Halogen heaters

waqasahmed

I've seen various news articles suggesting that apparently the MSE team (as opposed to users) are recommending the use of halogen heaters in order to keep warm

I haven't found any actual evidence of the MSE team saying that, but if they have, why would they?

Ultimately, all forms of electric heating are 100% efficient, and arguably, the halogen heaters are a tiny bit less efficient than that because a tiny amount of energy is used as light / kinetic energy, with the rest being used as heat

The other alternative ofc is that the news outlets are talking absolute rubbish. I can't see how a particular kind of space heater would be better than another particular kind, with the exception perhaps of an AC in reverse, being used as a heat pump 

MattMattMattUK

waqasahmed said:

I've seen various news articles suggesting that apparently the MSE team (as opposed to users) are recommending the use of halogen heaters in order to keep warm

I haven't found any actual evidence of the MSE team saying that, but if they have, why would they?

Ultimately, all forms of electric heating are 100% efficient, and arguably, the halogen heaters are a tiny bit less efficient than that because a tiny amount of energy is used as light / kinetic energy, with the rest being used as heat

Ultimately even the small amount that is emitted as light ends up as heat when the photons impact a surface and are absorbed, the amount that will escape the property is so small it would not even be a rounding error on efficiency. 

waqasahmed said:

The other alternative ofc is that the news outlets are talking absolute rubbish. I can't see how a particular kind of space heater would be better than another particular kind, with the exception perhaps of an AC in reverse, being used as a heat pump 

Most of them are talking absolute rubbish and have been since the start. Nearly all of them still claim that PAYG is more expensive, usually "up to 20% more expensive" where as in almost all cases it is now the cheapest way to buy gas and electricity. There are also many other dubious claims, from the turning everything off at the wall when not in use can save you over a hundred pounds a month, that one can save a fortune with some random gimmick, their estimates that everything when in use constantly draws it's peak power, to the hysteria that people are going to "freeze to death", from the BBC (who I generally support) to the Daily Mail and the Guardian, as well as all the red-tops, their reporting of the "cost of living crisis" and/or "energy crisis" has been sensationalist at best.

Swipe

Halogen heaters are handy for short term direct heat bursts to warm your hands and body up.

waqasahmed

Swipe said:

Halogen heaters are handy for short term direct heat bursts to warm your hands and body up.

I prefer heated clothing. Still 100% efficient but a much smaller surface area to heat up

MouldyOldDough

You cannot get heat power (energy) from thin air - to get a certain amount of energy to raise the temperature of a fixed space say 3 degrees will always use x watts of power - no matter what source it comes from.

So these adverts promoting halogen heaters are at best a lie and at worst an attempted con

I have seen dangerous halogen heaters running on 2 pin plugs without an earth too

waqasahmed

MouldyOldDough said:

You cannot get heat power (energy) from thin air - to get a certain amount of energy to raise the temperature of a fixed space say 3 degrees will always use x watts of power - no matter what source it comes from.

So these adverts promoting halogen heaters are at best a lie and at worst an attempted con

I'm not on about the adverts. I was wondering why the MSE team were (apparently) promoting them but it seems there's no evidence of them promoting them. 

MattMattMattUK

MouldyOldDough said:

You cannot get heat power (energy) from thin air - to get a certain amount of energy to raise the temperature of a fixed space say 3 degrees will always use x watts of power - no matter what source it comes from.

Heat pumps, 1kWh of heat input in electricity can output 2.5-12 kWh of thermal output. Whilst the energy is not coming from nowhere, it is being moved from another location, so the laws of thermodynamics still apply, it is generating more useful heat than the amount of energy input.

MouldyOldDough said:

So these adverts promoting halogen heaters are at best a lie and at worst an attempted con

They are very carefully worded and use waffle like "warm" and "heat" rather than specific claims.

MouldyOldDough said:

I have seen dangerous halogen heaters running on 2 pin plugs without an earth too

A halogen heater is not dangerous specifically because it uses a two pin plug or lacks an earth, the vast majority of the civilised world manages just fine without an earth.

InvertedVee

MouldyOldDough said:

You cannot get heat power (energy) from thin air

Brace yourself for a lot of comments about thin air and air source heat pumps...

waqasahmed

InvertedVee said:

MouldyOldDough said:

You cannot get heat power (energy) from thin air

Brace yourself for a lot of comments about thin air and air source heat pumps...

Lol. I did mention that the only possible way for space heating to be more efficient is if you've got an AC in reverse.

Besides, even then you're essentially compressing the air around you and the air around you does have some heat even if in the minus figures 

chris_n

'Compressing the air'?

MattMattMattUK

waqasahmed said:

InvertedVee said:

MouldyOldDough said:

You cannot get heat power (energy) from thin air

Brace yourself for a lot of comments about thin air and air source heat pumps...

Lol. I did mention that the only possible way for space heating to be more efficient is if you've got an AC in reverse.

Besides, even then you're essentially compressing the air around you and the air around you does have some heat even if in the minus figures 

You really are not.