According to Service Magic, the electric heat produced by baseboard heaters will not dry out a room as much as heaters that blow the air into a room via heater vents. Electric baseboard heat radiates much like a furnace that uses water radiators to heat.
While heating up the air will lower the relative humidity (since relative humidity is dependent on temperature), the absolute humidity shouldn't change.
If you have a high-efficiency furnace, a humidifier is required as these devices will deplete any humidity in the home. Extremely low levels of moisture put you at risk of dry skin and irritated airways.
Heaters do not take moisture out of the air itself. However, once the air is warmed past a certain point, it can absorb a lot of moisture. It then draws moisture away from your body, making your skin feel much drier. Essentially, heaters cause much lower levels of relative humidity.
All the moisture we put into it by our daily living activities leaves too. All a gas furnace does more than a heat pump is create a faster heat loss, leading to a dryer house than one with a heat pump. Why?
No Dry Heat. Unlike conventional heaters that draw moisture out of the air as a part of their heating process, infrared heaters don't produce dry heat.
The uneven heating through an electric heater can cause cool spots to occur, possibly dropping temperatures to below dew point at some areas, creating condensation. Make sure your dryer and bathroom fans vent to the outside, that you cover your pots with lids when cooking, and take shorter showers as needed.
The use of heaters in winter can dry out the air leading to another health problem, dehydration.
Our throats tend to dry out the most at night because that's when our heaters run the most, and a lot of us will unknowingly breathe through our mouths while sleeping.
One crucial element that people often miss is the humidifier. Your heater and humidifier should actually work together. They make your home comfortable during the cooler months.
Answer: No, space heaters don't dry out and dehumidify the air in your room. However, the increase in temperature will cause the relative humidity to go down.
A humidifier will not only fight the dry skin that usually accompanies winter, it will also make your home feel warmer. The humidity in your home should be between 30% and 50%, and if it's too low the dry air will feel cooler. Conversely, the more moisture that is in the air, the warmer it will feel.
The ideal relative humidity for health and comfort is somewhere between 30-50% humidity, according to the Mayo Clinic. This means that the air holds between 30-50% of the maximum amount of moisture it can contain.
You may be surprised to learn that a heat pump acts as a dehumidifier for your home. In warm weather, it functions much like an air conditioner, removing moisture from the air via condensation and sending the resulting water down a drain.
Don't leave your heater on in an unattended room.
"Never keep your portable electric heater on when you are sleeping; it's not worth it," Notini says.
A modern space heater can be very safe to keep on for long unsupervised periods of time, including while sleeping. Be sure your heater is certified by one of the three major testing organizations and has features like automatic shutoff, tip over protection, a shut off timer, and adjustable thermostat.
Unfortunately, this is not a good idea during the heat peak hours. Opening the windows when the it is scorching hot we can get the opposite effect - instead of lowering the temperature we will increase it because the cool air from our rooms will be replaced by the hot air from the outside.
2. Preventing mold through heating. It makes sense that people want to save on heating cost, but one of the best mold prevention techniques is keeping your heating on. If you seriously want to avoid mold in your home then avoid rooms cooling completely.
Heating. Being smart about your heating can also help prevent damp. Some people believe that the warmer their house is, the less likely it is to attract damp.
Central Heating can dry out our skin
And while they do a great job at keeping us warm, they also blast hot, dry air that can dry out and damage our skin.
Infrared heaters require no oxygen from the room, and they often reduce the need for humidifiers during the winter, as they do not dry out the air.
Less expensive to operate: Almost everywhere in the country, natural gas is significantly cheaper than electricity. If you live in a cold climate and run your heater a lot during the winter, a gas furnace can save you money over the long run.