Convector Heater Use Guidance

Operating Instructions

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Electric Convector Heater Guidance		More information on 0800 1694768

Room heating

The 2 main types of convector heater are radiators and warm air blowers. Both rely on heating the air in the room. Warm air blowers provide a quicker heating response as they aid circulation within the area and can provide some degree of localised heating. Convector heaters are used to provide a steady supply of heat to maintain the room temperature and they are very effective and convenient, provided sufficient heating is installed. Where there is a need to heat the room from cold a significant amount of heat is needed to heat the fabric of the room and sufficient time should be allowed to bring the room up to temperature. If the room is not warm enough then you may need additional heaters or it may be sufficient to increase the heating hours. This is typically a problem on Monday mornings when the heating has been off over the weekend in colder weather. We can advise on this. The amount of heating needed will depend on a number of factors :-
• The floor area and height of the room • Insulation values for the walls, windows and ceiling • The ventilation rates or the rate at which heat escapes from windows and doors • Other gains from people and electrical equipment in the room • Whether or not there is another source of heating in the area

Convector heaters are intended for heating the whole room and not for local or spot heating - for this, radiant or blown air heaters are needed. Refer to the guidelines on the use of radiant heaters.



Power supply needed

Care needs to be taken to ensure that electrical circuits are not overloaded. A 3 KW heater will draw 12.5 amps of power which is near to the limit of a 13 amp outlet socket. If the socket is on a spur from a ring main then only one heater of this output should be plugged into this socket, even if it is a double socket. Where a socket is in a ring main and these typically have 32 amp circuit beakers then two heaters can be used on each circuit subject to there being no other significant power usage on that circuit, such as an electric kettle, which will almost certainly overload the 32 amp breaker. Care needs to be taken not to overload circuits for safety and for avoidance of computer data loss in the event of breaker tripping. The use of extension leads of any kind should be avoided unless the rating of the lead has been checked by a competent person.

Aircon Hire Ltd