How to find the right size heater for you
Knowing which size of heater to buy for your home can be daunting. We are so used to buying convection heaters that work well for a couple of years and then need to be replaced, so when we are buying high quality heaters, we need to shift our thinking.
The size, in kilowatts or watts and the placement of the heater is key to having any type of heating working as efficiently as it is designed to.
What on earth is a Kilowatt??
A kilowatt is simply a measure of how much power an electric appliance consumes—it’s 1,000 watts to be exact. You can quickly convert watts (W) to kilowatts (kW) by diving your wattage by 1,000:
1,000W 1,000 = 1 kW.
So, what is a Kilowatt-Hour?
Your kilowatt-hour consumption factors in how many watts your appliances use and how often you use them. When you see kWh on your monthly energy bill, it’s a measurement of your electric appliances’ wattage and the amount of time you use them.
To calculate the kWh of your heater, estimate the amount of time you use it and write down the appliance’s wattage.
1. Divide the wattage by 1,000 to calculate kW: 1500 watts 1,000 = 1.5 kW
2. Multiply the kilowatts by the hours of daily use: 1.5 kW X 2 hours = 3 kWh per day
3. Find the total energy usage for a month (30 days): 3 kWh X 30 days = 90 kWh per month
Now that we know the monthly kWh, let’s estimate the energy costs. Multiply the kWh by your electricity provider’s electricity price. For the sake of this example, we’ll say it’s $0.25 per kWh:
90 kWh X $.25 per kWh = $22.50 per month to run this appliance.
The optimum kW size of a radiant heater is calculated differently from the calculation used for a heat pump, so here at Eco Geek we have made a handy heater calculator to help you work out what size LHZ heater or heaters you need to heat each space in your home. Just put in a few simple details about your house, like the room sizes and the temperature you would like your room to be.
If you have any questions about the calculator or if you need some help with sizing or placement, don’t hesitate to give us call or email to speak to one of our Eco Geeks.