Oil heater for home: how does it work and which heater to choose?

Oil heaters will be the subject of this article. These accessories are extremely easy to use, they work by heating the oil circulating inside.

Unfortunately, they warm up for quite a long time, which is at the outset a significant disadvantage compared to other available electric heaters. The advantage of oil heaters is they remain warm for a long time, even when disconnected from energy. They are completely safe, you can use them around the clock.

When is an electric oil heater useful?

Why buy an oil radiator, since our homes have much more efficient and cheaper heating systems? It turns out that in many situations the use of an oil radiator will cost us less. This device will certainly be appreciated at the turn of the seasons, e.g. in autumn - when it is not yet cold enough to start the heating system, and at the same time the temperature is gradually dropping and it is necessary to reheat the interiors in which we stay.

Many people use oil electric radiators as additional heating for bathrooms, where a slightly higher temperature is always desired to comfortably carry out all hygienic activities. Another situation in which they are useful are trips to summer houses, especially those in spring or autumn - in wooden houses, even in summer, we can get cold! You can read more about installations inside houses and apartments in our category here.

Oil radiator - how does it compare with other electric heaters?

Let's see a brief comparison of the most important advantages and disadvantages of popular types of electric heaters and check how oil radiators rank among them:

Radiator type Plus[+]  Minus [-] 

• Oil radiator [+] Gives heat for a long time.  [-]Warms up slowly
• Convector heater[+]  Heats up quickly  [-]It cools down just as quickly
• Fan heater[+] Fast heat distribution thanks to the fan. [-] Lower efficiency than other radiators
• Ceramic heater[+]  Heats up quickly and gives off heat for a long time. [-] Not very energy-efficient
• Halogen heater.[+] Energy-saving operation.  [-] Short heating range

As you can see, there is no perfect when it comes to the functionality of portable electric heaters. Oil radiators, however, can be appreciated for their excellent efficiency and safe operation, even if they are operated for a long time because they do not overheat. Additionally, these devices are relatively inexpensive. More information about apartment heating in the article: how to effectively heat an apartment.

How does an oil heater work?

As the name suggests, the oil radiator is filled with oil, which is heated after the device is connected to the electricity using the built-in heaters. The fluid gives off its heat to the metal casing, which in turn heats the air in the room. Before that happens, however, it usually takes several tens of minutes. On the other hand, after disconnecting the oil radiator, it will remain warm for at least an hour (and for some models even longer), which translates into its energy-saving operation.

How to choose an oil radiator - the most important parameters

In order to be able to enjoy the excellent functionality of an electric oil heater, it is necessary to know its parameters carefully before purchasing. Thanks to this, we will make sure that the device will be efficient and equipped with all the necessary programs. 

How to choose an oil radiator? Let's pay attention to:

• The size of the oil radiator - whether we choose a large oil radiator or a smaller one, it matters. This is because the heating surface of the device will depend on it, but it will also affect the time it warms up and cools down;
• Power - the range of this parameter among oil radiators is huge. We can successfully find both 200 and 2500 watt devices! You can read about how to choose the power of the radiator to the size of the room here;
• Oil radiator with a thermostat - a thermostat in the case of oil radiators is very useful. After reaching the appropriate temperature, the heater will automatically turn off, and only when it starts to cool down, it will restart. In the case of oil radiators with long heat retention, such a solution is very profitable;
• Safety switch - such protection must necessarily be found in our electric oil heater. If the device overheats, the switch will cut off the current automatically, preventing accidents;
• Power control - another very useful function that allows you to adjust the capabilities of the oil radiator to the size of the room. Thanks to this, our heating device will be universally applicable!