Space Heaters and Heating/Electrical Issues

[Jeff Zylstra]

I copied and pasted this from something I posted on the "other" site.  I figured I would check it out before I got booted for not renewing.  Since this subject seems to come up every year at heating season, I thought that this might be a timely post.

Some random thoughts on space heaters and heating in general....



Usually, the heat in a room heated by a forced air unit is "statified", meaning that there are different thermal layers in any one room that necessitates having heat at the floor level.  If you don't believe me, just duck down in a room and feel the floor temperature, then stand up and feel how warm your ears are.  Big difference.  One of the reasons for this stratification is that the blower on your forced air unit turns off when the room reaches the pre-determined temperature, and then the hot air rise and the cold air falls to the floor.  You can program most thermostats to keep the blower running regardless if it is providing heat or not.  This will more thoroughly mix the air in the room.  The other thing you can do is install ceiling fans in common areas and in offices.  Ceiling fans have a "forward and reverse", so make sure you get it right.  One pulls cold air up in the summer, the other pushes warmer air down in the winter.  We have the ones with remote controls.



If you don't already have an uninterpretable power supply on each computer, you should.  Not just for the battery function when the breaker trips, but also as a sacrificial device to take power surges and to supplement power in brownouts, and also to provide cleaner power to your computers.  They're only $50 or so per workstation.



Usually space heaters are rated for how many watts they draw.  Watts are determined by multiplying the Amps drawn, times the voltage (120).  Amps are determined by dividing the watts by the volts.  So a1500 watt heater is drawing 12.5 amps (1500/120 = 12.5), and a 1000 watt heater is drawing 8.33 amps.  The majority of your electrical circuits are 15 amps, so you can see how you are already approaching the limit of the circuit since you are undoubtedly running more than just that heater off that one circuit.



I trace my circuits here in the office to see which circuit breaker services which plugs and/or lights.  Then I know what kind of load I have on each circuit, and which breakers to check first when one trips.  I use something like this below, so I don't have to turn off the breaker to see which circuit is which.  The plug in unit sends a signal through the wires which is then picked up by the receiver unit when it is moved over top of each of the circuit breakers.  When it starts beeping, you know you've found it.  They're anywhere from $15-$40 at Home Depot, Lowes, Menards or online.  I got one of these after I flipped the wrong breaker once - the one for my server.  It was on a UPS, but it still wasn't what I wanted to do.

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&q=circuit+breaker+finder&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=5282506685642910839&ei=wI4GTev5DoP78Abs8NTpAg&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CGEQ8wIwAQ#  



Hopefully you find this helpful.

[Jan Regnier]

Very Nice, Jeff!!

I will be heading to Menards/Lowes etc to find the Circuit Breaker finder!  What a great little tool. 

[DebAmstutz]

I saw the Space Heater posting on the other site.  I have one that runs nearly every day.  It's plugged into an outlet other than the one for the computer stuff, and they know I need it because I get cold very easily and cannot type accurately with gloves on.  If I had my way, I'd never need the heater in warm weather, but people who do not work in the basement where I am constantly turn the thermostat to a lower number when they come to the kitchen that's here to fix their lunches and snacks.  One gal works out on some exercise equipment and takes a shower afterward (yes, we have a shower too) so why can't she just leave the temperature alone and sweat a little more?

Commercial buildings should be wired for extra loads, in my opinion.  Those who build them must know that the heat/air is not going to be comfortable for everyone and small heaters will be needed by some, so make it work for certain outlets.  Probably easier said than done, though.

[Jeff Zylstra]

Yes, we still have them around too.  I have one person who deals with seniors on a regular basis and is quite loud, so the office door is shut most of the time which leads to their office getting warm.  This is most likely the reason the thermostat gets turned down inc commercial lines, which of course causes other issues.

I'm checking into heaters that use the parabolic dish to provide radiant heat as opposed to the fan blown warm air.  I have boiler heat at home which is much more even, so I'm kind of partial to radiant heat.  Does anyone use these type of heaters, and would you recommend them?