Quartz infrared heaters have been growing in popularity since the first splash made when they entered the market during the 1980′s.  There are many claims that these heaters are extremely affordable, very cheap to operate and are easy to install. There may be some truth to that point that states that they are cheap to operate however most portable heaters are to install as there’s really no installation required, so that last claim does seem to be more sales hype than anything else!

Quartz infrared heaters use Quartz bulbs to provide the heat needed. There is usually a reflector panel at the back of the heater which helps project the heat out into the room. Most modern infrared heaters are very nicely designed, many do not resemble standard portable heaters at all. For this reason they usually fit in very well with any rooms décor and are pleasant to look at.

Infrared Heating

First, let’s take a look at infrared heating. Infrared heating comes about as a result of infrared radiation. This electromagnetic radiation is usually generated by heat, for example by a Quartz bulb or Quartz tubes. The resultant heat or energy is generally directed towards a person or an object. In other words need the heat or energy it is absorbed by air. This is important to understand as any infrared heating or radiant heating will not heat the air in a room but rather the objects that it comes in direct contact with. There are advantages to this type of heating. Perhaps the most obvious advantage is that in many cases you can actually use less heat to achieve a comfortable warmth which in turn can lower energy costs.

These types of heaters heat up very quickly and they’re very useful when you’re stepping in from the cold and you need to get warm right away. They’re also very good to use if you are stationary such as sitting on a couch as they will apply direct heat towards you providing the heater is facing in your direction.

There are some disadvantages to these types of heaters. Radiant heat only travels in a direct line therefore it will only heat up people or objects that are pretty much directly in front of it. Again, this is fine if you’re in a stationary position but if you walk behind the heater you will suddenly feel the loss of the heat source. Also if there is more than one person in the room only those directly sitting or standing in front of the heater will benefit from the heat produced. Of course eventually the objects and the people that are being heated by this radiant heat will in turn heat up the air around them, thus over time they may end up heating an entire room.

Radiant heaters that work on a thermostat will not necessarily provide a constant source of heat. In other words you feel heat when the heater is turned on however as soon as the radiant heat or the quartz infrared heater in this case, is turned off you will immediately notice a drop in temperature.

There are many different types of infrared heaters, including quartz heaters, and electric infrared heaters.

So, What Are The Advantages Of A Quartz Infrared Heater?

Quartz infrared heaters are a little more expensive to buy than many portable heaters. Most of the models for sale however do come with a fairly decent warranty and they also seem to run for longer without breaking down or without needing to have parts replaced. This in itself can warrant the use of spending extra money to buy an infrared quartz heater.

Generally, infrared heaters have quite good safety controls built in. Most of them will turn on if the heater is accidentally tipped over. Most of the quartz infrared heaters are also enclosed in the casing that does not get hot to the touch making them ideal for use in homes with children and pets.

Most of the newer model infrared Quartz heaters also look very attractive. They are deliberately designed that way in order to increase their appeal to potential buyers. If you do want to install additional heating in your home, especially something you want to use in living areas you will naturally want it to look good and fit with surrounding decor.

Infrared heaters in general are also very good for outdoor use such as using an infrared patio heater as the heater will directly heat those sitting around it yet will not waste energy in trying to heat up the surrounding area. Halogen heaters also work in a similar fashion when it comes to outdoor heating.

As far as the claims that it is very cheap to run, this is true for many infrared space heaters and in fact, any portable heaters especially when compared to central heating costs. While you may not be able to save thousands of dollars on heating, judicious use of these types of heaters can definitely lower your electricity bills and save you some money.

In summary, if you are looking for a very attractive portable radiant heater to help cut back on central heating costs on to heat additional rooms in your home you definitely should take a look at the quartz infrared heaters that are available. While they may be a little more expensive to buy, they generally last well and as such are a good investment for your money.

Many people consider halogen heaters to be both safer and more energy efficient, when it comes to portable heaters, than many other types of heaters including electric models. Whereas most electric heaters use electric coils to heat, a halogen heater uses halogen elements to provide heat, and they provide radiant heat rather than heat by convection. For this reason they are often used in outdoor settings as well as indoors, and as such halogen patio heaters are also widely used. An oscillating halogen heater will turn in much the same way as a floor standing fan will turn, thus distributing heat evenly around the room. Not all halogen heaters oscillate however, many resemble regular electric space heaters that stand on the floor in a stationary location.

There are different concerns regarding halogen heater safety.  Most modern halogen electric heaters are perfectly safe to use; oftentimes even safer than regular space heaters.  They are made with built in safety devices. As with many heaters these days, they are made to automatically shut down in the event that they are tipped over.  Thus there is virtually no chance that they will fall over and cause something to catch on fire.  Many also have a casing that is cool when touched. This means that if anyone happens to touch the outside of the heater while it is on they will not get burned. Clothing or other items that come in contact with the casing are also not in any danger of catching alight.

Another safety concern that has been brought up from time to time is in regards to the fact that halogens are supposedly toxic. While it is true that they are toxic, the amount of toxicity is very little. The halogen used in heater elements is usually iodine or bromine. While both of these chemicals are toxic if exposed to the skin or the eyes there is little chance of that ever happening. In fact, some sources state that there is more danger from an exploding or broken fluorescent tube than from broken halogen heater bulbs; however if a tube does break you should probably be careful around it just as you would around a broken fluorescent tube. In reality there is little to no need to worry about this as the amount of halogen in any tubes is very minimal in any case.

When it comes to halogen heater efficiency, there could hardly be a more efficient space heater. Many people wonder, “Are halogen heaters cheap to run.”  Yes, they are. The halogen heaters instant heat is great for quickly warming up a room or surrounding area. They also use considerably less electricity to run and to warm the air than a regular electric space or convection heater. So, while you may pay a little more initially to buy the heater than you would a similar sized portable electric heater, you will soon pay back any extra spent on utility savings and find that halogen heaters efficiency levels are high.

Halogen heater prices depend on the size and type of heater you buy. Naturally the larger models will cost more than the smaller heaters, which is the case no matter what type of heating you buy. Common sizes are 400W, 800W and 1200W heaters. You can also buy later 1600W units though these are not as common as the more typical smaller sizes. If you are looking for cheap halogen heaters you should probably search online and compare prices till you find one that seems as though it will be suitable for your needs. Remember to read any reviews that are written about any heaters using halogen that you are interested in buying as you can learn a lot from other people’s experiences with specific brands and heaters; this is especially important if you are planning on finding the cheapest you can. You will want to make sure that even though cheap, it still is effective.

The heaters are usually quite lightweight yet still do a great job of heating a room up well. While this short review has mainly covered indoor halogen heaters, there is also a very good selection of outdoor halogen heaters such as the halogen patio heater available. In general most halogen heaters do not have a lot of features. For example, they rarely include a thermostat though they often come with a built in timer. You can find a selection of halogen heaters remote controlled which is a plus if you want to set the heater in your bedroom and then turn it off at night before going to sleep, without having to get out of bed.

Perhaps the main complaint or con that you hear most often in a halogen heaters review is that they are very bright, and light up the surroundings quite a lot. For that reason, they may not be the best choice of a heater if you want something to stay on all night in your room while you sleep, particularly if you are a light sleeper and you may want to look for something along the lines of infrared heaters. However, if the fact that they provide light as well as heat does not bother you, then you may find that a halogen heater is a great choice for indoor use especially if you are looking for additional heating yet want to save as much money as you can on operational costs.

With winter almost here, many people are re-evaluating their heating systems. If you run a central heating system, chances are that you are evaluating how much it costs you to run your system during winter, and deciding whether or not it is worth it to continue. Fuel prices are on the increase, and with the current economic downturn many people are actually opting for alternative heating, such as portable electric heaters.

One option for this winter is to turn your central heating down a few degrees, and dress more warmly. That will definitely prove to be a saving. If someone in your home isn’t comfortable with the lowered heating, or if they have special needs, (such as a nursery, for example) you could always buy a portable heater to put in the room so that only one room has to be warmer.

Alternatively you can switch off your central heating all together and simply buy electric space heaters. Portable electric heaters are much more economical to run these days than they were years ago, and it is a very real possibility that you could actually save on heating costs by choosing to heat your home with portable electric heaters.  The great thing about buying portable heaters is that they can be moved from room to room, as needed, which makes them an ideal choice for small families, singles, or couples without children.   Use them in the living room in the evening, then move them into the bedroom  as you prepare to go to bed.

There are two types of portable electric heaters, radiant heaters and those that rely on convection or the circulation of air to heat a room.  Radiant heaters are a great choice if you are only needing to heat the room for a few hours and providing you can stay in direct line with the heater (as radiant heat heats up objects within their line of sight.)

If you are planning on using the heater to heat up an area for an evening, or all day, then you would be better off running a convection heater as that will heat up the air in the entire room.  Portable electric heaters are great as they do not need to be vented, and are safe to operate within your home.

No matter what type of portable electric heater you buy there are some safety guidelines to keep in mind. Remember that they should always be plugged directly into the wall socket (or into a very heavy gauge wire extension cord) and they should have built in safety switches that will turn the electric heater off if it happens to get tipped over. Remember too, that small children and pets have been burned by getting too close to an electric heater, so unless you are using an oil-filled portable electric heater, make sure that your children or pets can’t come in contact with the heater.

are a great choice if you are only needing to heat the room for a few hours and providing you can stay in direct line with the heater (as radiant heat heats up objects within their line of sight.)

If you are planning on using the heater to heat up an area for an evening, or all day, then you would be better off running a convection heater as that will heat up the air in the entire room.  Portable electric heaters are great as they do not need to be vented, and are safe to operate within your home.

No matter what type of portable electric heater you buy there are some safety guidelines to keep in mind. Remember that they should always be plugged directly into the wall socket (or into a very heavy gauge wire extension cord) and they should have built in safety switches that will turn the electric heater off if it happens to get tipped over. Remember too, that small children and pets have been burned by getting too close to an electric heater, so unless you are using an oil-filled portable electric heater, make sure that your children or pets can’t come in contact with the heater.

Normally speaking, an electric space heater is less energy efficient and much more costly to run than many other types of space heaters.  Why then do so many people still continue to buy them and use them, and what is it that makes people choose an electric space heater over an oil filled heater, for example?

First of all, let’s describe the electric space heater. I have heard it referred to, by someone who was not particularly impressed with this humble heater, as an oversized toaster!  Perhaps the older styled electric space heaters of the past, with their glowing red coils behind a metal grate, could conceivably be considered as such, but these days electric space heaters come in many different shapes and forms.

The electric space heater has really come a long way over the years. Now it is possible to find remotely controlled heaters that include a thermostat and a fan to push the hot air around the room.  Typically, a modern high-tech electric space heater, with all of these heaters, could cost you around $200 to buy, they operate quietly and keep your room at an even temperature.

A cheaper unit, without all the associated gadgets, can normally be bought for under $100, with some other types of electric space heaters considerably cheaper than others.  For example, oil filled electric heaters are usually much cheaper to buy than a small electric space heater with a fan.  If you are looking for something even less expensive, there are some very good, moderately priced electric space heaters with ceramic bars inside that heat up.  Some of these also have a fan that is used to move warm air around the room, though not all do.

One great use for an electric space heater is when you are trying to only heat up a few rooms of your house during winter, rather than having the central heating turned on for rooms that no one will be occupying. They’re also great to have on hand if you have someone living or staying with you who is more sensitive to the cold. Rather than having to turn up the entire heating for the whole home, you can simply install a small electric space heater in the room of the person who needs more heat, and still keep the rest of the house at a moderate temperature,  thus saving considerably on your electricity or other fuel costs.

They are also extremely portable, which means it is very simple to move them around from room to room, should you need to do so. While they may not be the most energy efficient to run if you’re relying on them as your sole source of heating during winter, they are a great little addition to have on hand for those times when they’re needed.

A typical oil filled heater is also often referred to as a column heater, due to the columnar structure of the heating  columns, often referred to as fins.  These are a very common form of convection heating found in many homes and households, where they do a fairly good job of heating up a room.

They are referred to as oil filled heaters precisely because oil flows freely through the empty columns of the heater.  There is a heating element at the bottom of the heater, and as the oil flows over it, it is heated up and then it carries this heat around the heater.  The oil itself retains the heat for a long time, thus making it fairly efficient at transferring heat around the heater, and then out into the room.

The design of the columns on the oil filled heater is deliberately shaped to give a lot of surface area, thus transferring the heat from the heated oil much more readily through all the increased area the heat can emanate from.

Oil filled heaters are powered by electricity, thus making them slightly more expensive to run than a reciprocally sized gas heater.  They are normally used in rooms where it is not safe to run a gas heater, especially an unflued one, such as in bedrooms or studies.  Due to the very nature of the oil heater and the lower surface temperatures of the heater itself, they are usually considered quite a bit safer than electric fan heaters or radiant bar heaters, and as such are also a great heater to put into a children’s room or a nursery.  Even though they are fairly safe to operate, care must still be taken not to dry laundry by hanging it over the heater as the temperature can sometimes be hot enough to damage certain synthetic materials, or have them catch on fire.

A thermostat monitors the current temperature in the room, and shuts off the heating element whenever the temperature reaches the desired degree, thus minimizing extra running costs.

Typical oil heaters range in size from 300 watts to 2400 watts. The larger units cost more initially to buy and also to run, though they are quite adept at heating up larger spaces of course.  They are moderately cheap to buy, with typical costs for a 2400 watt heater anywhere from $50 to $75. It is often fairly easy to pick up second hand units as well, and surprisingly enough because of the hardiness of the heaters they are usually a pretty good buy.

There are two common type of heaters, radiant heaters and blow or force heaters.  Radiant heat is heat that is released into the air from hot surfaces such as a hot panel on a gas heater, or an open fire, or an oil filled heater. This type of heat doesn’t warm the air, but rather it warms objects and people in a room.  It is a more gradual type of heat, not something that you feel immediately you turn the heater on, unless it is extreme heat.  Radiant heat gradually warms up the room and radiant heaters can heat up an object without actually touching it.

Wall heating panels or central floor heating usually use radiant heat, however portable radiant heaters are also very popular and useful when it comes to heating your home.

How a Radiant Heater Works

Radiant heaters work well, as long as you are in direct line with the heater, because of the way they work. Infrared rays emitted from the heater warm whatever they come in contact with. If they come in contact with you before something else, then they will heat you. If these rays come in contact with something else before you, for example a chair or sofa, they will heat that, not you.  They are more energy efficient than convection heaters as they only heat up objects in the room, not the entire room but you do have to be in a direct line with them.

Typically a radiant heater can be powered by any fuel source, including electricity, gas, propane gas, or even wood. In fact, a wood heater is a very good example of radiant heat. Electric radiant heaters are often fitted with ceramic panels or emitters which are heated up. Ceramic tubes are much safer to use than glass emitters which can tend to shatter or explode.

Portable radiant heaters are great for heating up that one room in your house that isn’t centrally heated. It is also a great idea to have them on hand if you live with people who are affected adversely by the colder weather, as you can heat up their room or living quarters to a more suitable level for them, without having to turn up the central heating in the whole house.

Due to their ability to heat up objects and people, but not the surrounding air, this also makes the radiant heater perfect for using in outdoor areas. A typical example of this is the patio heater.

Wall mounted radiant heaters are good to use in locations where there are a lot of people coming in and out of the room or the location, such as in a busy office building, small shops, and other industrial buildings. Using a conventional warm air heater in these situations would not be economical, nor would they work as well as a radiant heater.

If you are thinking of buying a radiant heater, make sure you understand its capabilities. Don’t expect it to necessarily heat up an entire room so when you walk in from outdoors you are met with an instant rush of warm air.

Many people choose the oil filled radiator over other portable radiators. An oil filled electric radiator is a radiant heater, meaning that the heater and parts (or the oil inside) heat up and radiate heat out into the room.  With an oil filled radiator it is actually the oil inside the heater that heats up and retains its heat, thus reducing electricity consumption.

They are very silent to operate as there is no fan, they don’t produce dust and are one of the more environmentally friendly heaters to use.  The radiant heat heats up objects and people in the room as the warmth diffuses around the room.  They are also safe to use, and rarely get hot enough to burn should you or anyone else in your home accidentally rub up against it.

Common components that most oil filled radiators have include a thermostat which allows you to determine at which point the electricity or other power source to the heater will shut off; a safety cut off so that if anything happens to the heater or it malfunctions all power is cut to the heater;  heat setting control so that you can determine how much wattage the heater is to use.

Most oil filled radiators are stand-alone, portable units that have wheels on the bottom so they can be easily rolled from room to room.  You can also buy wall-mounted oil filled radiators as well.

If you are looking for a heater that will heat up a room quickly, then I wouldn’t suggest an oil filled radiator.  These type of heaters are much better suited for more long-term, throughout the day or of an evening use.  They do work very well at heating up a living room or a bedroom or study of an evening, providing you are going to be turning them on and leaving them on for some time.  Once your room reaches its optimum heat (set by the use of a thermostat on the heater) the electricity is cut off from the unit, but the unit continues radiating heat for some time.

With more and more people choosing not to run their central heating systems these days, in order to cut back on electricity costs,  investing in a few oil filled radiators may be the solution. You can roll them around from room to room, and just heat up one or two rooms as opposed to heating up the entire house even if there’s no one in the room.

Look for an oil filled heater that has a thermostat and a 24-hour timer. That way you can set  the heater to come on thirty minutes before you arrive home, and you can also time it to shut off after everyone is in bed at night.

They are great heaters for using to heat up a room for a longer period of time, and they are safe, quiet and require almost no maintenance.

With winter coming, you may want to think about heating your garage. It is a well known fact that unheated garages are used little during the cold winter months, no where near the amount they’re used during summer. The reason behind this is fairly plain; no one wants to work in an unheated garage.  If you would like to heat your garage, but don’t know what the best garage heater would be, read on. We’ll cover a few different types of heating below including the gas heater, and propane garage heaters.

First of all, decide whether you want a free-standing heater or a direct-vent, mounted heater.  In general space heaters don’t work so well for bigger spaces unless you use an industrial sized heater. Another problem with portable space heaters is that they take up precious floor or bench space. So, as they’re not terribly effective, and because they take up floor space, these types of heaters may not be your first choice.   While you can buy propane and kerosense space heaters, you have to be careful  with your ventilation as both give off dangerous carbon monoxide fumes.  Electric garage heaters are fine, but the con with those is that they are often expensive to run.

These smaller free-standing heaters may work okay if you’re simply looking for something to take the chill off the air, but if you’re looking for more than that you may want to consider a mounted heater.  Of course, if you purchase a free standing garage heater that is big and powerful enough to heat your garage, it can also double-up as stand by heating for your actual home should the gas or electricity (providing it is not an electric garage heater) go off during winter, though if it is really powerful you need to make sure that it doesn’t heat up and damage your garage floor coating.

By far the more popular mounted heaters are either the propane garage heater or the natural gas garage heaters.  These work extremely well, and are very easy on the pocket especially if you have either natural gas or propane gas delivered to your property.  The great thing about these types of heaters is that they bring in air from outside, and expel any fumes outside, through venting that passes in and out of the garage.  They’re also fairly easy to install usually, though you may need some help with installing the actual fuel line as mistakes with that could end up being very serious indeed.

Of course, if your garage isn’t insulated, you’ll lose a lot of heat no matter what type of heater you install. If you can, it is best to insulate the walls, roof and doors for optimum heat retention.  So, no matter what type of garage heater you buy, be sure to insulate as well!

The diesel heater is not generally a very popular home heater, although it is quite rapidly becoming popular amongst campers and motor home owners, especially those who love to have the option of camping away from any sources of electricity.

Many people feel that diesel heaters have a lot of advantages over other mobile type heaters, such as propane heaters. Obviously diesel is much more readily available than propane gas, it’s also safer to use and transport and apparently has a higher BTU output per gallon. They also beat wood heaters hands down.  Wood heaters requires wood to operate, but wood is bulky, not always readily available, and it’s difficult to store in large amounts.

While the notion of burning diesel brings with it ideas of danger and harm, diesel fuel heaters these days are totally harmless, especially if installed properly.  They do not need to be installed by an expert, although they aren’t that easy to add to a motor home or camper, thus you may need some help unless you are an accomplished handyman.

Diesel fuel heaters operate by drawing air into a small, totally sealed furnace from outside. This small furnace can’t be located anywhere inside as it is a completely enclosed structure. Diesel is forced into this furnace and lit to heat the air trapped in the furnace. This hot air is then sent back out into the atmosphere. Indoor air passes across the now heated furnace and is funnelled or ducted to the motor home, camper, or room that needs heating. As you can see, the dangerous fumes from the burning gas it totally sealed and does not mingle with the heated or unheated air within the area that is to be heated.

Popular brands of diesel fuel heaters include the Eberspacher diesel range, highly popular in the US and Canada, and Europe; and the Webasto range, which is more common in Europe and also available in Australia.  Gradually these diesel heaters are gaining popularity, particularly when it comes to mobile homes and these two brands seem to be some of the best you can buy.

Diesel portable space heaters are commonly used in places like outdoor construction sites where they are used not only to provide warmth for construction workers, but are also used to prevent newly laid cement from freezing.  Their fuel source is self-contained, and these larger units are usually supplied with wheels and handles, making them easy to operate and definitely very portable. They aren’t affected by changing temperatures either, thus can provide safe heating even when the temperature drops down to 10 degrees or lower centigrade.

Some diesel fuel heaters use an electric motor to turn the fan that pushes air firstly into the combustion chamber or furnace, and then out into the surrounding airs.

You can even buy a diesel water heater, if interested.  These are structured similarly to other diesel heaters, and work on-demand. This means that they turn on when the faucet is turned on, and heat the water as it runs through, but they don’t have big storage tanks full of water that needs to be kept warm. They heat the water quickly and efficiently, and thus are also very economical to run. Of course the other pluses, such as diesel being readily available, make them a very interesting option when it comes to water heaters.

Propane gas, sometimes referred to as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is a popular alternative for heaters these days and propane heaters are oftentimes a cheaper alternative in many places to using electric heating.

Commonly, propane heaters have been used to heat up temporary locations such as a garage, or a tent, a patio or other workplace.  They fire up quickly and heat up the surroundings quickly, depending of course on the size of the flame.  People also often use a propane water heater.

The propane space heater does just as its name suggests, heats up an enclosed space or area. It is a general term for what is normally a portable heater that can be used to heat a specific room in the house, a garage or even a greenhouse. Space heaters heat up the air in the room they are located in without the need of ducts. Some propane space heaters, particularly those being used to heat up a larger room, need to have a fan so that they can propel the heat into the entire room, thus they do use a little electricity.

Propane gas heaters are built specifically to heat up an entire, generally non-insulated, garage. Most commonly they operate off of a 100 pound gas tank and for the most part are designed to run day and night, heating up the room for an entire 24 hours. They often have a thermostat, so temperature can be regulated. Also, they vary in size with the larger units able to heat up to 700 square feet. Cost of these larger area heaters range from $200 to around $550.

A popular use for the propane heater is to heat patios.  Patio propane heaters are designed to set down nicely on your patio slabs. The design of these heaters includes a large base where a propane cylinder can be nicely hidden behind a metal outer covering.  Mushroom shaped, the heater element is located at the top of the heater where usually a large dome reflects the heat all around the heater in a circular fashion.   They don’t have fans, so in order to benefit from the heat you do need to sit fairly close to them, especially in outside areas. They are perfect for placing near to patio tables, picnic areas or barbecue spots and do radiate a fair bit of heat.  Great for outdoor activities when the weather is cooling.

Many portable heaters are propane heaters.  The beauty of portable propane heaters is that they do not rely on electricity, thus they can be used even in areas where there is no electricity such as in a tent, a caravan, porches, truck caps, etc.  They can also be a backup in your home, if your electricity goes out. There is even a portable golf cart heater, for you golf enthusiasts!  Many portable propane heaters are suitable for the rugged outdoor life, so you don’t need to limit your portable heating to indoors only. Halogen heaters work in a similar fashion and are also used outdoors.

One warning with using the indoor propane heater in small enclosed spaces; the heater consumes oxygen and gives off carbon dioxide.  Without proper ventilation, this can and has resulted in carbon monoxide deaths even in small tents or campers.  So, if you’re going to use a propane gas heater make sure the room or enclosure you are using it in has adequate ventilation. Also, make sure that the propane heater you buy specifies that it can be used indoors if that’s where you intend to use it.