In winter, the weather is cold. Whether it is used as a supplement in areas with centralized heating or for daily heating in areas without heating, choosing a good electric heater is very important. There are a wide variety of electric heater brands and types on the current market. What aspects should be noted when choosing? Now let's take a detailed look.
I. Classification of Electric Heaters
Nowadays, the styles of electric heaters can be roughly divided into various types such as small sun heaters, warm air fans, European-style quick-heating stoves, skirting board heaters and oil-filled radiators. The main principles are PTC heaters, convection heaters, graphene heaters and quartz tube heaters. Each type of heater has its own characteristics.
1. Sun Heater
Sun Heater should be the cheapest electric heater. The sun heater relies on infrared radiation to heat the local area. It is compact in size, heats up quickly, and usually costs only a few dozen yuan. However, it has certain risks of scalding and fire, and the strong light is rather dazzling. Moreover, its heating range is relatively narrow. Therefore, it is generally not recommended for household use.
2. Warm air blower
The warm air blower achieves uniform heating throughout the house through forced convection by a fan. It is relatively safe and has no dazzling light. The heating range is also larger than that of a small sun. However, the warm air blower is relatively noisy and the location of the air outlet is rather dry, making it unsuitable for use in quiet Spaces such as bedrooms.
3. European-style fast heating furnace
The European-style rapid heating furnace utilizes the principle of air convection where hot air rises relatively gently to achieve a fanless design. It features zero noise during operation, no open flame, and no oxygen consumption. Moreover, the European-style fast-heating stove has a high thermal efficiency, is compact in size, and supports wall-mounted or desktop placement, etc. It also has IPX2 or IPX4 waterproof certification, making it suitable for use in bathrooms and offering relatively high safety.
4. Baseboard heater
One of the most popular types of heaters on the market at present, its principle is similar to that of the European-style quick heating stove. However, the skirting board heater is slender in shape, and its height and shape are almost the same as those of the skirting boards at home. The skirting board heater takes up little space, has a large heating area, heats up steadily and makes no noise. It is especially suitable for heating in large Spaces such as living rooms and bedrooms.
5. Oil-filled radiator
Electric oil-filled radiators generate heat through the circulation of heat transfer oil inside, and their principle is similar to that of the radiators used in northern winters. The advantage of oil-filled radiators lies in their ability to continuously dissipate heat for 2 to 3 hours even after power failure. Moreover, they have a wide range of functions, such as drying clothes and small items, making them highly practical. They are especially suitable for the elderly, children, and others to use.
However, the disadvantages of oil-filled radiators are also quite obvious, such as being relatively heavy, having a slower heating rate, and taking up more space. In addition, some oil-filled radiators may emit an oily smell during use.
Ii. Basic Elements for Selecting an Electric Heater
1. Power and room area
Electric heaters should not be chosen to be too large or too small. If they are too large, they will consume more electricity; if they are too small, they may not be sufficient.
For small bedrooms or studies under 10 square meters, an electric heater with a power of around 1000-1500W is usually sufficient. ,
For master bedrooms and small living rooms of 15 to 20 square meters, an electric heater with a power of around 2000W is sufficient.
For Spaces of 20 square meters or more, such as large living rooms, it is recommended to choose an electric heater with a power of no less than 2500W or more, or use two electric heaters simultaneously.
2. Safety performance
The power of electric heaters is generally quite large. During use, the first thing to pay attention to is the safety of the circuit. Secondly, it should also have the following functions:
Power-off in case of toppling: The device will automatically cut off power when it topples over to prevent accidental toppling from causing fires and other issues.
Overheat protection: Automatically shut down when the temperature is too high to prevent internal components from being burned out.
Waterproof rating: If you plan to use it for both home and bathroom purposes or specifically in the bathroom, it is recommended to choose a product with at least an IPX4 or higher waterproof rating.
Finally, when choosing a household electric heater, it is not recommended to blindly select high-power products. First, choose based on the area of the room to be heated at home. In addition, for home heating, baseboard heaters, oil-filled radiators, and European-style quick-heating stoves are all suitable choices. Although the prices of small sun heaters and warm air blowers are relatively low, their drawbacks are obvious and they are generally not recommended for home use.
