wrote in message
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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."

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.

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

When electric energy is converted to to heat it goes thru a resistive
type of wire. While the electricity is being converted to heat, much
of the energy is lost as heat, thus you're wasting much of the
electricity in the form of heat.

There's a third type of heater that would end up using the least
electricity, but it would require an initial investment.

Since the 1950s, there have been tubular "lamps" available called quartz
infrared heaters. They emit both heat and a substantial amount of light.
Compared to other types of electric heaters, they emit shorter wavelengths
of infrared. Those shorter wavelengths heats things (people and objects),
not air. In your workshop you would need to have them on only when you are
there and want heat. The heat is instantaneous. It feels like sunshine.

I have two quartz infrared heaters in my garage - each 1500 watts. When
it's cold and I'm there working on the car or bagging trash, it's warm. I
just switch them on and off as needed. The light is a bonus.

Such heaters are widely used for snow melting, paint drying and cooking.

Tomsic