![]() ![]() Energy feeds through the filament and the quartz, which is usually tinted red, is used to reduce the amount of visible light emitted (this would be harmful to eyesight otherwise). Quartz is used to sheathe a hot filament, which is typically made of nichrome. Infrared works in the same way as the sun, using radiation which means they can be used very effectively outside as well as inside. Rather than warming the air, infrared heating warms the objects in the room (furniture, walls, even people) and these increase the ambient temperature of the space. Heaters that use quartz are slightly different, in that they use infrared heating. Not as energy-efficient as ceramic or aluminium, wire-based heaters are still very effective. The longer the piece of wire, the more heat it will generate. Resistance wire can be coiled tight or used as flat strips. Made up of 80% nickel and 20% chromium, it has high resistance, is easy to shape, doesn’t oxidise in air or water (you will commonly see it in kettles), and doesn’t expand too much when heated. An alloy called nichrome is the most common material. ![]() Wire is a very popular heating element to use, and it’s often the cheapest to buy. Look out for models that are EcoDesign Lot 20 compliant if you want your heater to meet the highest standards for energy efficiency. This is great if you have limited space or just prefer a neater, sleeker look.īecause ceramic is so efficient at storing heat, it powers off once at the desired temperature and continues to warm the room using stored heat without using further electricity for several hours so it’s very cost-effective to run. It also means that it can produce a lot of heat from a small surface area, so ceramic heaters can often be very small. Ceramic is a very efficient conductor which allows it to heat up quickly, thereby requiring less energy. The best heating elements CeramicĬeramic is a popular material to use in panel heaters due to its high efficiency. We’ll include details about these aspects as well to help you make an informed decision. However, there are other aspects that should be taken into consideration such as energy efficiency, cost to buy, and cost to run. When we talk about the ‘best’ heating elements, we’re mainly referring to how well they allow a heater to warm the space. How well depends on the material and this is, in essence, what we’ll be looking at when we guide you through the best ones. As the current passes through it, it meets resistance – hence the name – which produces heat.īecause the heating element is made of a conductive material, it absorbs and retains heat well. This conductive material is the heating element. Resistive heating works by passing an electric current through a conductive material to produce heat. ![]() To understand heating elements and which ones work best in a heater, it’s useful to explain the concept of resistive heating, which most heaters work on the basis of. ![]()
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