To fan or not to fan? It might not be the most significant of life’s questions, but when it comes to space heaters it can make a distinct difference in your comfort.
Space heaters, large or small, come into two major categories – those with fans, and those without fans. Which you choose will depend upon how you intend to use the heater, and the space you are intending to heat.
Fan-forced heating (including your central heating system, most likely) use a fan to push hot air from the heating element out into the room. The result is a direct stream of hot air coming from the heater at whatever the heater is pointed at. The advantage to this, of course, is that whatever the heater is pointed at is going to start feeling the benefits of that warmth almost immediately. When you’re cold and in need of a quick warm-up, this is a big plus.
The disadvantages?
- Fans are noisy.
- The air gets dryer faster.
- Your heating target will probably end up overheated before the rest of the room gets warm.
The alternative to fan-forced heating is a heater that relies on power of natural convection. You probably know the basic principal of convection from grade school: heat always rises. But did you know that the reason hot air rises is because the air molecules expand as they are heated, giving them greater buoyancy?
More importantly, as hot air rises, it pushes down cold air where it will in turn be warmed by the heater.
The end result is that the entire room is warmer, without the uneven “hot spots” that fan-forced heaters can create.
More advantages of heater that doesn’t use a fan include:
- Less noise
- No electricity diverted to run the fan – it all goes to heat
- Less dried out air
Of course there are a few disadvantages too, most notably that it will take a little longer to feel the effects of a convection heater, since the hot air goes up and not out, and it takes time to circulate the heat throughout the whole room. However, once the room has warmed up, it is warm all over, and much easier to keep it that way.
Overall, convection heaters are a much more effective way to heat a room than a fan-forced heater, especially if you are planning on being in a room for a while.
NewAir currently offers four different convection space heaters, with varying heat outputs to match the size of the room you want to warm out. From the smallest (the economical AH-400 under desk heater) to the largest (the powerful 1500 watt AH-600), we’ve got you covered – in warmth!
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