How do I know what heater to buy?

Author: Mina Reichel  |  Last update: Wednesday, July 30, 2025

Buying Considerations for Space Heaters Most heaters use between 600 and 1,500 watts of power per hour. The larger the wattage, the more heat it produces (and the more power it uses). Determine your room's square footage, then consult the heater's specifications to ensure it can efficiently—and safely—heat your space.

How do you figure out what size heater you need?

For example, a 300 square foot room typically requires 7,000 BTUs to maintain a comfortable temperature, while a 1,000 square foot room requires 18,000 BTUs. A simple formula to determine your heating needs is: (desired temperature change) x (cubic feet of space) x . 133 = BTUs needed per hour.

How big of a room will a 1500 watt heater heat?

In other words, a 1,500-watt heater will be great for a 250-square-foot room with central heat. If that same room had no other source of heat, you'd need a 2,000-watt heater.

What type of heater is best for indoors?

Ceramic Heaters

Since it runs off electricity and is portable, it's a great choice for heating in a home or office environment. Warm air over coil with ceramic and aluminum elements. Provide quick, powerful heat while fan housing stays cool. Works well in a small office, sunroom, kitchen or bedroom.

How do I choose a heater?

Use the below 4 easy steps to calculate the optimal heater size in watts per square foot, needed to reach a comfort room temperature of 70F.
  1. Select the heating zone your space is located in. ...
  2. Select the voltage required for your heater. ...
  3. Select the insulation values that best describes the insulation used in your space.

What's the most efficient type of electric heater?

What type of heater puts out the most heat?

What type of heater puts out the most heat? The type of heater that puts out the most heat depends on various factors, but generally, infrared heaters (such as the radiant heaters in this article) are known for emitting a significant amount of heat.

Are ceramic heaters better than infrared heaters?

Quartz infrared heaters offer very fast heat-up and cool down times. Ceramic heaters, however, require more time to heat circulating air and warm up the room via convection. Quartz heaters can be used to create quieter heating equipment as in most cases air movement from noisy convection blowers is not needed.

What is the safest heater to leave on all night?

What is the safest heater to leave on overnight? While it's not recommended to leave any space heater on if you're not monitoring it, oil-filled, radiant space heaters are considered safer than ceramic convection (hot air) types, according to Roberson. Both of these options are safer than open-coil heaters.

What size heater do I need for a 12x12 room?

The first technique is to simply figure the square footage of the space you want to heat. In warmer climates, multiply this number by 10 - 15. In more moderate climates, multiply by 20 - 30. And in cold climates multiply the square foot number by 30 - 40.

What is the difference between a 1500W and a 2000W heater?

Only the speed of heating will be more with 2000 watt. As far as the quanitity of hot water is same, you will need same heat content, for which same energy will be needed. For ex to provide 6000 Wh of heating, 1500 will take 4 hours and 2000 will take 3 hours.

What size room will a 1500 watt heater heat?

As a rule of thumb it will require about 10 watts for every square foot. So the 1500 watt will usually heat up to 150 square feet. Heating question - trying to understand what size heater to ... I am trying to understand in layman terms what this actually ...

What is the difference between a 1000W and 1500W heater?

1000 watts should warm up large bathrooms, small living rooms, or a small room. 1500 watts will heat spaces up to about 150 square feet and can help you stay warm and toasty in a medium-sized room, office, kitchen, or modest-sized living room.

What are the disadvantages of a ceramic heater?

Cons: Higher initial cost, bulkier design, hot external surfaces, and slower heat-up time.

Is a quartz or infrared heater better?

Actually, they are both infrared heaters, except quartz heaters emit higher temperatures with resistance wire inside a quartz tube. A quartz heater can reach the temperature for which it is designed in less than a second; however, this time and temperature can be hard to control.

What is the safest type of space heater?

Sealed combustion heaters are much safer to operate than other types of space heaters, and operate more efficiently because they do not draw in the heated air from the room and exhaust it to the outdoors. They are also less likely to backdraft and adversely affect indoor air quality.

What is the best type of indoor heater?

Radiant heaters are best if you want to heat an area very quickly. On the other hand, if you want to warm an entire room in your home, a convection heater is the better choice. If you're looking for a heater that can stand up to everyday use and abuse, combination heaters are tough to beat.

How much does it cost to run a 1500 watt heater for 24 hours?

Example (you can use an electric heater running cost calculator below for different wattages/kWh prices): If we assume the price of electricity is $0.1319 per kWh, a 1,500-watt electric space heater will cost; $0.20 to run per hour. $4.80 to run per 24 hours (day). $11.20 to run per week (8h/day).

What are the disadvantages of a quartz heater?

Disadvantages of Quartz Heaters: 1. Safety concerns: Although quartz heaters are generally safe to use, they can pose a risk of fire if they are not used properly. The quartz tube can get very hot, so it's important to make sure that it is not touching any flammable materials.

What is the cheapest heater to run?

What is the cheapest heater to run? We take a look at the options
  • 1) Halogen heaters. Halogen heaters use halogen gas inside a heating bulb and lamp. ...
  • 2) Oil-filled radiators. Oil-filled radiators work by using electricity to heat oil with an element inside a reservoir. ...
  • 3) Fan heaters.

Do plug-in heaters use a lot of electricity?

On average, space heaters use 1,500 watts of electricity.

Using a space heater 8 hours per day will use about 84 kilowatt-hours of electricity per week. It costs an average of $51.65 to run a space heater for a month and $258.26 to run for a year.

Is it cheaper to turn up the heat or use a space heater?

Using a space heater can be a good way to boost the temperature in a small, drafty room—and it could be less expensive than cranking up your central heating system. But a space heater is economical only if you use it judiciously.

Previous article
How far off the window should blinds be?
Next article
Can you stay in a house with black mold?