My neighbor was telling me that his oil filled radiator type space
heater is more efficient than the kind with a fan and heating coils. I
told him that there is no difference, that all the electricity
consumed by the heater is converted to heat in the room. Even the
sound made by the fan vibrates the air which heats it up a little. So
if both were operated in a perfectly insulated room and consumed the
same amount of electricity the rooms would heat up the same amount.
Now I'm wondering about real world situations. Some frequencies of
light pass through walls, some through windows, some both, and some
neither. So I suppose the best heater is one that glows in a frequency
range that is completely absorbed by objects (including people) in the
room and reflected by the walls and windows. Are my asumptions
correct? I hope so. Otherwise I'll need to call my neighbor so he can
serve me a little crow.
Eric