Why Micathermic Heaters are Energy Efficient

Micathermic heaters use an electrical resistor that converts electricity into heat when it’s switched on. No electricity is wasted. They’re all 100 percent efficient. As it’s generated, the heat is absorbed by a series of metal coils encased in mica, a silicate mineral with several qualities that make it useful in heating applications.

First: it’s cheap to procure, which keeps costs down.

Second: it can withstand very high temperatures, as much as 392°F.

Third: it has high thermal conductivity, which means it’s good at transferring heat.

Fourth: it has a high watt density, which means it emits energy from its surface when it’s heated up. This is important because it means mica not only heats the air, like an ordinary space heater, but radiates infrared heat waves. It’s a combination of the two most popular home heating methods: a convection heater that provides radiant heating as well.

There are three methods of heat transfer: conduction, convection, and radiation. Conduction occurs when two objects of different temperatures come into direct contact with one another. Energy from the warmer object is transferred directly into the colder object through the kinetic interaction between their molecules. If you’ve ever burnt your fingers on a hot stove, you’ve experienced conduction firsthand.

Conduction plays a minor role in convection heating. When a convection heater is placed in a room, it begins by warming the air molecules around it through conduction. The air molecules in direct contact with the heater star absorbing heat and as they warm up, they expand and rise up to the ceiling. As warm air builds up along the top of the room, it displaces the cooler air and forces it back down towards the floor, where it eventually comes into contact with the heater and starts absorbing heat. As they warm up, they expand and create and create a cycle of rising heat known as a convection current. Convection currents work slowly, but are high effective at heating rooms and other large spaces. They’re the primary heating method used in oil-filled heaters and baseboard heaters.

Radiant heaters use electricity or gas to warm metal coils inside the heater. Once he heaters are warm enough, they begin radiation infrared heat particles that get absorbed directly by the people and objects in the room. Infrared radiation is perfectly safe. It’s what you feel when you stand in front of a campfire. Everything on Earth emits some form of infrared radiation: people, animals, even rocks. Earth itself is heated by radiant energy from the sun. It’s the only heating method that does not require a medium to transfer heat. The heat particles from an infrared heater move out in a straight line until they collide with an object or person and transfer their energy directly to them, raising their internal temperature. None of their heat is wasted on the air. All of it is absorbed directly to you. It’s faster than convection heating, but also more limited. The further you are from an infrared heater, the less you feel it. You have to be close to it to feel its effects and it’s hard to heat a whole room with one.

When you activate a micathermic heater, the mica panels provide approximately 80 percent convection heat and 20 percent radiant heat. The mica panels transfers heat to the air and radiates infrared heat once they’re hot enough. They warm you and the room at the same time, and it’s fast. Once it’s been turned on, a micathermic space heater can reach its maximum heat output in as little as 60 seconds. It’s why micathermic heaters are energy efficient. They use less electricity in the long run because they’re better at providing heat in the short run. They spend less time warming up and more time is spends warming you, which keeps the ratio of electricity consumed vs. heat produced is very low.

NewAir micathermic heaters are also equipped with an automatic thermostat that monitors room temperature and heat output. Once you’ve set your desired heat level, the thermostat keeps the heater running until it’s been reached, then shuts the unit down to conserve energy. Then, if the temperature falls too low, it reactivates the unit and generates more heat, so the heater never draws more electricity than it needs to in order to keep you comfortable.

Besides consuming less energy, micathermic space heaters can save you money in other ways. Micathermic heaters come equipped with four caster wheels that keep the heating element from scorching your carpet and make it easier to move the heater from room to room. They’re equipped with an insulated handle as well, so you can wheel them about without touching the grill or heating elements. Micathermic heaters are pretty light. Because mica is so effective at transferring and emitting heat, very little is required to heat a room. NewAir micathermic heaters, for example, weigh less than ten pounds.