According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, space heaters are involved in more than a thousand home fires every year.
The duration for which you can leave a space heater running depends on the time of day and your specific needs. During the Day: It's safe to leave your heater on for 6-8 hours if you're in the room. If you're busy or moving between rooms, consider using a timer to automatically shut it off after a few hours.
Fire is a standard covered peril under most homeowners insurance policies. Therefore, a space heater itself and damage caused by a space heater are likely covered up to your policy limits.
Generally, it's completely normal that a heater has a burning smell when first turned on, and you don't need to worry! In most cases, this odor dissipates in an hour or so. As long as the smell of burning doesn't continue for more than a day, this odor is just a normal occurrence.
Running a space heater overnight increases the risk of fire. If the unit is left unattended or placed too close to flammable materials, such as curtains or bedding, it can ignite and lead to a devastating fire.
Space heaters must have an automatic safety switch (tip-over switch) that turns the unit off if it is tipped over. Space heaters must have a thermostatic control which ensures that the unit will turn itself off and pre vent overheating or creating an electrical hazard.
Oil filled radiator space heaters are some of the safest on the market. 1500W is all the juice an outlet will provide (Roughly 5,000 btus).
To put out a space heater fire, unplug the heater. Leave it in place, and smother the flames with a fire extinguisher. Be ready to evacuate and call 911 if the fire gets out of control. After extinguishing a space heater fire, call your homeowners insurance agent, and start the claims process.
Electrical fires can start almost instantly, take years to develop, or begin in any amount of time in between. In seconds an electrical arc can combust flammable material or gases—causing a fire almost instantly. In minutes an electrical heater can tip onto a flammable carpet and produce enough heat for it to burn.
Turn the power off if you can. Throw a fire blanket over the heater if you have one, or use a dry-powder extinguisher. Do not use any liquid extinguisher on an electrical fire. Raise the alarm unless you are 100% sure that you have the fire controlled straight away.
A safety hazard is any unsafe working condition that causes injury, illness, or death. Hazards typically vary depending on injury and project. OSHA standards provide an excellent baseline for hazard prevention.
0:30 - Fire ignites and grows rapidly. 1:04 - From first flame, fire spreads and smoke begins to fill room. 1:35 - Smoke layer descends rapidly, temperature exceeds 190°F. 1:50 - Smoke detector at foot of stairs alarms.
Electric space heaters often trip circuit breakers in homes due to their large power demands. When multiple electric space heaters are used at the same time, even more electricity is drawn from the home's electrical system. This can quickly overload a home's wiring and cause a circuit breaker to trip.
Don't Leave It Unattended
Many space heater fires happen when the heaters are left running while homeowners are sleeping or not home. When it's time to leave the room or go to bed, turn the space heater off and unplug it, too.
2. Never leave a space heater running overnight. Space heaters are only meant to run for a few hours, and you should never leave one running overnight. The risk of it falling over, shorting out, or catching your room on fire are just too great.
A furnace's thermostat controls the rest of the heating system. If it's broken or malfunctioning, it could cause your furnace to turn off at random. The leading cause for a thermostat's breakdown can usually be attributed to frayed or old wiring or to depleted batteries.
That being said, ceramic space heaters are safe to leave on all night because the outside shell does not heat up and thus remains cool, posing no harm to you or your family. Ceramic heaters are among the safest heaters to use throughout the night.
Space heaters can take anywhere from 750 watts to 3,000 watts to operate. Large space heaters take immense amounts of energy to run. However, those are most likely used only in commercial and industrial settings. The average residential space heater has two main heat settings, low and high.
Space heaters can't sit on any surface that can easily scorch or catch on fire. That means you can never place one on a carpet or rug.
Electrical Overload
The heat resistant chemicals and plastics used in outlets, wiring insulation, or circuits can, when overheated, produce a smell. Some say it smells fishy, or like urine, or metallic. You should give immediate attention to this smell.
While there are many causes, electrical fires can smell like “burning plastic” or “burning rubber” as the plastic insulation surrounding copper wires inside the walls starts to heat and melt, releasing strong unpleasant chemical odors. If the electrical fire progresses, you may begin to smell wood burning as well.
The burning smell that you notice when you turn your heater on for the first time each winter is the smell of dust burning off the vents, registers, and heat exchangers. This accumulated layer of dust heats up quickly when the furnace fires up and creates a distinctive odor as it burns off.