What space heater do you have?

rgatijnet1 wrote:

pianotuna wrote:
Hi,

Watts don't care what type of heater they are powering--and they are all the same total heat. However, radiant heaters warm what they are pointed at first--and then the heat from the warmed object radiates to the room.

....

Those same watts powering a heat pump will put out almost twice the BTU's of heat than the best radiant heater.

Radiant heat is not very efficient when compared to other methods of producing heat.....

There it is! Watts versus BTU's.

In regards to 'space' heaters. Do all 1500 watt space heaters put out the same BTU's of heat? I don't think I ever saw BTU's rating on the outside box of space heaters.

I now know that on vacuum cleaners they purposely do not put the amps on the outside of the box so you can't compare them.

Oil filled radiator types work for us. On sale at Lowes / HD / Wally world for ~$35 end of Winter. Bigger, but safer than the other resistance heater types. Ours pull 12+ amps each, so check power draw if that might be an issue.

Hi hardtobe,

Here is a link to a cost comparison calculator

To make it work for a heat pump, halve the cost of the electricity. I.E. instead of 0.12 cents, enter 0.06 cents.

hardtobe wrote:
Question $$ dollar wise.Is it cheaper to heat with the electric part of my aquahot. verses running rooftop heat pumps???

Question $$ dollar wise.Is it cheaper to heat with the electric part of my aquahot. verses running rooftop heat pumps???

pianotuna wrote:
Hi rgatijnet1,

That, unfortunately, is misinformation.

Heat pumps work by extracting heat from one space and moving it to another space. For an RV that means extracting heat from the air outside the RV and moving that latent heat to inside the RV.

No need to swear the heat pump is blowing hot air on you. That is exactly what it is doing.

rgatijnet1 wrote:
You are right but if you remove the cold from the room, you are left with the heat. The cold is blown outside. Stand under one of the roof top AC/heat pump units and with 15,000 BTU's of heat, drawing only 12 amps, you would swear that it is heat blowing on you, and so would the thermostat as the coach gets warmer. :B
Naturally the roof top units will quit in the 30's but the portable unit, that I gave the link on, has warmed our coach even with outside temps in the lower teens.

With the SINGLE hose portable heat pump, like the one I own and the one in the example, it does not draw any air from the outside. That is why mine will continue to work no matter what the outside temps is. It pulls air from the inside of the coach and exhausts the cold air out the single hose, while blowing the warm air inside. It also removes moisture at the same time and deposits it outside so I do not have condensation on the insides of my windows. It is a great unit but it is not the cheapest. The plus side is that it is also an AC unit and on some of the scorching days out West, it helps the roof top AC's keep things cool.

Hi rgatijnet1,

That, unfortunately, is misinformation.

Heat pumps work by extracting heat from one space and moving it to another space. For an RV that means extracting heat from the air outside the RV and moving that latent heat to inside the RV.

No need to swear the heat pump is blowing hot air on you. That is exactly what it is doing.

rgatijnet1 wrote:
You are right but if you remove the cold from the room, you are left with the heat. The cold is blown outside. Stand under one of the roof top AC/heat pump units and with 15,000 BTU's of heat, drawing only 12 amps, you would swear that it is heat blowing on you, and so would the thermostat as the coach gets warmer. :B
Naturally the roof top units will quit in the 30's but the portable unit, that I gave the link on, has warmed our coach even with outside temps in the lower teens.

rgatijnet1 wrote:

OhhWell wrote:

rgatijnet1 wrote:

pianotuna wrote:
Hi,

Watts don't care what type of heater they are powering--and they are all the same total heat. However, radiant heaters warm what they are pointed at first--and then the heat from the warmed object radiates to the room.

Wrong. Those same watts powering a heat pump will put out almost twice the BTU's of heat than the best radiant heater. Radiant heat is not very efficient when compared to other methods of producing heat. Here is a link. Heat pump See if you can find ANY radiant heater that can put out 9500 btu's of heat, and blow it throughout the coach with only 950 watts/8.18 amps.
1500 watts of radiant heat will generate ONLY 5200 btu's of heat.
If you need the maximum amount of heat for the minimum amount of wattage, use a heat pump. If you have plenty of power available and are concerned about cost, use the radiant heaters.

Yes, but a heat pump doesn't actually create heat... well, except for what the motors inside it create.

You are right but if you remove the cold from the room, you are left with the heat. The cold is blown outside. Stand under one of the roof top AC/heat pump units and with 15,000 BTU's of heat, drawing only 12 amps, you would swear that it is heat blowing on you, and so would the thermostat as the coach gets warmer. :B
Naturally the roof top units will quit in the 30's but the portable unit, that I gave the link on, has warmed our coach even with outside temps in the lower teens.

Yeah, I was just being a smart ass. It moves heat from the outside to the inside.

In our stick and brick house, when I witched to a programmable thermostat, I didn't get one that would turn on our heat panels. Luckily, being in FL, the heat pump is pretty sufficient and very efficient.

Hi,

Extracting heat from the environment is cheating LOL!

BTW the latest heat pumps do about 3x until 7 c.

Radiant heat is 100% efficient just the same as all other resistance heaters. It heats the object it is pointed at, unlike the others.

From "how radiant heaters work: Infra-red energy is commonly thought of as heat but infra-red energy only creates heat when it is absorbed by things with mass. For example, infra-red energy generated by the sun travels through space relatively unaffected until it strikes the earth's surface where it is transformed into heat energy."


If my air conditioner ever dies it will be replaced by a heat pump.

rgatijnet1 wrote:


Wrong. Those same watts powering a heat pump will put out almost twice the BTU's of heat than the best radiant heater. Radiant heat is not very efficient when compared to other methods of producing heat.

OhhWell wrote:

rgatijnet1 wrote:

pianotuna wrote:
Hi,

Watts don't care what type of heater they are powering--and they are all the same total heat. However, radiant heaters warm what they are pointed at first--and then the heat from the warmed object radiates to the room.

Wrong. Those same watts powering a heat pump will put out almost twice the BTU's of heat than the best radiant heater. Radiant heat is not very efficient when compared to other methods of producing heat. Here is a link. Heat pump See if you can find ANY radiant heater that can put out 9500 btu's of heat, and blow it throughout the coach with only 950 watts/8.18 amps.
1500 watts of radiant heat will generate ONLY 5200 btu's of heat.
If you need the maximum amount of heat for the minimum amount of wattage, use a heat pump. If you have plenty of power available and are concerned about cost, use the radiant heaters.

Yes, but a heat pump doesn't actually create heat... well, except for what the motors inside it create.

You are right but if you remove the cold from the room, you are left with the heat. The cold is blown outside. Stand under one of the roof top AC/heat pump units and with 15,000 BTU's of heat, drawing only 12 amps, you would swear that it is heat blowing on you, and so would the thermostat as the coach gets warmer. :B
Naturally the roof top units will quit in the 30's but the portable unit, that I gave the link on, has warmed our coach even with outside temps in the lower teens.

rgatijnet1 wrote:

pianotuna wrote:
Hi,

Watts don't care what type of heater they are powering--and they are all the same total heat. However, radiant heaters warm what they are pointed at first--and then the heat from the warmed object radiates to the room.

Wrong. Those same watts powering a heat pump will put out almost twice the BTU's of heat than the best radiant heater. Radiant heat is not very efficient when compared to other methods of producing heat. Here is a link. Heat pump See if you can find ANY radiant heater that can put out 9500 btu's of heat, and blow it throughout the coach with only 950 watts/8.18 amps.
1500 watts of radiant heat will generate ONLY 5200 btu's of heat.
If you need the maximum amount of heat for the minimum amount of wattage, use a heat pump. If you have plenty of power available and are concerned about cost, use the radiant heaters.

Yes, but a heat pump doesn't actually create heat... well, except for what the motors inside it create.