Yes, space heaters can cause breathing problems, primarily through dry air, circulating allergens, or toxic gas emissions.
Depending upon the level and duration of exposure, respiratory effects range from slight irritation to burning and chest pain, coughing, and shortness of breath. In addition, repeated exposure to elevated levels of nitrogen dioxide may contribute to bronchitis.
Dry Air and Respiratory Issues
Prolonged use of space heaters can lead to dry air in your home, which can cause a range of respiratory issues. Dry air can irritate the respiratory tract, leading to coughing, sore throats, and even exacerbating conditions like asthma.
While these devices are essential for maintaining a cozy environment, they can also impact your respiratory health if not used properly. Indoor heaters can reduce air quality, aggravate respiratory conditions, and contribute to issues like dry air and indoor pollution.
Like humidity, heaters pull moisture from the air, which can irritate your throat and lungs. This dry air can make it harder for you to comfortably breathe. If you're using a heater in the winter months to stay cool, be sure to keep the room well-ventilated to maintain proper humidity levels.
Respiratory symptoms are considered "red flags" when they indicate severe breathing difficulty, insufficient oxygen levels, or the presence of a serious underlying disease. These warning signs require urgent medical evaluation.
Smoke and fumes can also trigger an asthma attack. These include fumes from gas, wood, or kerosene stoves as well as fireplaces and space heaters. All fuel-burning appliances such as these can produce nitrogen dioxide.
Unfortunately, they can pose significant fire and electric shock hazards if not used properly. Fire and electrical hazards can be caused by space heaters without adequate safety features, space heaters placed near combustibles, or space heaters that are improperly plugged in.
It takes time for your home to warm up and cool down. If you're not sure how long it takes, try turning the heating on about 30 minutes before you need it. You should turn it off 30 minutes before you'll stop needing it.
Cigarette smoking is the major cause of lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Cigarette smoke can narrow the air passages and make breathing more difficult.
Space heater "poisoning" typically refers to carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning, which occurs when fuel-burning heaters (propane, kerosene, or natural gas) burn incompletely or are used in poorly ventilated areas. CO is a colorless, odorless gas that prevents your blood from carrying oxygen, causing suffocation from within.
Carbon Monoxide
This toxic, odorless gas can build up if you have poor ventilation or there's a fault in your exhaust system. In small amounts, it can give you headaches and nausea.
"Heater sickness," often called the "furnace flu," refers to cold-like symptoms—like a stuffy nose, sore throat, cough, or headache—triggered by using indoor heating. It is usually caused by dry air, airborne allergens blown out of dirty ducts, or, in severe cases, carbon monoxide leaks.
Symptoms to Watch For
If you're experiencing frequent headaches, dizziness, nausea, or flu-like symptoms, your heater could be the culprit. Dry skin, irritated eyes, or worsening allergies are also common signs that your heating system might be circulating dust, mold, or other allergens.
Hot air is known to promote airway inflammation and make respiratory disorders worse while humid air can activate sensory nerve fibers in the lungs, which leads to the narrowing of the airway.
Shortness of breath (dyspnea) is difficult to self-diagnose, but specific clues can help distinguish whether the root cause is cardiac or pulmonary.
In most homes, Heating and Cooling (HVAC) systems drive the highest energy costs, accounting for nearly 40% to 50% of your total electricity bill. Following these, the appliances that run up your bill the most include water heaters, refrigerators, and laundry machines.
A detailed study from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory found residents preferred a wintertime heater setting between 67 °F and 70 °F (19 °C to 21 °C). The Department of Energy recommends a winter heat setting of 68 °F (20 °C), which matches up very well with the temperatures most of us are comfortable with.
Heating and energy expert Stephen Hankinson said that one "big energy cost saver" is to make sure you have your heating off when you're not at home. For instance, if you typically arrive home from work at around 6pm on weekdays, you could set your heating to activate just as you walk through the door.
The biggest threat associated with space heaters is fire. In fact, each year space heaters are responsible for about 55,000 fires, 450 deaths, and more than 1,500 injuries.
The safest space heaters are oil-filled radiators and modern ceramic heaters with built-in safety features like tip-over sensors, automatic overheat shutoff, and cool-touch exteriors. Always choose models that are ETL or UL certified and keep them at least three feet away from flammable items.
Your skin is getting too warm though and you will start getting a skin rash due to heat + dryness (caused by heat). If you keep sitting there, eventually the skin will start to crack and you could get a rash/infection.
Asthma isn't directly caused by your house, but your home environment is filled with airborne allergens and irritants that trigger asthma attacks. Common household culprits include dust mites, pet dander, mold, cockroaches, chemical fumes from cleaning products, and secondhand smoke.
Pneumonia and asthma are both considered a type of pulmonary disease affecting the lungs. Asthma is considered a long-term respiratory disease while pneumonia is short-term. Unlike asthma, pneumonia is often contagious and may require antibiotics. We now know people with asthma are susceptible to pneumonia.
Electric heating methods (such as panel heaters, radiant heaters and hydronic heaters) may be better forms of heating for people with asthma as they don't emit or circulate smoke, gases or dust.