Hey all. We have a home built in the early 50’s, and our main bedroom was an addition, built on a crawl space. We do get heat from the furnace, but the room is completely on the other side of the house, so it’s the coldest room. We’ve put new windows in, a new roof, and new flooring in the entire home. Just wondering if an infrared heater would be worth it, and what brand? Would only use it while we were awake, it would be shut off while sleeping or gone. Reinsulating is on the to do list, but have to wait until finances get caught back up, as we’ve done all the other things fairly recently. What say ye?

I say you google "space heater + fire) and think about how much you really need it. Houses built in the fifties don't have the available amperage to run these things, sometimes with two, three, or more rooms sharing one circuit. Also the insulation used prior to sixties has a lower heat rating and is subject to break down even with out taxing it.

Most space heaters use 1500w of power, your circuits are rated at 1800w when new and in good condition. This only leaves room for five 60w lamps on the entire circuit before you hit 100% of its capacity (when new).

If you absolutely have to use a space heater have an electrician run a dedicated 20a circuit for it or install inexpensive baseboard heat, or slightly more pricey in-well heater.

I wish the thread I posted some months back was still available, I posted a photo of the plug of a space heater that someone I know had been using, I quite possibly saved them from a fire.

Thanks, but I thought the terminology between space heater and infrared kind of led to a better technology? Since infrared does not heat up air per se. and, we would only use while awake and in the room.
I did do a search for old posts, and read what I could find. One post was in regards to a garage area, basically building a new garage area and the best way to heat that, and I did read about heating a cold room, but infrared was not mentioned. And , since this is not a new building, but having to use an existing structure, not too much I can do about starting off with new anything. Too expensive to start gutting rooms.
I wouldn’t even keep it plugged in when not in use, for one thing. Any other ideas?

You are right that infrared is better.. it heats the objects in the room not the air. I presume we are considering electric... best way to solve the mentioned amperage problem is to just have a separate circuit run for the heater... It is really not that hard to do in most homes. But that is assuming you have same wiring from the 50's with limited 15 amp circuits.... even if you do most often the main breaker panels have been upgraded or at least added onto for things like AC, and furnaces.

IMO, you will be disappoineted with an infrared heater. I suggest one of these oil-filled radiator types. They do not get hot enough to start a fire-no glowing elements. I have two in my home for supplemental heat in single rooms.

This example is more expensive than necessary. Most hardware stores sell them.

https://www.amazon.com/Honeywe...nts=p_89%3AHoneywell

Yes, forgot to mention, had a complete main breaker upgrade. Have 200 amp service so no need to overload one circuit.
And, electric is what we are considering. So, running one separate circuit would not be an issue.

I have exactly the same issue. What has worked best is a small electric element. Infrared is great when you can get it overhead (I use it in lots of applications) but its simply not the right answer in a bed room. You do have to deal with the power issues. It doesn't say where you live but to make a real dent in the temp in any decently cold area (I live in Maine) you will need 1500 watts. That's a dedicated circuit (or at least one with no competing stuff on it).

Thank you everyone. I’ll do some more research and go from there. Appreciate all the info.

If you have to go so far as running wiring for a space heater, I'd recommend going the whole hog and hardwiring a couple electric heaters with their own thermostat. It'll be more money, but the fire prevention peace-of-mind would be worth it.

Assuming that you have forced-hot-air heat, you might add an inline duct booster fan to a duct running into the bedroom.

They can be wired into a timer to help out the room temperature when you need it.

quote:

Originally posted by m1009:
Yes, forgot to mention, had a complete main breaker upgrade. Have 200 amp service so no need to overload one circuit.
And, electric is what we are considering. So, running one separate circuit would not be an issue.

If you're going to run a new circuit from the breaker panel, for a heater, I would definitely make it 20amp instead of 15amp. Just need a 20amp breaker, 20amp receptacle, and 12awg wire (comes as romex, same as the 15amp 14awg). This gives you a little extra capacity and breathing room on the circuit.

quote:

Originally posted by m1009:
Yes, forgot to mention, had a complete main breaker upgrade. Have 200 amp service so no need to overload one circuit.
And, electric is what we are considering. So, running one separate circuit would not be an issue.

If running a circuit is easy then just install a Forced air in wall heater. The link is not the exact brand I use, but just an example, but something with same specs is what you need.

It's a simple 12-2 circuit on two pole 20a circuit. Will work better than any plug in space heater, it's just a bigger version with its own circuit. So safety is not a concern unless you pile your laundry and spare gas cans in front of it. It will work best if you can easily run wiring to a location near the bed for a thermostat instead of using any built in t-stat or one one the same wall. The heater is best installed on a interior wall for two reasons. First air infiltration from removing insulation to fit unit into wall. Second because of 50's build you run risk of plaster on 1x2 furing strips, in that case you need to bump out wall and build box for it. It will however do the best job on an exterior wall because that's where the cold is coming from.

These will heat the room more than twice as fast as any plug in unit, and work great if you want to quickly take the crispness out of the air right before bed or before showering.

I use oil filled space heaters and I believe I use them safely. They have two switches, one is 600w and the other is 900w. If you turn them both on then it would be 1500W total. After having to replace a burned outlet I never use more than 900W.

These heaters are quiet,odor free, and provide ample supplemental warmth .

What say the electricians on these heaters?

How about one of those electric fireplaces? How many amps do one of those pull?

How about a nice fluffy down comforter.

quote:

Originally posted by clubleaf206:
How about one of those electric fireplaces? How many amps do one of those pull?

Exact same thing, 12a/1500w, except they use part of the power to make the visuals.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Skins2881,

It might help to just set the furnace fan to run full time, it will help balance out the temp difference.

quote:

Originally posted by Aeteocles:
How about a nice fluffy down comforter.

Electric blanket or electric mattress pad might do the trick.

Or my favorite, just cuddle closer.

quote:

Originally posted by GaryBF:
IMO, you will be disappoineted with an infrared heater. I suggest one of these oil-filled radiator types. They do not get hot enough to start a fire-no glowing elements. I have two in my home for supplemental heat in single rooms.

This example is more expensive than necessary. Most hardware stores sell them.

https://www.amazon.com/Honeywe...nts=p_89%3AHoneywell

We had tenants burn down a house using an oil-filled type of electric heater. Just the type you are recommending. They do get hot enough to cause a fire by direct contact, and they do draw enough current to cause stress on the electrical system. 1500 watts is 1500 watts, whether it ends up in a convection heater, infrared heater, hot plate, or 15 100w bulbs.

BTW, the fire from the oil heater was caused by a wicker basket in prolonged contact with the heater while it was running on high.

Here's the house with one of those oil heaters that don't cause fires.