Fan heater

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A fan heater is a heater that works by using a fan to pass air over a heating element. This heats up the air, which then leaves the heater, warming up the surrounding area. They can provide very rapid heating of a room, however may be relatively noisy in operation. They are inexpensive to buy and can be used to heat areas where other heating solutions might be difficult to install, expensive or impractical. An example of such an application is their use to heat up small shop kiosks.

Many modern fan heaters have a dial on them that represents "heat", or the level that you want the heat to get to. The fan heater will have a device in it that senses the air temperature or the temperature inside the heater itself. When the temperature of the air being taken into the back of the fan heater reaches this point it will automatically turn off until it senses the temperature is cool enough to turn back on again. This feature helps the fan heaters to not overheat, as the combination of electricity, heat and plastic (which is what fan heaters are normally made from) could lead to a fire if left unchecked.

Fan heaters are usually operated by being plugged into the mains electricity supply. Because fan heaters have (albeit encased in plastic) metal where electric current is passed through, it is important not to get them wet or use them in humid conditions due to the risk of electricution.

[edit] See also

• HVAC
• Convector heater
• unit ventilator
• fan coil unit