Wall Heaters

Wall heaters come in a number of different styles, sizes, shapes and colors, but there are a few things that are common to just about all of them. First off, wall heaters are actually installed in the wall, or at least mounted on it. This is great for smaller rooms with out a lot of room to spare, and gives you an effective heat source that doesn’t take up any walking or living room. Wall heaters are also great options for rooms that you don’t want to have a large floor heater taking up space in. If a big heater sitting on the floor would detract from the look or decoration of the room, a wall heater would make a great choice.

Another advantage to wall heaters is that they are a type of zonal heating. Zonal heating, as opposed to central heating, is when you have heaters in different rooms in your house that are not controlled by a central thermostat. This allows you to heat the rooms that you are using, and not heat the rooms that don’t need to be heated. This is great if you have a guest wing in your house, or several rooms that don’t get lived in very often. You don’t need to heat them right now, and zonal heating allows you to only heat the rooms that you are currently using.

Types of Wall Heaters

There are a couple of different types of wall heaters, with electric wall heaters being the most common. Choosing an electric wall heater gives you the convenience of using electricity, and let you install a heater just about anywhere in your house. The only potential drawback to using electric wall heaters is that they won’t be able to operate if your power gets knocked out. If you live in an area that gets a lot of winter storms, then that would be a concern. You definitely don’t want to have both your power and your heating go out in the middle of a blizzard.

If you want an alternative to an electric wall heater, both a gas wall heater and a propane wall heater would fit the bill. Natural gas heaters run on methane, and propane heaters obviously run on propane, which is derived from petroleum. Both of these heaters give you greater reliability than electric heaters, as they will continue to work even if the power goes out, but finding a reliable gas or propane supply is less convenient than simply plugging an electric heater into the wall.

How Wall Heaters Work

Nearly all wall heaters are going to be simple convection heaters. Convection heaters work by using the thermal properties of air to warm a room. The power source is applied to a heating element (either by passing an electrical current through it, or burning gas or propane on it) which then gives off heat into the surrounding air. The air begins to circulate around the room as it becomes heated, and cooler air is pulled down to the heater. That cool air is heated and begins to circulate, and the cycle continues.

Convection heaters are great at thoroughly heating every corner of the room, and in many cases, a thermostat will cycle them on and off automatically to keep the room at a constant temperature.

What To Look For In A Wall Heater

The biggest thing to consider when purchasing a wall heater is whether you want it to run on electricity or gas/propane. The convenience of electricity is a powerful draw for many people, but don’t discount the added reliability of propane and gas heaters that we discussed above. If you live in an area that is prone to winter storms, you should at least have a gas or propane powered backup heating option.

Other things to consider are the looks of the heater, the size, ease of installation, and, of course, the price. You definitely want to get a heater that matches the look of your home; you don’t want a garish, ugly thing staring back at you even if it does keep you warm. As far as ease of installation goes, heaters that actually have to be installed in the wall will more difficult to install than a simple wall mounted heater, which is just attached to the wall with brackets. On the other hand, “in wall” heaters will look better and leave less of the heater hanging out into the room. The heater to the right is an example of a wall mounted propane heater. That whole thing gets hung on the wall with brackets, and does not recess into the wall at all.

Lastly, price is always going to be a consideration. You can buy a decent wall heater for as little as $100, but it’s not going to be incredibly efficient or powerful. Top of the line models can run you as much as $250, but I usually recommend looking in the $150 to $200 range. This will get you a solid heater at a decent price.