Most Efficient Electric Heater

[spanuts]

1000 watt heater on for 1 hour makes 3412 btu's of heat
1500 watt heater on for 1 hour makes 5118 btu's of heat

[Okiedoke]

Originally Posted by nothermark

FWIW you are not quite correct about fan heaters. There is a couple per cent loss in moving the air as opposed to heat loss from the motor. It is not a big deal but it is real.

Aside from that I would cycle down fan heaters not on a thermostat. There is a lot of heat stored in the heater assembly that shortens the life of the coils when just shut off. Kick the fan to low for a half minute or more to cool the core.

Oil filled do not have that problem as the oil is soaking up the heat. Their real "secret" is the large thermal mass of the oil keeps the heat from spiking high. The other side is that they take longer to heat the area.

Even doubt this claim as any loss from moving air is due to friction (think of falling object through atmosphere). Friction=heat.

[Monacoach]

Electric heaters are dangerous on the high setting and useless on the low setting. I use the furnace and heatpumps and or lots of blankets.

[nothermark]

Originally Posted by Okiedoke

Even doubt this claim as any loss from moving air is due to friction (think of falling object through atmosphere). Friction=heat.

As I recall from a long ago physics class it is real enough to skewer a smart ass student but not enough to be a big deal. I no longer have a desire to do the math as it was a long time ago and some old notes I recently tossed looked like gibberish to me now. ;-)

[jauguston]

We use a Mr Heater Buddy propane heater plumbed to our 40' coach propane tank. Have been doing this for eight years. 4000 btu on low 9000 btu on high. Certified safe for use in enclosed spaces for human occupation using the prescribed outside air access that is equivelent of a 3" diameter hole. We crack open a roof vent to provide that. No electricity required.

Jim

[Cat320]

Originally Posted by jauguston

I believe portable electric heaters are limited to a maximum of 1500w by law. The 20 dollar ones and the multi-hundred dollar ones are all the same potential output.

Jim

Yep, same for the high dollar RV "fire places." They look good but still can only put out 1500w of energy.

[dirko]

Hi Ho: While it is true that electric heaters are 100% efficient electricity is usually way more expensive than, for example, natural gas. The Amish claim to save money by limiting the amount the furnace operates. In a large house (and to a lesser extent) even an RV, what really happens is that the electric heater warms the area where people are located more than the rest of the house (or RV). So, it may be 72 degrees there and 62 degrees in the rest of the house. This may actually save money over trying to maintain 72 degrees everywhere, even with the relative high cost of electricity.

In many Rv parks the electricity isn't metered and is therefore "free". Of course it is included in the cost of the RV parking space. So, heating with electricity may be advantageous since you are paying for it anyway. Otherwise another form of heat is probably less expensive.

[Bigd9]

Consumers Reports did a comparison on electric heaters in October 2014 page 40 & 41. Check it out as it does contain valuable information and answers some of the Old Wives Tails that are floating around. If you don't subscribe, copies of this magazine can be found in most libraries.