Alternative heater

[kyle]

Hey everyone,

Was gonna add this to the wood furnace post but figured it needed its own. Has anyone ever heard of these heaters or know of them?

http://www.biotechresearch.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=72&osCsid=4247a798354a038d9398b59882cecf93

I can't see them working well in colder climates. They might take the chill out of a room, but to heat a large area I find it hard to believe.

Let me know!

[ChrisAndWendy]

The quartz heaters I have played with seem to heat me and not the air, if that makes sense. If I put my hand in front of the heater then heat could be felt but if I were to move from one side to the other away from the bulb path then the heat was gone, not lessen but gone. In a standard electric heater with coils, you can feel heat from the rear of the heater as well as the front. Maybe this one is different. Chris

[rreidnauer]

Chris is right on the money. Quartz infared and radient heaters only heat surfaces, not the air, and the house will feel cold except when you are in front of the unit. Even though electric heat is 100% efficient, I don't like heating with electric. Operating costs are just too high. Of course, the way oil and gas prices are going . . . . . .

If I absolutely had to use electric heat, I would install baseboard.

[kyle]

I used to feel the same way about electric heat but my friend has baseboard electric heat and his utility bills are a lot lower than mine with gas heat.

With installation cost of baseboard electric heat being minimal and the high cost of gas/propane its looking better and better. I'm thinking of putting in electric baseboard but also having a coal or wood stove help supplement the heat.