It's not every day you buy a transmitter thermal. If you are new to the world of electric heating, it can be hard to tell where to start and which one is best. So we have prepared this guide to show you what to look for based on the needs of your house and to be able to choose coherently to have a warm home.
Now, the market offers an important variety of types of thermal emitters (technically, thermoelectric emitters) and many are sometimes labeled electric radiators energy efficient or heating efficient from a business perspective for the energy saving, but, as we shall see, not all they heat the home in the same way.
In general, the price of the equipment of heating is inversely proportional to the cost of supply: the cheaper the equipment, the more expensive it will work out, in most cases. It I feel!… This is so.
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It is a type of heating (heat emitter) that is fixed to the wall and works connected to the network electrical. In general, the material with which manufactures is aluminum since it has a transmission factor very high heat.
But… How does a thermal emitter heat a room? The comfort of our home will depend the way we distribute heat by acting three forces mainly:
Today, virtually everyone wears some system with automatic control of functions with a touch keyboard to be able to program; weekly programming with sensors temperature – thermostat (See importance of thermostats in heating), presence detector and open windows or more advanced home automation options where the system communicates with smartphones.
Now that we know how heat is transmitted in a room of the house, we can already see the different types of electric radiators that we find in stores for the winter…
Currently, in the market we can find three types of thermal emitters: ceramic, dry and fluid.
The difference lies in their speed in reaching the maximum temperature which depends on the concept of thermal inertia, that is, the time that they are capable of to maintain the accumulated heat and this, we can verify it in the following graph:
They are made up of a ceramic element to accumulate the heat. The ceramic heat emitters are the that it takes longer to reach the maximum temperature, but, due to its high thermal inertia, are the ones that keep the heat during more time.
They are recommended for any type of installation and for continuous use of more than 8 hours.
Due to their thermal inertia, we can use them depending on the more convenient electricity rate (At night the electricity).
These low consumption radiators work as a thermal emitter of fluid, by radiation, similar to the water radiators, so the comfort that we can achieve in the house is similar.
The fluid radiators have a liquid system that circulates through the emitter and is heated in uniform (It is similar to the radiator of oil). They transmit heat by radiation, like a water radiator.
The fluid thermal emitters are models intermediate between dry and ceramic emitters due to their inertia thermal, since they maintain heat for up to 4 hours.
They are equipment for an integral heating installation in home or large rooms.
The fluid emitter is ideal for use continuous at home, between 5 and 8 hours a day of operation.
The dry thermal emitters have little thermal inertia, that is, the resistance of aluminum heats up the elements very quickly – radiator emitters (1 hour) but they also get cold very quickly.
It is recommended for rooms that you need heat quickly and warm areas with little cold.
They are less effective at maintaining heat throughout the day. time and also heat the air by convection. Are the cheaper models that we can find in stores.
The usefulness, disadvantages and advantages of emitters thermal for home depends a lot on the needs of the user. In general, we will see the following scheme of these types of low energy heaters:
| Advantages |
| Ease of installation. they are not needed works. |
| Easy handling and mobility. |
| Independent emitters to heat only the spaces you need. |
| They are efficient in transmitting heat. |
| Option to buy a model depending on the hours of utility. |
| Possibility of time programming and other options home automation |
| Safe heating system. |
| Manufacturers offer long warranties. |
| Maximum respect for the environment. no smoke, no waste. |
| They complement the decoration. various designs and colors. |
| Disadvantages |
| They work with expensive energy, electricity. |
| Electricity consumption can be high if we have many modules installed. |
| They require high fixed powers if we use many modules. |
| Not suitable for very cold areas. |
| For large surfaces, several radiators and such can increase the cost. |
Since we have seen the classification of thermal equipment for heating, its benefits and disadvantages of the models that we can meet in stores, now, we wonder if some are more efficient than others, that is, if they spend less electricity and therefore, we will save a few euros.
This is the typical question that is often answered by the commercials of the stores attending more to the possible sale than to the reality of the energy efficiency of this type of electric radiators. as point of departure:
But, let's see the following scheme…
First, emphasize that as we see in the graph the boilers and pellet stoves are the most efficient equipment, but undoubtedly we cannot always install it at home.
Two values stand out in the graph. First the use; Brief, moderate, long and then your level of efficiency – energy saving, but you have to be careful with the emitters thermal.
In reality, the thermal emitters consume the same in electricity, that is, although some take longer time to heat up and others less (Remember the concept of thermal inertia) that extra heat that we have when turning off the radiator, we have already paid for it in the form of a longer time to warm them up initially.
«Here the true saving is given by the electricity that we use, with a ceramic emitter (It takes a few 4 hours to heat up and cool down) we can save more if you we turn on at a time when electricity is cheaper and we turn off, when electricity is more expensive.»
Obviously, control functions are important automatic and programming that the issuer may have to regulate them according to needs, not like the old stoves electric, halogen, heaters or fireplaces firewood.
So, be careful with the concept of emitters low-consumption heaters or radiators of blue heat, they are all the same covered with labels marketing to sell more.
Knowing the energy efficiency of the emitters thermoelectrics, now it's time to see which one we should choose for our home.
There are several things we need to clarify before we start buy, steps to follow so as not to get lost:
1.- We must know the surface of the room in m2 where we are going to place the thermal emitter, This will determine what power we need. So overall:
If we are more strict in calculating the power necessary for an electric radiator, we can look at what climatic zone we live in (The needs come into play kcal/h). For Spain, we could use the following schema:
We must see if the insulation of the walls is good, windows and roof (See insulating material properties), if the qualities are suitable for winter, we will need less heat power to heat the housing and if there is little insulation, it will cost us more.
Orientation is also important... Does the Sun enter the housing or not? In those spaces where the rays of Sun we will need less installed power.
2.- We have to see its use. If we go to connect it for several hours or sporadic use. Remember what:
3.- Remember to check the size. He number of aluminum elements that the one we are going to carry buy (width and height measurements). You will need a space separation of 10 – 12 cm so that it heats properly.
4.- Look at the programming possibilities. Control and measurement is important if we want savings in the electrical consumtion. This aspect also goes hand in hand with lower or higher price.
5.– Aesthetics and design are important to have a more pleasant home environment that matches the decor. We recommend reading the article on radiators design for decoration and see the possibilities that we have in color, size or shape.
If you are not convinced of these devices, we have a article that we compare and analyze the different energy efficient heaters to see which one is better according to stay of the house and hours of use.
If we are not DIY handymen and we are going to practice a complete installation for the entire home of thermal emitters, directly from a professional. And if we like to play, well, directly to the next video that is very well explained:
As a final point, even if it is not the most efficient heating it does have many advantages as we have seen; from ease of installation (without works) and possible mobility to other stays relatively easy, a good design, too offer good guarantees or the possibility of being controlled and programmed, even with the mobile.
