Is an infrared or ceramic heater better?

Author: Eunice Towne  |  Last update: Friday, September 5, 2025

Infrared heaters offer substantial long-term savings for targeted heating areas, with lower operational and maintenance costs. Ceramic heaters provide a cost-effective heating solution for smaller, enclosed spaces, with low initial costs and efficient power usage for maintaining ambient warmth.

What are the disadvantages of ceramic heaters?

Pros: Instant heat, accurate spot heating, effectiveness in small spaces, and convenient portability. Cons: Noise from fans, harder to clean, difficulty maintaining steady temperatures, and quick cooling after shutdown.

Do infrared heaters use a lot of electricity?

But don't worry, infrared heaters are incredibly efficient. They're designed to keep a space warm while using as little electricity as possible.

Is infrared the same as ceramic?

Infrared panels and ceramic heaters both create warmth by using a length of resistive wire, which heats up and projects heat out into the room. However, the wire in ceramic heaters is thicker and reaches far higher temperatures compared to an infrared panel so they can create a stronger form of warmth.

Do ceramic heaters use a lot of electricity?

Energy-Saving Features

Space heaters tend to use a lot of electricity and energy only to heat up a small portion of space. However, ceramic heaters tend to be the most energy-efficient option among different types of heaters.

Ceramic Heater vs Infrared Heater - Which is BETTER for YOU?

Which is better, a ceramic or infrared heater?

Infrared heaters, being nearly 100% efficient and having no moving parts, direct all of the consumed power to generate heat. Ceramic heaters, in contrast, need power for both the heating element and the fan, and only provide heat indirectly, increasing energy consumption and potentially raising electricity bills.

What type of heater is the cheapest to run?

Generally speaking, Halogen heaters are one of the most inexpensive types of electric heater. They average around 1200W in terms of power output and because they provide instant-heat at close quarters, you shouldn't need to leave them on for long periods of time.

Is an infrared space heater the best?

Infrared heaters are more energy efficient than electric space heaters. They still use electricity to run, however, and while your bill might be lower, energy use depends on the size of your machine and how much power it uses. This means some infrared heaters can use as much electricity as conventional heaters.

Do ceramic heaters emit infrared radiation?

Ceramic elements operate in the temperature of 300°C to 700°C (572°F – 1292°F) producing infrared wavelengths in the 2 – 10 micron range. Most plastics and many other materials absorb infrared best in this range, which makes the ceramic heater the most popular infrared radiant emitter on the market.

Which is better infrared or electric fireplace?

While fan-forced heating can successfully heat up to 400 square feet, infrared heaters are capable of heating up to 1,000 square feet. Also, because infrared isn't directional, it more evenly heats the entirety of a room, creating an ideal solution to warm the rooms you use most.

Why is infrared heating not popular?

We understand why people look at infrared heating—it sounds energy efficient. But in reality, infrared heaters need to stay on longer to maintain warmth, and because they only heat what they directly touch, they often end up using more energy than expected.

Can I leave infrared heater on all the time?

To give you the quick answer, the majority of good infrared heating panels are designed with safety and efficiency in mind, allowing them to be left on throughout the day without major safety issues or costing you a small fortune.

Can I run a ceramic heater all night?

At Night: If you choose to use your space heater overnight, it's best to limit its operation to 4 to 6 hours on a lower setting.

Why are ceramic heaters so good?

Ceramic heaters contain heating elements that offer far greater resistance than traditional metal units, this allows for the radiator to generate more heat per watt. With more heat being generated per watt, the ceramic heater will be cheaper to run as operation time required will be less.

What is the best type of 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.

Which is better ceramic or infrared?

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.

Are infrared heaters healthy?

Far infrared heating is 100% safe and this has been backed up by numerous studies. Including those done by the Swedish National Institute of Radiation Protection. Although our infrared heaters generate the same sort of heat as the sun, no harmful UV rays are projected from our panels.

Is it safe to leave a ceramic heater on unattended?

Never leave a space heater unattended. Turn it off when you're leaving a room or going to sleep, and don't let pets or children play too close to a space heater.

What is the safest 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.

Which is better, an infrared or convection heater?

With the same efficiency, an infrared heater consumes 30% less energy than a convection radiator. The choice is yours, let your apartment, office or country house will always be comfortable and warm!

Do infrared heaters heat the whole room?

As objects in the room absorb infrared heat and emit it back out into the room via convection, the air will gradually warm. A room that's low on insulation and high on draughts though will allow more heat to escape which will quickly cool down any air-warming benefits. However, in the right room it can work nicely.

What kind of heater uses the least electricity?

If you want to save money on your heating costs, then an infrared heater is the best type of heater to choose. An infrared heater will use less electricity than any other type of heater, and so it will be cheaper to run. Not only that, but an infrared heater will also provide you with a more efficient form of heat.

What is the cheapest way to heat a room?

What's the cheapest way to heat your home?
  • Gas boiler.
  • Gas boiler and solar thermal panels.
  • Oil boiler.
  • Electric combi boiler.
  • Air source heat pump.
  • Biomass boiler.
  • Infrared heating panels.
  • Wood burner.

Previous article
How do you keep wood termites free?
Next article
How to check if an ionizer is working?