Space heater - Safety guidance
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Winter comes with frosty and icy weather that may weaken our immune defenses, especially children and the elderly, which in result lead to pneumonia, cough, flu. However, space heaters have come to rescue. Space heaters have become a crowd-pleasing device recently in the winters as they warm up your one or two rooms faster and more efficient than a central heating system.
But don’t judge a book by its cover. Small as a space heater may seem to be, it is quiet a dangerous device. Take a look at the statistics of the National Fire Protection Association to verify what I mean.
We are showered with festivals on those winter months but accidents don’t take holidays. Don’t let even a small accidents ruin your precious time spent with your family. When the winter is approaching, it is important to go through this safety guide for using a space heater to prevent potential fires and injuries that may happen when you are trying to keep your home cozy and toasty.
Why are space heaters dangerous?
While a central heating system can come in handy when it comes to heating an entire home, a space heater is a more
efficient and budget-friendly to warm up a single room or a particular in your home.
Markets are stocked with a bunch of kinds of space heaters that suits various needs. And different kinds of space
heaters pose different threats to the users.
Most household space heaters work by convection, which means by heating up a fluid such as gas or oil or water. This
kind of heater is popular because it distributes heat throughout a room.
Another kind is that relies on radiant heating, which emit infrared radiation that directly heats objects and people
near the heater. Obviously, radiant space heater provides a quick way to make you warm in the blink of an eye in
your freezing room.
However, when radiant heaters are placed nearby flammable objects such as sofas, carpets, mattresses or wooden
tables, they can ignite a fire.
Both radiant and convection space heaters, if not carefully used, causes electrical shock hazards. And though all
the manufacturers are boasting about the cost efficiency of their products, space heaters do consume quite a large
amount of electricity, making a threat to circuits and as a result, causing power failures and even fires.
Accidents don’t spare anyone. Children and pets can also be victims of space heaters as they can get burned from
heating elements or the hot surface of a heater that has been used continuously. Moreover, their clothes are
potential materials to start a fire.
Needless to say, heaters that use natural gas, propane or kerosene can be dangerous if their fuel leaks and ignites.
And if you are using an unvented fuel-burning heater in your house, you are inviting a “silent killer” named carbon
monoxide to your family’s winter life since it has no odor, color or flavor and affects the level of oxygen in the
air. The prolonged exposure to CO can lead to headaches, drowsiness and nausea, even death.
Is a space heater more dangerous than a HVAC system?
If you have read until now and reconsider of installing a HVAC (Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) system to survive this winter instead of buying a space heater, think again. A central heating system is no safer than a space heater, not to say it’s even more dangerous.
Heating systems can operate in different forms. Some are furnaces that burn material to provide heated air through the ductwork, while another use boilers that heat water for steam radiators, or forced-water systems with baseboard radiators, electric heat, and heat pumps.
In whatever forms, a HVAC has to use burnable fuel to heat up your home, which increases the chance of you and your family being poisoned by CO. And you know what happens when you are exposed to CO.
Moreover, you will suffer some symptoms such as coughing, sneezing, watery/itchy eyes, allergies, etc., due to the bad quality of air your furnace provides. And for someone who owns natural gas furnaces is the danger of gas leaks and fires.
So, a HVAC system is not a safer choice for homeowners. If a space heater suits your demands and needs, just go for it and follow these safety tips below to keep you and your beloved ones safe and worry-free while having a space heater in your home.
Space heater safety tips
When buying a space heater
Choosing a space heater is of the uttermost importance. A space heater must properly fit the size of the rooms you want to heat and you don’t want to choose an oversized space heater ‘cuz most of the heaters come with come with a general sizing table.
And do not opt for an old cheap space heater. Who knows what has happened with it before?
Below are some requirements of a safe space heater. Make sure that the space heater you intend to buy ticks all the boxes that are presented in the infographic.
When using a space heater
>Bonus safety tips for anyone fond of fuel-burning space heaters:
Open doors between rooms for ventilation and ensure that the heater’s exhaust duct(s) and flow are unobstructed.
Use only the approved fuel and never fill a hot heater. Do not overfill the heater since the liquid and its fumes can expand. Refuel only outside or in a well-ventilated area.
Have vented space heaters inspected by qualified professions every year to reduce the risk of CO poisoning.
Run a kerosene heater at the recommended flame height.
Conclusion
Now you know how to use a space heater safely and effectively. Following these instructions, you are sure to have a worry free break to enjoy the winter without your teeth chattering together.
I hope you find this safety guide useful and see you in the next post.