Safety Precautions for Space Heaters

67

By KellyAkhil

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Heaters are generally accident prone. They may cause fire if proper safety rules are not followed. Fires generally occur when everybody sleeps. Fires may occur irrespective of the make of a heater. Fires can occur either at home or in a car. Everybody should remember to follow the safety rules to prevent fire hazards due to heaters.
Traditional heaters were manufactured with coil. Such heaters may cause fire, as they get overheated. Modern heaters are developed with a ceramic base plate. Heaters with ceramic base plate transfers heat to the room through a fan. Ceramic heaters don’t get heated too hot, as the heat is transferred immediately to the room. Hence, chances of fire hazard with ceramic base plate heaters are rare.
Space heaters are to be mounted on nonflammable and solid materials. Some distance is to be maintained between delonghi space heaters and clothes, curtains and   flammable materials to prevent fire hazards. Safe distance for space heaters is three feet.

Space heaters should be installed in rooms with proper ventilation to prevent suffocation. This constraint is overcome with innovative electrical heaters.  Electrical heaters work perfectly in rooms without ventilation.
Thermostat is the best option when compared with rheostat for temperature control on space heaters. Rheostat helps to disperse the amount of heat required for the chilly room. We should not forget to switch off the space heater when the room gets heated. On the other hand, programmable thermostat switches off the heater automatically when the temperature in the room reaches the desired level. It prevents the risk of fire. Hence, you need to carefully study the safety features of thermostat and rheostat when purchasing a space heater. Select the good quality space heater.

Children may be playing in the room. It is necessary to protect children from space heaters. Heating element of the space heater should be properly guarded using a secure grill.
A small ceramic heater is sufficient to provide comfort in your bathroom or office cubicle. Choose low wattage radiant heater to heat under desk. Consider installing electric heaters if you have nosy pets or toddlers moving around.
Ceramic space heaters can be hanged to the wall at a safe height to safeguard your children and pets. Ceramic heaters with fan generally stir up allergens and dust. Consider buying micathermic heaters if any one or more members in your family are allergic to dust or suffering from respiratory problems.
Consider buying only UL listed heaters. Surge protector is required if you the same plug point for your computer and the heater. The heaters should have automatic switch off features when the temperature exceeds the set level.


Switch off the heater prior to leaving the home. Programmable thermostat would safeguard your house if you forget to switch off your space heater.

Comments

Kaye McCulloch profile image

Kaye McCulloch 18 months ago

Great Hub :)

ThePepperDen profile image

ThePepperDen 16 months ago

Great hub- if everyone followed these tips, my father (a firefighter) would have a lot less housefires to go to during the winter.

Nick M. profile image

Nick M. 15 months ago

Very, very useful hub. I constantly use a high powered space heater in my workspace so I should probably be well read on safety!

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