I like a cool bedroom but not a chilly bathroom. Is there a rating system for small electric space heaters (bathroom is about 12 ft. X 9 ft.) that rates how energy efficient they are? Is one type of electric heater more energy efficient than another? (This is for USA heaters and use, of course.)
TIA!
Leslie & The Furbabies in MO.
Mr Esther has one for his 'on the north side of the house' bathroom. It is ceramic, made by Holmes, came from WalMart, not expensive. DH says it is a fine, safe heater and will drive you out if you don't keep the little heater turned low. He says it uses less electricity than the old kind and puts out more heat. ( How's that for technical?) Polly
That's a bit of a nebulous question. Electric heaters are all pretty close to 100% efficient (high 90s, anyway) as far as converting electric energy into something else. The question is, what's the something else? Those that just heat convert nearly all the energy into heat, but the heat stays near the heater (or rises straight up). Those with fans/blowers don't convert as much energy into heat because some is used up to run the mecahnical fan, but the heat that is generated gets distributed around (which can also make it seem like less heat because it IS distributed throughout the volume of the room.
If you have forced air heat, one energy-saving tip is to leave the fan running all the time - 24/7. This puts more of the heat used to heat up the furnace and ducts into the living space, and reduces the highs & lows between the furnace turning on (when it's cold) and off (when it's hot). Believe it or don't it'll actually lower your overall energy bill. Many new thermostats now come with that option (separate blower control). Another advantage is that it helps take the place of a blower in a space heater.
OTOH, if you have forced air, a cold room could also be an indication that the system isn't balanced. There are dampers in the ducts and registers, and they may need to be adjusted to keep all rooms evenly warm, opening some up and restricting others.
All that said, heaters should be rated by BTU output (British Thermal Units) which is a fancy term like watts to indicate how much heat it puts out. The higher the number, the more heat (A-C units are rated the same way.) Heaters are likely also given an energy star rating indicating how *energy* efficient they are (which as noted earlier - they're all pretty close, so the ratings should be pretty close in similar size/functioning heaters). Thirdly, they're rated (or should be) for the size room or cubic feet. Room sizes usually assume 7 - 8 ft ceilings; cubic feet will require a bit more math, but it's not that big a deal.
FWIW, there's also such a beast as a heated seat, if that's your preference.
12 x 9 is pretty big for a bathroom unless the house is new with a huge master bath or something. Some bedrooms aren't that big, and I'd guess the bathroom in question may have been converted from a bedroom if the house is older. (but we all know I was wrong that one time...) That big a room might warrant a wall or baseboard type supplemental heater rather than a freestanding one. The first two are pricier, but should last longer and heat better/more.Wiki has a lot of articles on different types of heaters. Start with "Heaters" for a list.
underfloor heating would work. j.
"Leslie& The Furbabies in MO." wrote ... I like a cool bedroom but not a chilly bathroom. Is there a rating system for small electric space heaters (bathroom is about 12 ft. X 9 ft.) that rates how energy efficient they are? Is one type of electric heater more energy efficient than another? (This is for USA heaters and use, of course.)
TIA!
Leslie & The Furbabies in MO.
Oh goodness- this opens a whole can of worms. :-/ The master suite is a
13 X 50 single story addition with 8 ft. ceilings built perpendicular to a 90 y.o. long, narrow two story house with 10 ft. ceilings downstairs and 8 ft. ceilings upstairs. There are two large heat pumps and a second propane fireplace in the main part of the house- one heat pump for the upstairs (upstairs heat pump and bedrooms/bath are not used) and one for the downstairs. But no heat or a/c in the master bedroom addition other than a thermostatically controlled, unvented propane fireplace and a big window a/c. Both are located about central along the longest wall in the master bedroom.The bath is across one end of the addition and the walk-in closet and laundry room are side-by-side at the other end of the addition with the bedroom in the middle. The fireplace heat just doesn't make it into the bathroom, so I need an additional heat source. (I HATE getting out of a warm shower or bath and facing a chilly bathroom. Ugh.) So, I'm looking for some kind of suitable and reasonably energy efficient solution.
Any ideas, Doc?
Leslie & The Furbabies in MO.
That's a bit of a nebulous question. Electric heaters are all pretty close to 100% efficient (high 90s, anyway) as far as converting electric energy into something else. The question is, what's the something else? Those that just heat convert nearly all the energy into heat, but the heat stays near the heater (or rises straight up). Those with fans/blowers don't convert as much energy into heat because some is used up to run the mecahnical fan, but the heat that is generated gets distributed around (which can also make it seem like less heat because it IS distributed throughout the volume of the room.
If you have forced air heat, one energy-saving tip is to leave the fan running all the time - 24/7. This puts more of the heat used to heat up the furnace and ducts into the living space, and reduces the highs & lows between the furnace turning on (when it's cold) and off (when it's hot). Believe it or don't it'll actually lower your overall energy bill. Many new thermostats now come with that option (separate blower control). Another advantage is that it helps take the place of a blower in a space heater.
OTOH, if you have forced air, a cold room could also be an indication that the system isn't balanced. There are dampers in the ducts and registers, and they may need to be adjusted to keep all rooms evenly warm, opening some up and restricting others.
All that said, heaters should be rated by BTU output (British Thermal Units) which is a fancy term like watts to indicate how much heat it puts out. The higher the number, the more heat (A-C units are rated the same way.) Heaters are likely also given an energy star rating indicating how *energy* efficient they are (which as noted earlier - they're all pretty close, so the ratings should be pretty close in similar size/functioning heaters). Thirdly, they're rated (or should be) for the size room or cubic feet. Room sizes usually assume 7 - 8 ft ceilings; cubic feet will require a bit more math, but it's not that big a deal.
FWIW, there's also such a beast as a heated seat, if that's your preference.
12 x 9 is pretty big for a bathroom unless the house is new with a huge master bath or something. Some bedrooms aren't that big, and I'd guess the bathroom in question may have been converted from a bedroom if the house is older. (but we all know I was wrong that one time...) That big a room might warrant a wall or baseboard type supplemental heater rather than a freestanding one. The first two are pricier, but should last longer and heat better/more.Wiki has a lot of articles on different types of heaters. Start with "Heaters" for a list.
I don't want to tear up the ceramic tiles on the bathroom floor- I'd love it if it was feasible.
Leslie & The Furbabies in MO.
Years ago, when the bathroom was remodeled we put in a ceiling heater/vent thingie from Home Depot. It has work well ever since. Feels good when it is freezing out.
Nana....just a thought
ah, sorry, didnt realize you had ceramic tiles down. how about one of those 3 purpose ceiling things with lights, heater, 'suck out the humidity' fan. dont know what is available there. just thinking outloud. j.
"Leslie& The Furbabies in MO." wrote ... I don't want to tear up the ceramic tiles on the bathroom floor- I'd love it if it was feasible.
Leslie & The Furbabies > underfloor heating would work.
No, anything affordable for space is going to be electric resistance heating of one flavor or another, and the COP (coefficient of performance) of electrical resistance heating is 1.0 You've got to get a little more exotic (like Peltier junction heaters or heat pumps) to get the COP over 1.
The trick is to match the way you want to use the heat produced to the type of heater.
In and out in a few, don't mind doing a bit of a dance to keep yourself from broiling or freezing? My first choice would be one of the radiant heaters like the Presto parabolic heaters. They focus the heat where you aim it. In the few minutes it's on, you can work up quite a sweat, but when you turn it off when you leave, you haven't actually heated much of the room, saving you $$$. The ceramic rod heaters scare me less in a bathroom than the Presto type heaters, fwiw.
Top part of you does ok with chill, but you really, really hate cold feet? There are sealed heating mats that can go under tile or just put them on top of the floor. Leave them on a long time, and the whole room gets warm, which may also be what you want. Nice, even heat that, like all heat in rooms with little air circulation, collects at the ceiling and warms the guys upstairs instead of you. Add a small fan pointed straight up and you get the air moving and cut the power bills because you're not heating the upstairs room, or the roof. I don't find them useful in the short term because the heat isn't "instant", but they're lovely luxuries if you leave them on. Me, I guess I'm used to slippers, but they're DH's holy grail of bathroom heating. I keep threatening to get him a farrowing mat from the farm store.
Most of the fan heaters, like the old milkhouse heaters, blow too much air around for a small bathroom, and you get sort of a windchill effect going on... you really need to match the fan size to the room and keep it from blowing right on you.
Don't mind cold feet, but you really want your back warm when you're cogitating on the state of the world? Maybe the old heat lamp type heaters that were common in motel bathrooms are more your style. Again, you're only using them part of the time, so the cost is lower compared to heating the entire bathroom up so everything is warm.
Got little kids that you don't want getting burned or kicking over a heater? Or just no room to put a heater in? Then you might be looking at a baseboard heater or one of those thin radiators that you stick on the wall under the towel rack. Like the floor heaters, they're best left on so the whole room heats up. More of a cheapatarian than that? Take a look at the oil filled "radiator" heaters -- you heat up the oil in the radiator, it warms the room gently, worst of the electrical dangers nicely enclosed, not a huge footprint.
Just make sure that the heater you get is rated for bathroom or wet area use, and properly connected.
I am in the UK, but similar products may well be available in the US. My parents have electric downflow fan heaters in their bathrooms. Much like these:
Lizzy
Kay beat me to most of them. It's a little like choosing a computer; you need to match the machine to your needs/what you want to do with it, or what you want it to do for you. Sorry, but "(I HATE getting out of a warm shower or bath and facing a chilly bathroom. Ugh.)" isn't going to do.
I wish I could just tell you, "Get a Heatcranker 3000 - they're great!" but I can't. It's difficult to figure out what's right for you, not being you.
This is a problem that's worth taking time to think about, looking at a lot of options, and thinking some more. It's not because of the investment; it's to get the right thing to do the job for you and be happy with it for a long time. Are there any upcoming home improvement shows (not TV - the kind they hold in convention centers, fairgrounds, etc.) in your area? That, in addition to checking out all the big-box home improvement stores you can, will let you get a feel for these different units. See them, read the box/literature... Getting feedback from people... meh. Nobody has exactly the same room, requirements (heating and personal) as you, so they're not always ideal. I'm a creature of bathroom comfort myself, and knowing what I do about this stuff, I'd still do the above for most every situation, because they're all different, and I want my bathroom the way I want it too. The older I get, the more time I spend in there.
That c> Oh goodness- this opens a whole can of worms. =A0:-/ =A0 The master suite= is a
snipped-for-privacy@x42g2000yqx.googlegroups.com...
I was so happy when our "heat pump" died, it was never warm, it always blew cold air. Twelve thousand dollars later we have a natural gas furnace and AC, I love it. But the best ever heat is gradient floor heat. I prefer the type with water in tubes, but you can retrofit electric gradient floor heat in a bathroom fairly easily. You can see it on the DIY shows.
I respectfully disagree. Bathroom area rugs. Either a nice thick one, or velcro a hunk of space blanket material (so you can remove it for cleaning) on the underside and you'll never know they're on a cold floor.
That's *bad*? I can't find any mention/link for it, but decades ago some comedy show did a parody skit for a product called the "Cool Cat Marble Slab". It was a marble candy slab - stick it in the freezer for a few hours, then take it out for your hot kitty to sprawl out and snooze on in hot weather. It was hysterical because they had a real cat doing just that.
Our pets have always sought out the coolest floors in the house during the summer (as well as the warmest in winter) and animals KNOW a good hunk of floor when they sprawl on it!
I haven't priced them, but there are other factors to consider....
Doc
Tile just hold the cold and seems to feel cold even around area rugs. I think one of the leading causes of falls in the home with older folks is tripping over rugs. Not great for someone hip replacements like Leslie.
No, it isn't bad that tile is cool in hot weather but that is how really cold they are. I really think the bad knees in my golden retriever was from slips on tile when she was damp. I went down on that tile a couple of times and I am surprised insurers even allow the slick versions in houses they cover. It is not only cold but hurtful in my experience. I do have many photos of hot pets lounging on the cool tile though. Not in winter though, not even here in So. Cal. We are on cement slab foundations here. Leslie in a different set up I suppose. I would rather freeze than use unvented gas though. There was a reason God dropped me off in a warm climate to be born. It is plenty cold here and really nothing compared to what so many of you guys deal with. Taria
I've had unvented gas fireplaces for well over twenty years. I have the gas lines pressure checked and and the working systems serviced every fall. They have an oxygen depletion shut-off switch and I have a smoke/carbon monoxide and something else detectors in every room. And the fireplaces are located in big wide open rooms with ceiling fans. I do not have any safety worries- and I am very pleased with them when the ice storms hit and I am without heat/electric for days on end. They keep me and The HairyButt Gang warm and keep the pipes from freezing. It's a good thing. ;-)
This house is my first with both the hardwood floors (pretty but terribly impractical- for the dogs and me, any way) and ceramic tiles. Taria is right- ceramic tiles are cold and slippery and yucky. I have rubber-backed area rugs in many places over the tile and it's still icky to live with in any room. IMO My chilly bathroom has a ceramic tile floor, so that compounds the lack of heat in there.
And my house has crawl space foundations except for under the quilting studio.
Leslie & The Furbabies in MO. where we're gearing up for winter!
I just asked if it was *legal*. If it is, then it sounds like you have the rest covered.
Hey, *you* bought the place! Now you're complaining? I'm just trying to *help*!
Doc
Well, I love the house- but nothing is perfect, right? ;-) Now I'm trying to get the energy bills as low as I can manage and still be warm enough that my creaky joints don't complain too much. Thanks for the help, Doc!
Leslie & The Furbabies in MO.
I just asked if it was *legal*. If it is, then it sounds like you have the rest covered.
Hey, *you* bought the place! Now you're complaining? I'm just trying to *help*!
Doc
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