Autumn has passed the middle and is slowly but surely moving towards winter. More and more often at night frosts, in some places already and snow falls; not far off the time when it will stop melting, there will be frosts. However, on the street and now it is not hot at all, so in a country house you can not do without heating. But this time we will not talk about stoves and boilers. Let’s talk about electric heaters-simple, mobile and affordable equipment that can help out a summer resident in the cold season (and this is in our latitudes most of the year, anyway).
I suggest discussing the advantages and disadvantages of different types of heaters and the situations in which they can be useful.
When you need a heater
I think that in a country house, and even more so, in a country house, you always need a heater. And maybe more than one. If only simply because plugging a plug into an outlet is much faster and easier than heating a stove or boiler (owners of homes with a gas or electric boiler in this respect, perhaps, easier).
For example, I have a wood-fired boiler. It is not difficult to drown it, but sometimes … laziness. You come, for example, in the evening from the city-the house is cold, at night it will be cold. And there is no longer any energy or mood to Tinker with the boiler. I turn on the heaters-beauty! You don’t have to worry about anything until morning.
Or, for example, you need to leave for a few days. In winter, this is critical: without heating in the cold, the house will get cold, the water in the pipes will freeze. All the same heaters help out. Yes, you never know such situations! Constantly heating a large house with electricity is expensive, but this way-from time to time — it is very convenient and practical.
And my neighbors, having built a new country house to replace the old one (where there was a stove), immediately decided that a heat gun and a couple of small heaters would be enough for them to hit on weekends. And we are happy with the choice: whenever you arrive, even in the middle of winter, you can quickly and easily warm up the premises, without wasting time on fuss with wood and a stove.
In short, there is always work for an electric heater. But the question is: which one should I choose? Stores offer so many options that the eyes run away. Manufacturers, of course, praise each of their products — what to focus on? Let’s try to understand the pros and cons of various devices.
According to data, in September 2019, the greatest interest of buyers was caused by convector heaters — they accounted for 44% of requests. The second place in popularity was shared by traditional oil radiators and less familiar infrared ones — 19% each. In third place — with 13% of demand — were fan heaters. Let’s start with the leaders.
Electric convectors
Probably everyone remembers that warm air always rises up, and cold air tends to go down. The operation of convector heaters is based on this principle. Their device is extremely simple: a heating element is located inside the case; cold air gets inside through the lower grate, heats up, then, in accordance with the laws of physics, rises and exits through the upper grate already hot. Due to this continuous air circulation, the surrounding space is warmed up.
The heating level is adjustable; the controller can be electronic or mechanical, depending on the model. The power of convectors varies — it is always possible to choose the right option depending on the heated area.
For cottages, wall or floor convectors are most convenient — they are mobile, do not require special installation (unlike baseboards or built-in) and are quite affordable. The best option, from my point of view, is a universal model that can be hung on the wall or put on the floor (for this purpose, the legs are included — with or without wheels). I have just such an option, it has been working for the third year — I am happy, although at first there were doubts: I was already familiar with oil radiators, and here something new, not quite clear…
In fact, it turned out that the convector device is really reliable, convenient and, despite the simplicity of the design, effective. Heats up quickly-faster than an oil cooler; this is especially noticeable if you turn them on at the same time. Compact, but the room warms up well (and what is important — evenly); has protection against overheating; when the set temperature is reached, it turns off.
My model is extremely simple, budget option. Those that are more expensive allow you to set the desired temperature literally up to a degree and have various additional functions that are useful if you use convectors regularly, and not as a convenient addition to the main heating, but for constant heating of premises. You can even choose those that connect to the heating network, which can be controlled remotely. But this, of course, is not cheap.
In General, the relatively high price was probably the main disadvantage of such equipment. But manufacturers are working hard on this, and now there is a fairly wide range of convectors at affordable prices — it is no accident that the demand for them is growing.
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