subject: How To Find The Best Electric Heating For Your Home [print this page] There is a plethora of electrical heating options in today's market. How to find the best Electric Heating for your home is therefore extremely complicated.
Set out below are various types of modern electrical home heating systems. Once you have chosen the heating type you most desire, you will need to consider whether it is actually suitable for your heating needs. Only then will you be able to start the search for the right model for your home. Bear in mind the actual size of the space needed to be heated and the relative costs involved, such as installation fees, power usage and upkeep.
Heat is radiated in two different ways - radiation and convection. Radiation heating has absolutely nothing to do with nuclear radiation - it simply means that heat rays travel in a straight line. Convection heating moves heated air upwards.
Set out below are various radiation, convection and underfloor heating options.
Plug-in Heaters
These are the most basic of all space heaters and are expensive to run - at about three to four times the cost of mains gas. Some have thermostats which control the amount of heat given off, thus making them slight cheaper to use. There are no installation costs with this type of heating, but are quiet and could cause a fire.
Fan Heaters
These are best used for small areas. They are fast-heating, but are generally quite noisy and may be a fire risk. There are no installation costs involved with this type of heating.
Convection Heaters
These heaters are quiet and also run a risk of fire, but less so than fan heaters.
Halogen heaters
These heaters produce the highest percentage of radiated heat. They have an insulated lamp, which makes it safe. It does not give off high heat (400w per bar is typical), therefore reducing the risk of fire.
Some larger heating options are:
Electric fireplaces
These fireplaces are made look as if a real fire is burning in the hearth, by the use of holograms or images of flames reflected by a mirror. They are a decorative, yet expensive, decor addition to ones home. Running costs of this system are not expensive, as they only use about 1400w.
Underfloor heaters
This is a radiating system of heating using either a ribbon or a cable mat which is installed under tiles, carpets and wooden floors. They give off an even heat and warm up very quickly. Both versions are used as a primary source of heat, have an integrated earth for safety and use 150W/m2.
Central heating
This system uses a pump-driven radiator system of circulating either heated water or heated air through a system of pipes which are connected to radiators in each room of the house. Radiators may be closed where heating is not required. In the water based system, the same water is used continuously (and replaced from a water supply when necessary), whereas with the air system, new air is continuously drawn into the pipes.
