Space heaters are a convenient way to add some heat to a cool area. However, these devices often create the nuisance of tripping the electrical circuit that feeds them, even in an appropriately installed and operating electrical system.
Generating heat is one of the energy demanding electrical conversions made. Lighting, computing, air conditioning, and refrigeration all have lower relative draw than creating heat. This means that even a small physically sized heater will out “draw” a much larger piece of equipment with a different purpose.
For example, a heater like the one shown above may draw 1200W, which is up to 4 times as much as a household refrigerator. In addition, the heater often continuously draws this amount, while said refrigerator will cycling on and off.
The high electrical demand posed by space heaters leaves little to no room on an electrical circuit for any other devices. This is why a circuit with space heaters on them often end up overloaded and trip the circuit. This is actually the most important function of a circuit breaker, to trip and prevent a fire or damage to electrical wiring. In the situation of a circuit breaker tripping when a space heater is being used, this typically isn’t a symptom of something wrong, but simply that a heater is just too much load added to an already in use circuit.
Suggestions and Remedies
Avoid the use of unit heaters all together:
-Wear additional clothing
-Use a lap blanket
-Get up and move more often, generating your own body heat.
If you do decide to use a space heater:
-Set the heater to its lowest heat setting, or the lowest you are comfortable with.
-Use a separate electrical circuit than other devices if possible. (Note: a different outlet in not necessarily a different circuit)
-Cycle the heater on and off throughout the day, this may allow heat to dissipate from the electrical circuit.