A wide range of heaters are available today and it’s quite difficult to choose one among them. However, heaters are generally categorized as convection and infrared heaters based on the process of heating. They have their own characteristics and both have been in use for home heating.
Convection heaters heat up the space by blowing warm air. The air in the room is passed through the heating element of the heater and is again passed out in to the room. Certain convection heaters include moving fan to force the heated air out into the room. On the other hand, the infrared heaters or radiant heaters emit infrared radiations out. These radiations strike the objects or individuals and gets converted to heat. Hence, the convection heaters heat up the air, whereas, the infrared heaters heat up the people in the room directly. Compared to convection heaters, you can feel instant warmth with the use of infrared heaters. But, as the convection heaters warm up the air first, it takes certain time to feel the warmth.
Another difference between the convection and infrared heaters is the wastage of energy. Convection heaters may be associated with energy loss. This is because, the heated air from the convection heaters is less dense and remains towards the ceiling that reduces the amount of heat to be received by the people. This accounts for energy loss or wastage. However, energy loss is never seen in case of infrared heaters. Radiant heat from infrared heaters resembles natural radiation from the sun and is safe. Forced convection heaters may dry up the air and rises the chances of dust and pollen whirling in air. Convection heaters are, however, considered to be economical for longer periods of use. Keep in mind these differences between convection and infrared heaters when making a right choice for your home heater.