It's a space heater. It's supposed to be "inefficient." The whole fucking point of a space heater is to convert electricity into heat. What the fuck is wrong with you?
EDIT: I didn't expect people who know what they're talking about to reply lmao
The strange paradox is that electric heat is actually 100% efficient technically! All electrical energy is converted to heat. The inefficiency comes from generation and distribution.
Also, fun fact... the reason why all electric space heaters are 1500 Watt here in US is because (1500W / 120V = 12.5 AMP... which is close to the max safe power draw on a 15A circuit (-20% is intentional - you intentionally never want a 15A circuit to run at max capacity).
Oh yeah, absolutely, heat pumps are far superior because they pull ambient heat from the environment. Heat pump efficiency is like 300+ percent.
Yeah, I know that sounds weird... but basically for each unit of electricity used, three units of heat are generated (from ambient atmosphere).
Technically speaking, the answer they are searching for is an electric heat pump mini-split system. These systems are basically air conditioners that push the hot air inside and cold air outside, so they run as heaters. Not sure why it took so long for this to become a thing, but they have efficiencies over 100%, because they aren't converting energy to heat, but using it to move heat. Some are close to 200% efficient.
HVAC contractors don't like to do them though, because its more work for them. Its not what they're familiar with doing. And they don't have to if you don't ask for it. So a lot of HVAC systems are still the old technology, even though heat pumps have been popular and trending for about 10 years now.
Do heat pumps maintain that efficiency when there' s no hot air outside to pump in?
Ambient air heat pumps generally work well down to around 20F or so, then effectiveness drops. Still pretty good though.
There's a version that pumps water in pipes underground and uses ambient geothermal heat (because underground temperature stays a constant temperature year-round) that avoids this shortfall, but its more expensive to install because it involves drilling.
Most also have an em heat option for sub freezing temperatures, but that makes them less than 100% efficient because you're heating a coil that's outside and is radiating heat into the atmosphere
They become less efficient at temperatures near or below freezing (below 7 C), firstly because it becomes harder to extract heat from the outside, and secondly because the heat pump will need to switch to a reverse cycle at regular intervals to defrost internal components (usually at temps below 2 C).
My apartment is outrageously hot most of the time (probably because i've practically got whats nearly an almost mini data center runnin in a 1br, no joke I even had stuff rackmounted for a while) , so I got a AC unit, but the windows are all horizontal sliding and fucky, so I had to get one of those weird as free standing deaies with wheels and a tube coming out the back you put out the widow. Sometimes when its actually manages to be cold (recently), I just turn it on without putting the tube out the window. heats things up.
what if your space heater accidentally plays computer games and sends text messages on the side
people want more heat for less electricity is what they meant is my guess
The most efficient space heater is an RTX 30 series card mining bitcoin.
It's exactly as efficient as any other space heater, plus the child drug slavery weapons market pays you for all of the electricity and the cost of the card.
If you want to fight child gun sex trafficking and still stay warm, burn down a bank
I mean it's not totally absurd, straight electricity to heat creates more air currents that move the heated air upwards to the roof and creates a cold draft on the floor level, while something like a water based heater radiates the warmth a lot slower and while it heats the air around a bit slower it doesn't cause as bad convection currents which keeps the room at a comfortable temperature more easily. 80 degrees at the roof level doesn't help anyone if the draft destroys your ankles. There's a reason why floor heating is more efficient than other heating systems. If you only try to heat the air around the heater to maximum temperature, it will be uncomfortably hot close to the heater but it gets cold just a few feet away from the heat source, while slower heating will keep the air currents at a reasonable level.
I do believe radiators are more "efficient". They put off the same max BTUs but they retain heat so even if you turn it off it's gonna be slowly dispersing more. Only really more efficient if you don't have the heater on 24/7
If it retains heat after you turn it off, doesn't that just mean that it has a higher thermal mass and therefore you need to put in more energy to heat it up in the first place before you start feeling the heat?
Yes but it depends on the situation that you need it in for it to be less or more efficient. A slow trickle of heat may be more preferred than a constant thrashing of it
It's the exact same amount of heat because it's the exact same amount of energy. There is no way around it, it's the definition of heat that makes it so.
What would you prefer in a drafty room when the power goes out? A radiator or a space heater?
That's an edge case. Only matters for intermittent blackouts.
That's what I was saying. The BTUs will be exactly the same but if you don't want your heater on 24/7 or you are having rolling blackouts the radiator will be slightly better.
The oil filled radiator type is way more efficient than the filament/fan type. It's a subjective term.
Idk but make sure you open the oven door after cooking to let the heat out, otherwise it disappears.
another good way to spread heat if you have a ceiling fan is to reverse the direction of rotation: warm air gets pushed down, while cold - up.
Oil filled radiator style space heaters are more energy efficient than convection space heaters. Once the oil reaches temperature the heating element shuts off and it retains the heat for a while vs constantly blowing hot air.
