The difference between a convector and a heater.

Devices such as convectors and heaters can be used to ensure a comfortable indoor temperature during the cold season. What is the specificity of both?

What is a convector?

A convector, or "convector-type heater", is a device that heats air by passing through itself and thus mixing the heated air masses with the cold ones present in the room.

The main advantages of the convector are: lightness (allowing, in particular, to easily mount the device on the walls), relatively low noise level, promptness of room heating, absence of unsafe burning elements on the body.

The main disadvantages of the convector: consumption of very large amounts of electricity, as well as the need to keep the device constantly on, since without moving warm air in the room, the temperature in it can quickly drop.

It should be noted that modern convector models are usually equipped with thermostats that deactivate the device when the optimum room temperature is reached and turn it on again if it drops. This saves some electricity consumption.

The main elements of the convector's construction are the fan, the chamber and the heating element. By means of a fan, the air from the room is directed into the chamber, heats up quickly, and then is immediately brought back into the room. In this case, the outlet louvers of the convector, as a rule, direct the hot air downward so that it has time to heat the lower part of the room before it rises to the ceiling (due to its greater ease than the air present in the atmosphere of the room).

What is a heater (oil type device)?

The term " heater", which is traditionally opposed to a convector due to the difference in operating principles, is most often understood as an oil heater. What are its features?

The convector, as we noted above, heats the air by passing it through itself. In turn, an oil heater functions like a radiator - that is, providing a gradual heating of the entire volume of air present in the room.

The device in question contains an oil reservoir. It contains a heating element. In this case, oil acts as a heat carrier. Its most important useful property is the ability to retain heat for a long time after heating.

The main advantages of oil heaters: no need to keep the device constantly on (due to the fact that once heated oil can maintain its temperature for a long time and, at the same time, the ambient air), the ability to place the device anywhere in the room - however, only on the surface floor.

The main disadvantages of oil heaters: high temperature of the surface of the case, rather large mass, very long heating of the device, high level of energy consumption, uneven heating of air in different parts of the room. At the same time, it should be noted that oil heaters equipped with fans are brought to full readiness rather quickly.

Comparison

The main difference between the convector and the oil-type heater is in the principle of operation. The first heats the air by letting it pass through itself. The second works as a heating battery, gradually heating the entire volume of air present in the room. The key difference between the considered devices predetermines all the others - in the uniformity and intensity of air heating, in the design, in the features of use.

Which is better - a convector or an oil-type heater? First of all, both devices can be called power-consuming to the same extent. The convector, which itself has considerable power, must be constantly switched on. The oil heater, despite the fact that, as we noted above, it can turn off for a long time, it heats up for a long time, while also consuming a very decent amount of electricity.

The convector objectively has advantages in terms of speed and uniformity of air heating in the room, safety, ease of installation. However, in terms of price, an oil heater has an advantage: when comparing the cost of devices designed to heat rooms with the same area and produced by equally well-known brands, you can see that a convector will cost 1.5-2 times more.

In terms of manufacturability, a convector is preferable to a heater, in terms of price - the situation is different. With regard to power consumption - according to this criterion, it is difficult to give preference to any of the devices.

Having studied the difference between a convector and an oil-type heater, we will reflect the conclusions in the table.

Table