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How to heat the coldest room in your house
with an electric bathroom heater so it will provides warmth to
keep you from catching a cold when you are undressed or wet from
bathing or taking a shower
If you are planning to buy an electric
heater, you will need to consider a few factors.
- How big is the room you're trying to heat / How
Much Heat Do I Need
- Is
this supplemental heat, or is this the sole source of heat
-
Are you going to heat the room all day, or are you going to only heat the room in the morning while
you shower
-
Do you plan on using 120 volts or 240 volts
-
What type of heater are you thinking about
-
Radiant
Floor Heat
-
Bulbs Heaters
- Ceiling Heater
- Fan Forced Wall Heaters
- Baseboard Heaters
-
Bathroom Exhaust Fans with a Room Heater
-
Towel Heaters
-
What will it cost to operate?
-
Where do I install the heater?
-
How do you control the heater?
-
How safe are electric heaters?
-
Consulting your town's local codes and a licensed
electrician
How Much Heat Do I Need
When sizing a heater
for your bathroom
you have two variables:
1 ) you have some other
form of heat in there currently like a hot water
baseboard, forced hot air or radiant floor heat
2 you have no heat
in your bathroom currently
When heating a bathroom with NO
current heat I like to oversize the heater more then I
would any other room because you want to get the room up to 80 +
degrees and you want to do it at a fairly quick rate. The
standard sizing rule of thumb uses the
following formula: 1 square foot equals 10Watts, so a 100 square
foot would require a 1000 Watt heater. I like to go with 12-15
watts per sq ft.
15 watts per sq ft (example 10’x 10’+ 100
Sq Ft) 100 sq X 15 watts = 1500 Watts
Heating your bathroom room as
supplemental heat: I find the 12 - 15 watts
still works well because you will have the advantage of heating
the room even quicker.
Are you going to heat the room all
day or are you going to only heat the room while
you’re in the shower
I find this is a very important question ask because
this will reduce your selection of heaters depending on if you
just want to roll out of bed and turn the heater on in the
morning and shut it off when the last person using the bathroom
in the morning is done. Or if you plan on heating the room all
day. The reason is how quickly you want to bring the room to a
warm 80 + degrees. If you just want to heat the room in the
morning and get to heat up quickly you are going to need a fan
forced wall or ceiling heater because the
will move the air quicker. A baseboard heater, convector
heater, radiant cove heater all have no moving parts so while
they will heat the room, it will take a while to heat and will
work if you are planning on heating the room through out the
day.
Do you plan on using 120 volts
or 240 volts?
Knowing your voltage is the most important
thing when buying an electric heater. US residential
household’s use an electrical current of 120 and 240 volts.
It’s
very important that you know your right voltage in purchasing
electrical equipment.
-
120 volt can only work on smaller heaters
500,750, 1000 or 1500 watts
-
If you need wattage greater then 2000 watts
it will have to be bumped up to the 240
volt version
-
A 240 Volt heater can uses wattages
of 1,000 up to 10,000
- If you wire a 240 volt heater to a 120 volt circuit you
will only get about ¼ or 25% of the wattage the heater was
designed to deliver
- If you wire a 120 volt heater to a 240 volt circuit the heater
will overheat and self destruct! The heater will try to
deliver four times its rated wattage, causing the element &
motor permanent damage.
- (110 volts,
115 volts, 125 volts
it’s the
same as 120 volts
&
- (
220, 230, 250
) is the same as 240
volts
- Over the years the power companies
have been raising the voltage to your home)
- 208 volts is NOT the same as 240 volts
it’s a total different voltage,
- If
you have 208 voltage please call or email us, we will work
with you in purchasing the correct model
Different Types of Electric Bathroom
Heaters
Fan Forced Wall Heaters:
Fan Forced Wall Heater – Needs a fan
to move the heat and are available in 120 volts and 240 volts
Pros:
·
Compact design, can be recessed into the
wall
·
Fan moves the air faster, which heats the
room quicker
Cons:
·
Blower Noise, because it has moving parts
they do make noise, noise level will be based on price ( less
expensive heaters will be louder )
·
If your room is really small, installation
can be difficult because you have to be three feet from a water
source, eight inches” from adjacent wall
Fan Forced Ceiling Heater
No other heating unit has been as successful in
solving installation problems when wall space is a premium
Pros:
·
Perfect when wall space is at a premium
·
Blends in with the ceiling
Cons:
·
Have to run a second wire to install wall
mounted timer or thermostats
·
Only works on ceilings 9” and lower
Baseboard Convection Heater
Electric baseboard heaters are designed
to line the wall and provide heat for the entire room by using
convection heat to circulate the air. Baseboard heat is only
recommended in the bathroom if you plan on heating the bathroom
all day.
Pros:
·
Quiet
·
Hydronic Electric Convection Heaters are
more energy efficient then traditional electric heaters
Cons:
·
Slow to heat the room from power off, up to 80
degrees
·
Needs a lot of wall space to heat
room adequately
Infrared Bulb Heater
Infrared Bulb Heater are perfect for a source of heat
while you are toweling off after your shower.
Pros:
·
Very warm while you stand underneath the bulbs
Cons:
·
Does not heat the bathroom, only the person
underneath the bulb. Once you stand away from the bulb's light
you will be cold again
Exhaust Fan with built in Heater
Combination exhaust fan with heater and light are
ideal for smaller bathrooms and perfect for getting three needed
items for the price of one
Pros:
·
Kills two birds with one stone, exhaust
humidity of room and heats the space
Cons:
·
Larger foot print then a traditional
bathroom fan
·
Sone noise
level is louder then traditional bathroom fan
·
Item exhausts and heats at same time,
unfortunately not as efficient as a separate heater and exhaust
fan would be
What will it cost to operate?
Depending on the outside weather, house construction,
insulation, desired indoor room temp and most importantly cost of
electricity will make it really tough to judge to operating cost
because its tough to say how long is your heater going to run
per day. Electric Heaters are 100 % efficient, therefore every
kilowatt of electricity used will be converted into heat.
Your local utility company maybe
able to provide you with an estimated cost
per use sheet.
Where do I install the heater?
The best place for installing a baseboard
is on an outside wall under the window, this will allow the
natural convective currents from the baseboard to provide a
curtain of warm air against the cool wall. A fan forced electric wall heater
should be placed on an inside wall. Thermostat placement should
be on the opposite wall from the heater
How do you control the heater?
A wall mounted thermostat is preferred for maximum
comfort. The digital programmable thermostats now available
allow for better temperature control and
the ability to lower and raise the temperature on demand by
setting the time and temp you want through
out the day. Another options is a built in thermostat - you use
this type when there are space constraints or if the
heater is only used a hour or so a day. built in thermostat
works the same way as a wall mounted thermostat - you turn it
to the right and power goes on, and then you adjust the
temperature from there or turn it to the left to shut power off.
One thermostat per heater is preferred but it’s all going to be
dependent on your amp load that the thermostat can take. Look on
the box or the user manual for the max amp allowed, next take your
heater's wattage and divide it by the voltage [for example 2000 watts divided by 240 volts =
8.3 amps] so if you need two heaters
to run on the same thermostat you have to figure your amp
load and look at the thermostat you want to see if the max amp
load will work or not
How safe are electric heaters?
Electric
heaters should come with a thermal cutout as protection against
overheating. The cutout will shut down the heater in case there
is an accidental blockage. Make sure the heater is either U.L, ETA or C.S.A listed and conforms to the
required safety specifications
Consulting
your town's local codes and a licensed electrician
Once you find a safe way to heat your
bathroom you will also want to check with local building codes
or rules to make sure that yours complies with any regulations
regarding how bathroom heaters should be installed or work. It's
always advisable to consult a professional to get it installed,
as most heaters involve either electricity, which interacts
dangerously with water, or with gas or other rather hazardous
chemicals that need to be properly ventilated for good safe use.
Talk to an electrician and or contractor to make sure your new
heaters are installed safely and correctly. Be it cold nights or
chilly winter mornings, you can't beat a good bathroom heater
when it comes to enhancing your bathroom experience.
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