Are Wall Panel Heaters Safe? Exploring the Benefits of Panel Heaters
Winter is coming around very quickly, and while we may just be on the cusp of Autumn, we need to start getting our homes ready for winter right now. Wearing scarves and drinking hot coffee is one thing, but during the colder months, you need to ensure that your home is keeping you warm on the outside. There is no need to wear your coat inside the house if you prepare enough in advance, and this means finding the right solution to stay as warm and comfortable as possible. There is nothing fun about coming home to a freezing castle - so you need the right tools to keep your house comfortable.
There is one sure-fire way to ensure that your house is going to be warm, cozy and comfortable to sit in when the freezing winds are hissing outside, and this is having additional electric heaters, such as panel heaters, around the house. You don’t need to add wall to wall heaters - we’re not making a sauna here - but you do need to consider how many you need to feel comfortable! Let’s talk about panel heaters as your heating solution and how you can get your home ready for winter by warming it up properly.
All About Panel Heaters
Panel heaters, specifically electric panel heaters, can give you enough heating at the temperature that you have set while looking pretty up on the walls of your home. They work mostly through convection, as the hot elements inside the panel body heat up the air quickly. They do work hard to maintain the room temperature, but the upside is that they are light, slim, and very stylish - particularly when you have designer heaters on the walls. You don’t have to worry about your panel heaters overheating, and you don’t have to deal with the carpet damage that radiators cause sometimes. Most panel heaters are also eco-friendly, which is an added bonus as to how much they can mean to your home and your budget.
You can find panel heaters of different varieties, but designer panel heaters on the market offer a better, more contemporary design that has a slim body and smooth curves. They may look very similar to the designer radiators you can get, but they’re lighter and take up much less space. Designer panel heaters are also an excellent permanent feature that can make your house look very attractive, and this is something you should consider if you want to get them wall mounted.
How Panel Heaters Work
We’ve mentioned that electric panel heaters work primarily through convection heating, which is the process of moving heat from one place to another. Every wall-mounted panel heater uses this method because of its cost efficiency, and it’s also one of the safest ways to add additional heat to your home. Heaters can work at lower temperatures, as the heating coil can be much smaller and the unit themselves can be much smaller than working radiators via the pipework. You can get ceramic panel heaters, which uses a ceramic heating element where the electric coils heat the ceramic up. This then heats but won’t burn or be untouchable in the way a metal unit would be.
Panel heaters don’t use fans, which keeps the air from drying out and allows the room to retain a little of the humidity. No one wants a dried out airway, which is what panel heaters are so good at avoiding. Panel heaters heat the air around them, and it creates a cycle whereby the cooler air moves into the unit before it heats it up and releases it up the back of the unit and over the top. Sure, the room may take a little longer to heat up, but if you’re going to save some cash and save electricity at the same time, it’s worth it!
Lowering Your Heating Costs
A big part of getting your home ready for winter is trying not to go too far with your electricity costs, as while you want to be warm, you don’t want to pay through the nose to stay there. Anyone who is responsible for paying for utilities will already know that winter can be a burden on their expenses. When the temperature drops, the cost of heating your home goes up - especially if it’s not insulated enough! When you need more heating in your home, you need to think about how panel heaters will help while also lowering the costs on your budget. Wall mounted panel heaters are a modern and unique way to bring the costs of energy down in the home, but you do need to understand how they work before you spend the money purchasing one.
Compared to electric radiators, which are more suitable for primary living spaces due to their lower running costs, panel heaters are considered better for occasional use or as supplementary heating sources. Any unit of heat that isn’t used correctly could be dangerous, so research is key to know as much as possible about panel heating before you actually buy one.
What About Panel Heaters Overheating Safety Concerns?
Any kind of heater that warms your home is going to have some safety concerns. Not because they’re inherently unsafe, but because these features focus on fire and burn safety as a priority. Panel heaters are designed to be small, flat, and out of the way, but they also don’t have any covering over them to protect anyone from the heat. Sure, they won’t instantly melt your skin or heat up to a scorching temperature, but they’re still going to hurt if you touch them for a prolonged period of time. Ceramic units particularly are able to heat up to 195 degrees Fahrenheit, so they’re going to get hot to touch! They won’t burn without prolonged contact, but you also need to be careful and keep them high enough so that children aren’t going to try and touch them, either.
Portable heaters are another option to consider, especially for bathrooms and other damp environments. They are versatile and can be placed in various locations, but it is crucial to follow guidelines on proper placement to ensure safety and efficiency. Always ensure that portable heaters are kept away from water sources and are used in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions to prevent any accidents.
Panel heaters aren’t stuck directly to the wall. There is a space between the unit and the wall to keep them from creating any patches of damage and to allow air to cycle through them. However, this isn’t necessarily unsafe; it just means that you need to be careful you don’t accidentally pull it off (we’re talking children, here!). There’s no real concern when it comes to fires, as they’re not hot enough to start wall fires, but you should always make sure not to add fabric covers over them or warm clothing on them, and don’t lean anything onto the unit as it can and does get hot. Playing it safe with any heating unit is a smart choice. We want to warm your home, not burn it down.
Now that we’ve covered what panel heaters are and how they work let’s talk about their benefits. If nothing else, this is going to tell you why warming up for winter is a must with panel heaters! You should know that you deserve a warm house, and here are some of the best reasons to make that happen:
Instant Heat
Panel heaters are known for producing heat when you need it pretty much instantly. They do not take long to warm the air around them at all, and when you can control your wi-fi panel heater remotely you can get your house ready at times of the day when it suits you. So, if you need to heat the home before you wake up, you can set a timer and remain as comfortable as possible!
Cheap, Cheap
Choosing to run a panel heater over an electrical convection heater is going to be far less expensive than you think. They require far less power output and yet provide the same level of heat. Roughly a third of the input is needed, which means that you save cash and you do a little more for the environment at the same time.
Consistent Temperatures
When you use most heaters, the cold air stays at floor level, and the warm air sits at the ceiling. This means that your room isn't sufficiently warmed up and you can end up spending out more money trying to make it so. With panel heaters on the wall, you can lower the rate of cold spots and enjoy more consistently warm temperatures.
Reducing Mould
Panel heaters don't sit against the wall, and they don't make the air dry right out when you are using them. So, if you turned your panel heaters on in rooms that are susceptible to damp, you're going to dry out the walls and reduce mold formations. It's a good thing in the winter, especially as homes are more susceptible to damp in the colder months.
Wall Mounted Easy Installation
The best thing about panel heaters is that they are run on electricity. There is no wet central heating system to rely on, no need for a boiler and no need to rip out the walls while you install additional pipework. The panels can be turned on and off as you need them and they can be used room to room, costing less and easy to install along the way. The best electric panel heaters offer stylish and efficient heating solutions, making them ideal for specific rooms like bathrooms.
Create Some Space
As panel heaters can be mounted to the walls higher up than regular radiators, you can guarantee that you won't be taking up too much space in the house. This gives you more room for your living space and furniture. Designer heaters are going to be able to work as a heating device as well as a feature for your home.
Low Maintenance
As long as you are buying the best possible quality panels, you're going to have panel heaters that last you a long time. These then don't require much in the way of maintenance and often they come with a decent warranty. The best thing about heating your home ready for winter is that you can save yourself time in looking after the heaters - they don't take much to keep them going.
Carbon Neutral
If you are currently concerned about the impact that you are having on the environment, you will find it beneficial to heat your home with panel heaters. Panel heaters produce zero carbon emissions, and when you use these with green electricity, you get one of the very few carbon-free heating systems on the market. Mains electricity does still use power stations, of course, so that you won't be 100% carbon-free, but you'll still be using a lot less!
Energy Efficient
Where possible, you need to minimise your energy usage, and when you do this, you reduce your carbon footprint. This is so important today, and the most efficient solutions are always the most eco-friendly. If your home office needs warming up, or you have an unusually large lounge that needs some comfort, panel heaters can be an excellent option for your house.
Getting Your Home Ready For Winter
Whether you are lining the walls with extra insulation, double hemming your curtains and adding rugs to your home, you need to consider how your home can be as ready as possible for the colder months. There’s no use spending all your cash on solutions like curtains and fluffy rugs if your heating system is down the toilet - figuratively, of course. The truth is that you need to ensure that you stay warm, and your house needs to be warm while not leaking all that hot air out. To keep electric panel heaters as the most efficient option, you should first make sure that the lovely warm air that they will produce won’t go anywhere.
Panel heaters are love or hate, and a lot of people love the way they look, the way they work and all the additional features that some have such as remote control and wi-fi enablement. When you buy designer panel heaters for your home, you’re not only warming it up; you’re adding a statement. Choosing your panel heaters should be easy, so get your home ready now for when the temperatures drop, and you’ll be setting the heating before you’ve even got home from work.