Infrared Space Heaters - do they work?

According to the IR gun that do not heat all the same

 

Quality is always a variable unfortunately.

 

That is true, they heat differently, but the amount of heat in BTUs is the same(ish). Some will have a high temperature, some are cooler to the touch. Temperature or a point in space is not a valid measure of heat.

Greg

 

I have one of these in the bathroom for a quick heat if it's chilly in the morning.
Bathroom safe ALCI plug.
http://www.amazon.com/Holmes-Digital-Bathroom-Pre-Heat-HFH436WGL-UM/dp/B005J2L9KY

 

What Are ALCI Safety Plugs?

 

First, thanks bobdog2o02 for the suggestion of running the furnace fan. I just completed my first test. Here are the results:

• 0 minutes: 73 main floor, 56 basement
• 30 minutes: 72 main floor, 58 basement
• 60 minutes: 73 main floor, 60 basement

Four degrees is a noticeable difference. I'm going to try a 2 hour test when it is cloudy or at night as there was some solar gain in the basement as the sun was starting to come in the windows. The primary down side to this is having to listen to the furnace fan - one really gets used to the quiet of radiant heat. I'm likely going to purchase the Honeywell Radiator Heater posted above; the combination of the furnace fan and space heater working together sounds like the best way to bring the basement temp up quickest to the point I can turn off the furnace fan. I will post my test results as they come in for anyone who might be interested in them.

Thanks everyone for your comments.

 

That's why we're all here. Give some, take some. Great community.

 

^^^This^^^
I'd rather spend $20 for a purse sized 1500 watt heater than $100's on a wood stove sized 1500 watt heater that promises magic.

1500 watts is 5118 BTU, regardless of advertising hype. And that is all the heat it will produce. IMHO.

 

ETA:
A bit of a simplification but........Electrical resistance heating is 100% efficient. What you put into it (1500 watts in this case) is what you get out of it. It makes comparisons much simpler than when efficiencies come into play.

But...There are still 5118 BTUs that are either radiant or convective. I'd guess a convection heater would make the space comfortable faster by heating the air first (what you feel) and letting the walls, floor, etc. (that will require many more BTUs) heat up over time.

 

You might want to look at more reviews and features of Oil Filled Heaters before you buy , just sayin
Best Oil Filled Heater Reviews - Guide 2015
Best Oil-filled Radiator Space Heaters

 

I agree with that thought; I've never really wanted to get a space heater, but told the wife I would look into ways to heat the basement. Going to do a bit more experimentation before buying anything. My latest thought is to do a test where I run the furnace to raise the temp 3 degrees where the thermostat is located and see how much this raises the temp in the basement. At that point I could run just the fan to continue mixing the house air to raise the basement temps to some acceptable temp. I was quite surprised that only four degrees felt so much warmer in my first test. Perhaps getting the temps into the low 60's will be enough. Will know more after running a few tests. Because my old stove could never hold a fire overnight, the furnace came on every morning around 4 am and ran until the wood stove was producing enough heat to keep the temps at 65 or more; now that the Fireview keeps the furnace off, the temps keep getting lower. Not sure how low it might go if we had a couple weeks of single digits.

 

As others have so eloquently said, watts are watts. And all of the same watts puts out the same BTU'ssorry but old inspectors just go by the facts

 

Let the stove go out yesterday to do a cleaning. Set furnace thermostat to 68 and it has been heating the house since yesterday evening. Checked the temp in basement as it felt comfortable ... was surprised that it read 60. For some dumb reason I was expecting it to be warmer. Then I actually turned on my brain and decided to think. Here are the register counts by floor:

• basement 3, with one in the utility side turned off
• first floor 8
• second floor 6

Clearly our basement temps have never been anywhere near the thermostat settings on the first floor. It was only this winter that our basement actually felt cold to us. Somewhere below 60 degrees our cold indicator goes off and tells us we need more heat. My first experiment raised temps from 56 to 60 in one hour just by running the furnace fans. I can't see any of those space heaters accomplishing the same increase in 1 hour. Running the furnace fans when we want to use that space seems like the way to go. That's the answer I'm giving the wife ... will report back later and let you know if this is the correct answer.

 

Hey, if it works do it.