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| Electric Bathroom Heater Buying Guide |
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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
1 ) you have some other
form of heat in there currently like a hot water
baseboard, forced hot air or radiant floor heat 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. 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.
Different Types of Electric Bathroom
Heaters Fan Forced Wall Heater – Needs a fan
to move the heat and are available in 120 volts and 240 volts Pros:
Cons:
No other heating unit has been as successful in
solving installation problems when wall space is a premium
Cons: 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: Cons: Infrared Bulb Heater are perfect for a source of heat while you are toweling off after your shower. Pros:
Cons 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:
Cons: 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
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. |