oil filled electric heaters

Oil-filled electric heaters are safe, silent and provide a high-quality heat. They are lightweight, do not require significant maintenance, and can be located where you need them (they are typically portable). These radiators are commonly used in bedrooms and offices.

How they operate

Oil filled electric heaters operate by warming up a special oil inside them. That oil in is only warmed - not burned - and hasn't to be replaced.

Oil-filled electric heate, from DeLonghi That heat-conserving oil circulates throughout the coils of the heater, spreading heat into the room.

Some oil filled heaters may produce some radiant heating (in order to heat directly people near them, like the sun heats people) but they mostly produce convection heating: they heat the air of the room, and it is by the heated air that the occupants of the rooms get the warmth. The ultimate goal of oil filled electric heaters is to heat an entire room, and not just the people near them as with radiant heaters.

Uses

Typical medium-capacity oil-filled heaters may not be effective at heating open areas or large rooms with poor insulation. Many of these heaters are designed to heat small to medium sized rooms, often below 150 sq. ft. (or very well insulated larger rooms).

You may find bigger units (3000 watts, for some large top models), but that will also mean higher running costs, which may collide with the goal of this type of heaters.

Direct alternatives

Modern baseboard water heaters are a good source of convection heating and a possible alternative to oil-filled heaters.

Smaller heaters, namely ceramic space heaters, can also be an alternative. They combine convection-radiant heating, and provide more directional and spot heating, compared to oil-filled electric heaters, but they are cheap and the most powerful models can be an efficient alternative to oil-filled heaters.

Safety and quietness

Since they do not use fans, oil filled radiators are absolutely silent. And also extremely safe; they do not overheat and do not cause burns.

Running costs

Overall, oil-filled electric heaters are used to supplement central heating systems, or to save money by not heating an entire house. But since they are electric heating units, these savings depend also on how they are used. An extended use of these heaters is not exactly cheap.

There are, anyway, some new features in modern oil-filled electric heaters that can help homeowners to get lower energy bills. New models have a typical three power settings to flexibly heat a room, according to different heating needs.

They can run low (say, at 500 watts) or medium (say, at 1000 watts) for energy savings and to spread warmth slowly. Or they can run high (say at 1500 watts), for a quicker heating… And they may also have a programmable 24-hour timer thermostat, with dozens of options involving the temperature, wattage, activation time or duration – opening the field to huge energy savings.

Best oil-filled electric heaters

Delonghi is the most popular brand in portable oil-filled electric heaters. They get the best ratings in most customer reviews. But there are other top manufacturers like Honeywell or Optimus…

For customer reviews on this type of heaters, see (Amazon.com): Oil Filled Space Heaters

Prices and warranties

Oil-filled electric heaters are a little more expensive than most other electric heaters. Prices between $50-$100 are common. Warranties are typically large: 10 years, in some cases.

Capacity and features

Different power settings and a programmable timer thermostat with dozens of options for energy savings or for extra fast heating are major features that should be require in modern oil-filled electric heaters.

Antifreeze and frost function (to avoid the indoor temperature to fall below, say, 40 degrees F/ 4º C), overheat safety cut-of function (to automatically shut off the heater) are also advantageous features. Wheels for easy transportation are now almost common to all oil-filled electric heaters.