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Most modern fan heaters use a maximum of two to three thousand watts of electricity and can adjust to run at lower power.
Electric fan heaters convert all electricity into heat with negligible waste. They are the most efficient heating appliances available.
If you want to know exactly how much electricity your specific fan heater uses, this article will show you how to find out.
However, if you want to know more about expenses, then check out our separate article on how much electric fan heaters cost to run.
How To Know How Much Electricity Your Fan Heater Uses
To know how much electricity your appliance is using, you need to find the Watt setting for your normal use.
This info is on the box that the heater was in when you first bought it. But who keeps the box? Don’t worry, read on…
My latest appliance doesn’t show the power clearly. Here is the top of my unit:
The display shows two power settings marked I and II, but it doesn’t say how much wattage is provided at each setting.
However, the answer is on the other side. When I turn the unit upside down, the maximum watts are embossed on the plastic.
Because it’s printed white on white, it’s not very easy to read. However, a few seconds of peering closely reveals that the maximum is 3,000 W.
Finding the watts online
If you can’t find the wattage on your unit, then you will be able to get this information online.
The easiest way is to search for an online listing of your unit on any marketplace. The specification will have the number of watts.
The number may be specified in KW, which is simply a thousand watts. In other words, 2KW is 2000W.
What if the measurements are in amps and volts?
Some brands don’t show the number of watts. Instead, they display amps and volts.
This is an easy calculation to convert into watts. Simply multiply the amps times the volts. That is your answer.
Fan Heaters Convert All Electricity To Heat
The great advantage of electric fan heaters is that they are almost one hundred percent efficient in converting electricity to heat.
If you run a 1kW heater for an hour, the 1,000 watts of electric power are converted to 1kW of heat. There should be no loss or waste of electricity.
Nit-pickers may point to the noise of the fan or the orange glow that comes from the filament. Does that not mean that there is some waste in converting electricity to sound or light?
The answer is no. The sound and light energy both eventually convert to heat. That’s the beauty of these small appliances. They are pretty much the perfect energy conversion systems.
However, there are exceptions to every rule…
Low-quality appliances may waste electricity
One of the big advantages of these appliances is that they tend to be cheaper than other types of heaters.
However, I advise that you don’t buy an obscure brand that is extremely cheap. If the unit is poorly designed, the casing may obstruct the heat from being pushed out into the room.
Do Fan Heaters Use More Electricity Than Other Home Appliances?
If you look around your home, you’ll probably find that your fan heater uses more electricity than other modern appliances.
For example, it will use more watts than your phone, your television, or your doorbell. If you have an electric food mixer, then it will use less electricity than your heater.
This is because these devices aren’t designed to convert electricity to heat. So, let’s compare your little heater to a toaster, an oven, or an electric clothes dryer.
All these electric heating devices broadly use the same amount of electricity.
Probably the largest electricity-powered appliance in your house is your refrigerator. Fridges typically use significantly less electricity than a fan heater.
However, fridges still probably have the biggest consumption of electricity in your house over a year. That’s because your fridge is running 24×7 every day of the year.
In contrast, we use the fan heaters in short bursts and probably not at all during the summer.
Are There Appliances That Use Less Electricity And Produce More Heat?
I love electric oil-filled heaters, but they don’t heat a room as fast as fan heaters do. Is there any appliance that produces more heat with less power?
The answer is that appliances based on heat pump technology are even more efficient. These have the additional complexity of a compressor and heat pump.
The electricity powers the heat pump which uses refrigerant to distribute the heat more efficiently around your house. You do get more bang for your buck, or more heat for your precious dollars.
Of course, these are more costly heating solutions to install. If you’re thinking about this major purchase, check out these articles:
