On Mon, 28 Nov 2011 15:11:48 -0500, micky
wrote:

On Mon, 28 Nov 2011 11:10:28 -0800 (PST), DerbyDad03
wrote:


"IMO, the electric heater with a fan is the clear winner."

Even though all electric heaters are 100% efficient, one type vs.
another could be cheaper to operate, right?

Obviously 100% of 2 kW is going to cost less than 100% of 5 kW over

I know these were just sample numbers, but FTR, they don't make
consumer space heaters this big. Breakers are usually 15 amps which
would be 1.6KW, but they don't make heaters that will almost trip the
breaker. Big ones aree usually 10 amps, 1100 watts.

Virtually every one I have is 1500 watts on high and 750 0n low
(except for the 3000 watt 240 volt 'construction cube" in the garage.)

the same time period, but how does one compare the various types of
heaters to determine the operating cost?

Disregarding the specific situation regarding my shop, are oil-filled
heaters cheaper to operate than fan-based heaters since the oil
retains/emits the heat even when the element is off?

If I wanted to determine how much it costs to run an oil-filled heater
"24/7" I'd need to know how often it actually cycled, which would be
based on the temperature of the space, which of course would vary over
time.

That's hard to determine, but how much heat is radiated, conducted, or
convected to the outside when the shop is always warm, versus when it
is only warm a few hours a day is easier to compare. We know the
shop is losing heat or he would only have to warm it up once and it
woudl stay that way.