Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Natural Gas Heaters

There are a number of different types of natural gas heaters on the market and some are better for particular applications than others. I will discuss some of the main types of natural gas heaters and some of the considerations that must be taken into account when purchasing and natural gas heater.

The main types of natural gas heaters are as follows:

Space heaters

Garage heaters

Forced air heaters

Infrared heaters

Convection heaters

Radiant heaters

Space heaters are what you are most familiar with. They are used to heat indoor spaces, they can be vented or vent free depending on the particular application, building code and state regulation. These heaters burn exclusively natural gas and are plumbed into the homes existing gas piping. They can be used to heat areas of a couple hundred square feet and up to a few thousand. You do not normally see natural gas space heaters for indoor home use of more than 60,000 btu.

Garage heaters on the other hand can be larger usually not more than 100,000 btu. They are also plumbed into the homes existing gas lines. Many garage heaters mount to the ceiling and use a forced air system to blow heat out. These normally require at least an 1” of clearance form the ceiling and require an 8’ clearance from the floor.

Forced air heaters are the big daddies of the heater world. These can get up to 1,500,000 btu and are normally used for heating warehouses or large job sites. Some of these models are portable and capable of utilizing different fuels. These force air through the heater with large fans and are capable of producing very high heat.

Infrared heaters are a little bit stranger in that they use infrared light to produce heat that actually warms objects before it warms the air around. These heaters are considered to be more environmentally friendly but are also not as effective at heating large area.

Convection heaters use coils to heat the air and then blow air over the coils to heat an area. Like infrared heaters these are not as effective at heating large areas,

Radiant heaters like infrared heaters do not heat the air but heat objects in the room. The radiant heat comes from a heated body, like a tube of hot water or oil and thus heats other things around it. These heaters also do not heat large spaced effectively, but can be very nice in a floor.

The most effective way to heat large areas without an actual central air furnace system is with a natural gas heater system. Now that you have a little familiarity with heaters you must choose what is right for you. If you are considering a gas space heater system you need to determine if it is right for you. The following questions will help you decide if it is right for you:

First are you in a state that will allow vent free gas heating. Some states do not allow the installation of vent free heaters. Other states have regulations that restrict the use of natural gas heaters to certain locations or dictate the circumstances.

Is your home well ventilated? Natural gas heaters require oxygen to work properly and if your home does not have adequate ventilation a natural gas heater could cause carbon monoxide poisoning or an inadequate supply of oxygen.

Is your home at high elevation? Gas heaters may not function properly at elevations above 6,000 feet.

Do you have high ceilings in your home. The btu ratings for natural gas heaters are based on an 8’ ceiling height. A 60,000 btu natural gas heater can handle about 1000 - 1200 square feet. If you have more square footage or 12’ ceilings you may want to make another decision.

Are you trying to heat numerous smaller rooms? Not all natural gas heaters can be put in rooms of less than 600 square feet and if you are trying to heat numerous rooms you may have a hard time keeping up with the number of heaters needed.

Are you heating a recreational vehicle? Natural gas heaters are not made to heat recreational vehicles. There are specialty products that serve this purpose.

Taking these things into consideration make your decision wisely. A natural gas heater can be a fabulous way to add warmth to your home during the cold months.