heating appliances

With the change in law in countries like the U.K. that require smokers to go outside of bars and restaurants to smoke many establishments now offer patio heaters. These may not be just for the smokers as they have other advantages as far as bars are concerned. Using patio heaters means they can offer an amenable outside venue that otherwise may be too cold. This has the effect of both extending the evenings outside as well as potentially the seasons, or at least weeks and months, that customers can spend time happily outdoors. So as far as paying customers are concerned, patio heaters offer them good news as far as enjoying a night out is concerned.

However there is a potential down side to outdoor patio heaters that their increasing popularity is beginning to produce. The fact of the matter is that heat produced in an outdoor setting is lost very quickly to the outside air. This means that for patio heaters to actually have a beneficial effect as far as keeping us warm, they have to pump out fairly high levels of heat. This only becomes something to worry about when we realise the environmental damage that this sort of heating can be responsible for. Obviously some people believe that global warming is simply a myth while others realise the seriousness of the situation. Then there are others who are aware of the situation but choose not to concern themselves with it.

So the question is, should we use patio heaters? The answer to this really comes down to a personal decision. The use of one patio heater is unlikely to have a noticeable environmental impact however thousands or maybe tens or hundreds of thousands of patio heaters all combined will have a substantial impact on our world.

Patio heaters burn liquid petroleum gas (LPG) or propane. So the good thing here is that this means they are more efficient, as far as the environment is concerned, than electrical devices. By this I mean that the amount of carbon they release into the atmosphere is less than if electrical patio heaters were used. Of course there are infra-red patio heaters that are powered by electricity. Even though there is no burning in the heater, this style is actually more harmful for the environment because the electricity produced in power stations, particularly coal burning power stations, releases substantial quantities of carbon into the atmosphere. Obviously nuclear power would be different but that carries its own inherent risks.

Patio heaters are useful heating appliances but we should remember that there is an environmental impact to their use.

The question that many of us have when we are considering a new heater is not just “How much does it cost to buy?” but also and just as, if not more important, “How much does it cost to run?”. This is a very important point to consider because long after we have absorbed the cost of purchasing a new heating appliance we will be incurring a monthly expenditure based on how much we use it.

The good news is that as technology continues to improve, electrical heaters become more and more efficient. This means that the amount of electricity they require to produce a given heat is less than in the past. However we must be aware that the cost of electricity may also vary so even though the appliances themselves are becoming more efficient, if the price of electricity rises then this means even with a more efficient heater it may become more expensive to run.

Are oil filled radiators more economical than other electrical heaters?

All things being equal, an oil filled radiator is no more economical than other types of electrical heaters. However this is in terms of electricity used in relation to the amount of heat produced. For example, if you have an oil filled radiator and compared it to a electrical convection heater and turned both on for 1 hour at 1500W, the electrical cost would be the same. But the way that they output heat would be different. And this is where one style of heater may be more “economical” in your own eyes.

In the case of the convection heater, this will start to warm the room more quickly than the oil filled radiator as well as raising the temperature more quickly it will also raise the temperature to a greater extent. So it would seem that a convection heater may be more powerful for the same cost. But this may or may not be what you are looking for. As for the oil filled radiator, it is true that it does take longer to warm up than the other style of heater. It may also not make the room as warm, or if it did it would take much longer to do so. Where the oil filled radiator excels is that it continues to have a warming effect upon the surrounding air long after the power is turned off. Whereas the convection style of heater literally stops giving off heat as soon as it is turned off.

Therefore the determination of what is economical comes down to personal preference. If you are looking for a heater that warms a room quickly and gives off heat only when it is turned on then an oil filled radiator is probably not the style of radiator you are looking for. However if you are after a heating appliance that continues to produce heat long after the electrical power has been cut and offers prolonged warmth then an oil filled heater may well be exactly the style of electrical heating appliance that you need.

Regardless of the types of heating appliances that you use, it is important to ensure that they are in appropriate working order at the start of each cold season. This is to both ensure efficient operation as well as for your own safety. Gas heaters, electrical heating appliances, central heating radiators and HVAC systems can all be checked by appropriately qualified experts and may be worth thinking about if you are at all worried about satisfactory functioning of your equipment.

It is possible to find local heating service shops by simply doing a Google search for terms like heater repair or furnace repair and adding your location to narrow the query down. These types of businesses may or may not be expensive but when it comes to things like gas and electrical appliances it is always best to have them serviced by qualified experts.

Of course there are certain things we as individuals can do ourselves to assure the operating standard of our own heating appliances. For example, the power cords for our electrical equipment that attach to the wall power outlet from the heater should not be frayed. This is something we can simply observe with our own eyes. And for gas appliances, if we smell gas then that may be a severe warning sign that something is not right and that we may be best served by calling in the experts.

When it comes to dealing with HVAC (Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning) systems and central heating, these are more complicated than stand alone electrical heating appliances or gas convection heaters so again actually having some professional help is a major advantage. Obvisously people who work with these types of installations will be able to do things themselves but for the rest of us, using qualified experts is probably the best option to ensure that we do not cause more harm than good.

In the U.S. HVAC engineers are typically members of ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers). Using engineers with this acreditation is one way to ensure that your system is being serviced by someone with the necessary skill set.