Portable upright fan heater release all the fumes of combustion into the room

Upright fan heater is a heater that works by using a fan to pass air over a heat source. This heats up the air, which then leaves the heater, warming up the surrounding room. They can heat an enclosed space such as a room faster than a heater without fan, but, like any fan, create audible noise.

Electric fan heaters can be less expensive to buy than other heaters due to simple construction. The fan carries heat away from the device, which can be made smaller without overheating. The relatively small amount of electricity used to operate the fan is partly converted to additional heat, so that efficiency is not a problem. All heaters without external ventilation are nearly 100% efficient, meaning that almost all energy input goes into the room as heat. However, if the efficiency of generating the electricity is taken into account, the overall efficiency decreases significantly.

Electric fan heaters are more expensive to run than fuel powered heaters due to the cost of electricity. This makes them best suited to occasional use rather than as regularly used heat sources.

Externally vented non-electrical (combustion powered) fan heaters lose some heat to the outdoors, and are thus less efficient. These are used where it is necessary not to release the fumes of combustion into the heated area.

Electric fan heaters are unsealed appliances with live electric parts inside, so they are not safe to use in wet environments because of the risk of electrocution if moisture provides a conductive path to electrically-live parts. Electric fan heaters usually have a thermal fuse close to the heating element(s) to protect against overheating in the event of fan failure or air intakes becoming blocked, and a tip-over switch to shut the heater off when the fan outlet is not in the required orientation. Metal-cased heaters perform better in the case of possible fire-causing faults than plastic-cased ones, since the case will stay intact and is not flammable, but the metal case presents a higher risk of electrocution if a heater malfunctions.

Portable upright fan heater release all the fumes of combustion into the room, creating a risk of poisoning by carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. Most installed fuel fan heaters in the first world use a heat exchanger and external ventilation, avoiding that risk by venting the combustion gases to the outdoors.

upright fan heater FH06