Ceramic heaters are simply small, light and convenient. Oil-filled are somewhat safer because they are less likely to melt or damage something that is too close but are bulky and heavier however are totally silent. There are other types of space heaters. Fan driven heaters tend to be noisy.
Infrared heaters work on the principle of heating objects and human bodies and the heated objects in turn radiate heat back into the space. They are generally about 10% more efficient, but in RVs, the space is too small to take much advantage of them.
A space heater is great for early or late season camping or to supplement the furnace, but should not be used as the sole heat source for continuous duty in the winter. A furnace will generate more heat than an electric but it's not easy to compare apples to apples considering things like the furnace blowing heat into the underbelly space and cold make-up air being drawn into an RV.
Space heaters will provide "spot heating" meaning they will only heat the immediate area. You can feel nice and toasty while sitting on your sofa watching TV but the bathroom and bedroom can be icy cold. Any space heater is the same efficiency - a 1500 watt element is a 1500 watt element. The only time a heater does not put out it's rated wattage is when the voltage drops below 120 volts. Heat output varies as the square of the voltage and at 105 volts for ex., the heat output would be 3/4 of it's rating.
Space heaters carry risks and every year there are fires and deaths in homes caused by them as in this NFPA article.. These heaters can also cause fires in RVs - see articles here and here.
Many heater cords these days are only #16 gauge (SPT or HPN insulation) and have a "free air" rating. I have looked for regulations covering space heaters and not found anything yet. I would say that these cords are not intended for continuous duty for long periods of time.
Precautions:
Never leave a space heater unattended including while sleeping.
Never put a cord under a mat or rug.
Never coil a cord up while running the heater.
Maintain at least 3' around the heater unless the manual says otherwise.
Do not use an extension cord inside your RV.
Make sure the heater has a CSA, UL or equivalent safety approval on it.
Do not use a space heater in the bedroom area as clothes and bedding could fall on it.
Make sure it has tip over protection.
Make sure smoke/CO alarms are working.
Do not use a heater rated more than 1500 watts.
Never use a heater with a cord that appears frayed or damaged.
There are lots of precautions from various governmental, safety orgs. and manufacturers on the web such as: this and this and this. Of course, there's always some that think they know more than the safety people in these orgs. and will ignore the precautions anyway.
I'm installing electric heating in our TT over the winter and because I seem to like doing things the most complicated and time-consuing way, I'm installing 3 permanently mounted recessed heaters, one in bedroom, one in bathroom and a kickspace heater under the stove in living/kitchen area, as in the pics. Each will have it's own low voltage wall stat. All safety clearances are met and these are super quiet - you can't even hear the wall fan heaters running. Total wattage is 1750 watts and I am using a current sensing relay on the 30 amp supply to disconnect and load shed the heaters while a heavy draw appliance is on. It will be 100% safe and can be left running unattended but I will be installing an automatic disconnect to shut the heaters off when breaking camp. I've already run all the LV and 120V wiring (concealed in walls and ceiling). In a previous TT, I installed a single semi-recessed electric heater on the ceiling because it was a small TT and it was the only way I could get clearances (it worked great too).
Another alternative is the CheapHeat add-on to an RV furnace. I have looked closely at it in the past and based on my analysis as an EE, I would stay away from it for a number of reasons. There's also a strip heater that can be added to an AC unit. I've never looked into them but maybe they're noisy with the AC fan running? Some info. at modmyrv.com
Infrared heaters work on the principle of heating objects and human bodies and the heated objects in turn radiate heat back into the space. They are generally about 10% more efficient, but in RVs, the space is too small to take much advantage of them.
A space heater is great for early or late season camping or to supplement the furnace, but should not be used as the sole heat source for continuous duty in the winter. A furnace will generate more heat than an electric but it's not easy to compare apples to apples considering things like the furnace blowing heat into the underbelly space and cold make-up air being drawn into an RV.
Space heaters will provide "spot heating" meaning they will only heat the immediate area. You can feel nice and toasty while sitting on your sofa watching TV but the bathroom and bedroom can be icy cold. Any space heater is the same efficiency - a 1500 watt element is a 1500 watt element. The only time a heater does not put out it's rated wattage is when the voltage drops below 120 volts. Heat output varies as the square of the voltage and at 105 volts for ex., the heat output would be 3/4 of it's rating.
Space heaters carry risks and every year there are fires and deaths in homes caused by them as in this NFPA article.. These heaters can also cause fires in RVs - see articles here and here.
Many heater cords these days are only #16 gauge (SPT or HPN insulation) and have a "free air" rating. I have looked for regulations covering space heaters and not found anything yet. I would say that these cords are not intended for continuous duty for long periods of time.
Precautions:
Never leave a space heater unattended including while sleeping.
Never put a cord under a mat or rug.
Never coil a cord up while running the heater.
Maintain at least 3' around the heater unless the manual says otherwise.
Do not use an extension cord inside your RV.
Make sure the heater has a CSA, UL or equivalent safety approval on it.
Do not use a space heater in the bedroom area as clothes and bedding could fall on it.
Make sure it has tip over protection.
Make sure smoke/CO alarms are working.
Do not use a heater rated more than 1500 watts.
Never use a heater with a cord that appears frayed or damaged.
There are lots of precautions from various governmental, safety orgs. and manufacturers on the web such as: this and this and this. Of course, there's always some that think they know more than the safety people in these orgs. and will ignore the precautions anyway.
I'm installing electric heating in our TT over the winter and because I seem to like doing things the most complicated and time-consuing way, I'm installing 3 permanently mounted recessed heaters, one in bedroom, one in bathroom and a kickspace heater under the stove in living/kitchen area, as in the pics. Each will have it's own low voltage wall stat. All safety clearances are met and these are super quiet - you can't even hear the wall fan heaters running. Total wattage is 1750 watts and I am using a current sensing relay on the 30 amp supply to disconnect and load shed the heaters while a heavy draw appliance is on. It will be 100% safe and can be left running unattended but I will be installing an automatic disconnect to shut the heaters off when breaking camp. I've already run all the LV and 120V wiring (concealed in walls and ceiling). In a previous TT, I installed a single semi-recessed electric heater on the ceiling because it was a small TT and it was the only way I could get clearances (it worked great too).
Another alternative is the CheapHeat add-on to an RV furnace. I have looked closely at it in the past and based on my analysis as an EE, I would stay away from it for a number of reasons. There's also a strip heater that can be added to an AC unit. I've never looked into them but maybe they're noisy with the AC fan running? Some info. at modmyrv.com
