Dangers of Space Heaters
Heating and Air Conditioning Installation
The Risk of Using Space Heaters
Space heaters can be electric or gas, while electric space heaters are the most commonly used.
Electric space heaters are used in many homes and are costly to use. Electric space heaters use a very high electric current to heat electric coils and then blow air across them to warm the air. The typical electric space heater used to heat a small room costs on average about 30 cents per hour to operate depending upon the cost of electricity in your area. Compared to a modern central heating system which heats an entire home for the same cost, the cost of an electric space heater is extremely high for such a small space.
Space heaters are well known for being the frequent cause of house fires as well as the death of home occupants. Depending upon the manufacturer, they generally require keeping objects 3 to 6 feet away from the heater. This includes walls, carpet and rugs, a factor few people think about.
Space heaters can also cause house fires by overloading the wiring within a home. Possible signs that an electric space heater are overloading the homes circuits and potentially causing the homes electric wiring to overheat are tripped circuit breakers and plugs that no longer work.
The pilot flame of gas space heaters can go out when gas pressure falls, or components fail. Safety mechanisms that prevent gas from escaping when the flame goes out are more likely to fail in a cheaply made gas space heater than in a whole house furnace. In addition, gas space heaters do not have the flu that a furnace does. The flu is a pipe that allows dangerous carbon monoxide emissions to be exhausted to the outside, putting families who use gas or other fossil fuel space heaters at risk of deadly carbon monoxide poisoning. The majority of gas space heaters have no means of exhausting the carbon monoxide outside of the home placing your family at risk.
Carbon monoxide is an odorless, tasteless and invisible gas created from the burning of any fossil fuel including natural gas, kerosene, propane, charcoal and the wood burning fireplace to name a few.
If your home uses any fossil fuel for heating, cooking or heating the hot water heater install carbon monoxide detectors.
The most common symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning are headache, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, weakness, chest pain and confusion and can result in loss of consciousness and death. Persons who are sleeping when levels become toxic can die without ever experiencing symptoms.
Don’t risk your family’s safety with dangerous space heaters. Cypress Heating and Air Conditioning has partnered with Wells Fargo Financial National Bank offering flexible financing options in order to provide the energy efficient heating and air conditioning installation you need, while assuring a safer system for the life and comfort of your home and family.
Give our certified experts a call today and let us ensure a safe and comfortable home for you and your family with a new heating and air conditioning installation.
