Fan heater or oil heater - which is better and more economical

The first autumn cold usually catches us by surprise - the heating still does not work, and the rooms become cool and uncomfortable. Left heat can be returned if you acquire an autonomous heating heater. Among the many offers, the most popular are fan heaters and oil convector heaters. About what to choose, will be discussed in this article.

Fan heater

Principle and features of work

The basis of the device is a heating element, blown by a fan. As a result, on the one hand, cold air enters the housing, passes through the heater and, on the other hand, enters the room already heated. To control the degree of heating of the element, there is a thermostat that turns it off when a certain temperature is reached and a regulator that sets this value.

Fan heater device
1 - housing; 2 - heating element; 3 - fan; 4 - regulator

There are several types of heaters:

• spiral;
• tubular electric heater (TEN);
• ceramic.

The spiral heater is a thread of nichrome wire, wound on a rod, giving it a certain shape. This design has serious disadvantages:

• the dust falling on the hot wire burns out and gives off an unpleasant odor, emitting harmful substances;
• with such heating, the air is significantly dried and loses oxygen.

In TEN heaters, the hot wire is hidden in the body in the form of a tube filled with a heat-conducting substance. Using such a heater is much safer while maintaining a high calorific value.

A ceramic heater is an element of conductive ceramics penetrated by many openings-cells through which heated air passes. This is the most progressive and safe design with higher consumer qualities compared to previous types.

Advanced manufacturers strive to give the fan heater an original look

Advantages and disadvantages

Fan heaters are characterized by the following advantages:

• Low cost.
• Fast heating of air in the room.
• The ability to adjust the temperature and heating rate.

The disadvantages include the following factors:

• Noise during fan operation.
• Intensive air movement raises dust from the surfaces in the room, which enters the device and burns there, creating an unpleasant odor.
• Heating air on a hot surface dries it and burns part of the contained oxygen.
• Significant temperature difference in height in the room.

Oil heater

Principle and features of work

An oil heater is a metal case, inside of which there is a heating element and mineral oil. Thanks to the presence of several sections, it resembles a conventional heating battery.

The principle of operation of the heater is as follows:

• The heating element, after supplying electricity to it, generates heat by heating the oil.
• Heated oil helps transfer heat to the metal casing.
• The layer of air in contact with the body of the device heats up and rises, replacing the colder.

The heating level is regulated by a temperature sensor and a power level controller. For ease of movement, heavy models are equipped with rollers.

Oil heater device

Advantages and disadvantages

Oil-based electric heaters have gained well-deserved popularity due to their advantages:

• High safety, since the heating element is located inside the case, which warms up no higher than 70-80 ° С.
• Long life without shutting down - a few days.
• Quiet operation due to the absence of moving parts.
• Lack of extraneous odors during the work.
• Do not dry the air in the room.
• Low cost.

However, they also have certain disadvantages:

• A long time warming up the room.
• Heavy weight metal body and mineral oil in it.

Modern oil heaters have an attractive design.

Which heater is better

The convenience of use

Compare the security of devices and the convenience of using them:

• Noise level. The fan heater for this indicator is inferior to the heater without any reservations. Even screw turbines and horizontal fans, which are equipped with the most modern models, have a significant noise level. The constant monotonous hum rumbles, fatigue develops, and the person’s attention span decreases. In addition, during operation, the mechanisms become dirty, which further enhances the noise they emit.
• Switching modes. Both types of devices when turning on and switching modes emit characteristic clicks. Their source is a thermal relay for an oil heater and relay groups for a fan heater. Due to the fact that a larger voltage is switched in the fan heater, these sounds are louder.
• Reliability of work. According to this indicator, the oil heater is ahead. A bimetallic plate in the voltage regulator or a fuse responsible for temperature and pressure can fail. Both of these elements are easy to replace. The fan heater has a lot more bottlenecks: the fan group loses lubrication, heaters burn out, regulators are oxidized, etc.
• Microclimate. The oil cooler does not affect the indoor climate. The fan heater burns oxygen and dust entering the body, which negatively affects the well-being of a person.

The choice of heating appliances today is very diverse

Long term operation

Consider the indicators of efficiency during long-term operation:

• Power consumption. The fan heater does not have the ability to completely shut off, modern models can only reduce power to a certain minimum level, without disconnecting at the same time. In oil coolers, the heating element is periodically completely switched off, saving electricity. In addition, over time, the fan heater consumes more and more electricity due to a decrease in the characteristics of the thermal element, in contrast to the stable performance of oil devices.
• The quality of heating. When using an oil heater, the air temperature in the room is more stable, unlike a fan heater, which heats the room much more unevenly.
• Warming up speed. The fan heater due to forced air movement warms up the room a little faster.
• Life time. According to this indicator, the oil heater is in front of the fan heater. It has far fewer components that can fail.

Choosing a heater

The right choice of heater will bring warmth and comfort to your apartment

As you can see, oil convectors are leading in many indicators, but fan heaters occupy a well-defined stable niche among heating devices. To finally choose a specific heating device, watch video reviews on this topic.

Fan heater selection

Oil Heater Selection