Do Space Heaters use a lot of electricity?
There is nothing better than a nice, solid space heater that heats evenly throughout a room when it is snowing outside on a wonderful freezing evening. Most people go after a space heater because they’d rather run an energy-efficient heater in the space rather than turn up their furnace and let their heating bill go through the roof!
Space heaters and fan combos can and will save you from a headache of high heating bills come to the wintertime but the key is to get the right type of heater.
Types of Space Heaters
When looking to save money on electricity and bills you have to choose the right type of heaters. There are many different options, brands & designs out there to choose from. The two main ones that are well talked about are Ceramic Heaters & Infrared Heaters.
Ceramic Heaters
In short, ceramic heaters generate heat using a heater element called PTC which means a positive temperature coefficient. It uses convection to heat the air with a fan that goes through the heating element causing hot air to come out and heat the space
Infrared Space Heaters
IR Heaters compared to ceramic heaters primarily do not warm the air, infrared heaters usually heat objects around them. The infrared thermal waves radiate the energy along the walls, floors, and ceiling. The heat is stored there and is released over time to evenly heat the room.
Consumption of electricity by space heaters
Back to the important issue, typical heaters usually use around 1500 watts of electricity. Some may vary and go all the way down to 500 Watts but the average space heater that you’ll buy to heat a large room should be 1500 Watts.
Figuring out the use of electricity in Space heaters
When you know how much watts your space heater uses you can then figure out how much electricity it will use. Say your unit is 1500 watts and you want to use it 5 hours a day.
Formula: 1500 watts x 5 hours = 7500-watt hours
You will then need to divide your watt-hours by 1000 kilowatts because that’s what energy companies charge you money for!
7500 watt-hours / 1000 kilowatts = 7.5
Now go look at the rate your energy charges per consumption. On average they charge .50 cents per consumption so for 5 hours a day to run your space heater it’ll cost:
7.50 x .50 cents = $3.75 a day to run your space heater and fan combo.
Final Thoughts
If you buy the heater and cooler fan that is well made and energy efficient then you can be happy and warm in the long and short run. Most people concluded that infrared heaters are the safest and most energy-efficient heaters on the market because of the way they heat the floor, ceiling, and walls and not just the air in the room. They are more costly but in the long run, they will last, save you money and provide you heat that elevates your room into a room of luxury.
