them into heat.
Where they're inefficient is monetarily - electric heat is generally the most expensive option, short of burning purebred puppies.


But yes, it's a very bad idea to put flammable things near a heat source.

i disagree with what you say, i suppose we will let rubycon decide who is right.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

electric heaters are extremely power hungry and inefficient , if your going to upgrade get reverse cycle air conditioning... make sure you get an inverter.

They are over 90% efficient. How is that inefficient? They cost more due to energy costs but don't ever call them inefficient.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

For what it is worth a co-worker saved a ton of money by using an electric space heater to heat only bedrooms at night.

 

[Sea Moose]

They are over 90% efficient. How is that inefficient? They cost more due to energy costs but don't ever call them inefficient.

I am looking at it through the cost goggles.

Ok, they are the most expensive way of heating your house. I would recommenced reverse cycle air conditioning. it is 300% more cost effective than any other form of heating... make sure you get an inverter.


is that better hater of your job?

 

[Born2bwire]

No, they are incredibly efficient, converting pretty much all of the power delivered to them into heat.
Where they're inefficient is monetarily - electric heat is generally the most expensive option, short of burning purebred puppies.


But yes, it's a very bad idea to put flammable things near a heat source.

D:

 

[Rubycon]

Variable speed compressor heat pumps are the most efficient way to heat a living space although many folks abhor them and limitations not to mention sticker shock at time of purchase!

Resistance baseboard heaters have clearance restrictions for a purpose! Keep the front and top obstruction free. The watt density is much lower than a portable 1500W "glowing wire" space heater so the risk of an actual fire is lower but don't do silly things like dry your trousers on them!

RE: efficiency. Well it's commonly known that an electric strip heater is very close to 100% efficient that all power used is converted to heat to do a specific job. (keep your butt warm! ) Problem is watt that power will cost you to purchase is higher than say if you have a natural gas pipe even though a non condensing furnace may allow 15% of the heat to go up the chimney.

 

[ShawnD1]

For what it is worth a co-worker saved a ton of money by using an electric space heater to heat only bedrooms at night

I'm doing something similar to this. I have the central heating turned way down but I have a lot of electrical devices in this room. 3 computers in this room are running F@H at 100% and all of the bulbs in this room are incandescent. House temperature is about 15C, but this room is about 30C.

Surely, these things can start fires right? Am I missing something? Should I not have anything on the same wall as the electric heater? But then where am I supposed to put 1/4th of my stuff?

You can turn down your wall heater if you heat the room from other locations. For the duration of winter, use incandescent bulbs instead of fluorescent. Get your computer to run something like F@H or even a stress test like Prime95 in the background to generate more heat. You can also try running a hardcore air filter; it cleans the air while it heats the room!

 

[HannibalX]

All my homes in Florida have had electric heat pumps but they get used so little it's hard to determine what the cost actually is.

When I lived in Tennessee way up in the mountains I also had an electric heat pump. House was 2,000 s/f, built in 1970 but had new a new roof, windows and insulation in 2003. Basically the electric t-stat was set to 65F and left there the entire winter. My electric bill was never over $125/month - that's with all the other electric load in the house as well. Now, compare that to people spending $400-600/month on heating oil or natural gas in my same town and electric is looking pretty cheap to me. I'll stick with electric.

Also, if you're wondering about the winter temps, it was -6F the day my son was born in January of 2009, yes it gets plenty cold in Tennessee.

 

[HannibalX]

Also, I can remember as a kid people using kerosene heaters and space heaters and at least once a week in the news someone had burned down their house.

 

[ShawnD1]

Also, I can remember as a kid people using kerosene heaters and space heaters and at least once a week in the news someone had burned down their house.

I remember this happening with electric blankets malfunctioning as well. This was the reason my parents never allowed me to have one.
They also threw out my space heater because it was a fire hazard. It was $20 at Home Depot and made in China so they were probably right.

 

[FoBoT]

electric heaters are extremely safe


in the summer time

 

[0roo0roo]

electric heaters are extremely safe


in the summer time

try warming your balls on one sometime..