On Mon, 28 Nov 2011 09:29:20 -0800 (PST), DerbyDad03
wrote:

I thought that all electric heaters were 100% efficient.

What is this site talking about when they say:

"During the process of converting electrical energy into heat energy a
great deal of it is lost. Therefore an electrical heater is left with
45% of the energy for heating purposes."

Where does he think the rest of the heat goes? It's not what he
says, but maybe someone told him that 55%** of the energy was lost at
the power plant where oil or gas or sometimes coal is burned, and he
thinks that happens at the heater. The author doesn't even have a
name. how credible can he be?

I don't remember if this is a reasonable percentage or not.

http://recomparison.com/comparisons/...diant-heaters/

P.S. I'm back to struggling with whether or not I should use a
constantly running oil-filled heater (set on low) in my small workshop
or should I run a small electric heater with a fan only during those
times when I'm in the shop, usually a couple of nights a week and a
few more hours on weekends.

The second is cheaper. If the shop is kept warm all the time, it
will be losing heat to the outside all the time.

In most climates, another way to save money and increase comfort
wouldl probably be to use a an electric hotplate to boil away a
soucepan of water and increase the humidity to 50% or so. I have a
humidifier on my furnace, and on occasion that the furnace hasn't
worked, I've boiled a big pot of water on the stove, or run an all-hot
shower** into a stoppered bathtub. If your workshop is only one room
a saucepan or two might be enough. Start with hot water.

**Be sure to get the soap out of the way. Also dangerous if you
forget the water is running and the tub overflows. So I switched to
the stove.

I have both, so the initial cost is not a factor.