What is a Halogen Heater?

I am intrigued by the statement, "some studies indicate that halogen heaters require less electricity to produce the same level of heat."

With these non-halogen electrical heaters that are less efficient, what happens to the electrical energy that is consumed, but not converted to heat?

This is important, as we may have to rewrite the laws of thermodynamics to accommodate this discovery.

How can I test the elements of my halogen heater? I am not able to measure the resistance. I am only able to assume that I must connect 240 volts across across the element behind an appropriate protective screen. Is this feasible, possible and safe? I am an electrician by trade, but have no knowledge of halogen lighting and heating elements other than to fit and use them.

Do halogen heaters or fluorescent lights produce bromine to air? --shorouk

I have eczema. is a halogen heater safe for me?

Are halogen heaters silent to run? There's obviously a noise with fan heaters, and also I find my oil-filled radiator 'clicks' when it's on. I'm keen to get a small heater for a spare room that a friend will be sleeping in, but don't want to get one that will make a noise that could disturb them when sleeping (plan is to have a timer switch the heater on, an hour before they get up to heat the room). Would a halogen heater be silent?

i had an electric fire affect my stove and it used to cost a bomb to run. then i saw these halogen heaters and i was told they're energy efficient heaters so i bought three of them and had one in the hall way, one in the living room and one in the two bedrooms.

I used to turn them on in the morning for an hour and when it got very cold i would leave them on in the bedrooms, on one bar in the hallway, two bars in the living room and three bars and my bill was very low as if i never used a electric heater at all. i find them good and safe and saves you money on electric bills.

Does anyone know if halogen heaters safe for pregnant women? Need your expert advice.

Halogen heaters are basically infrared light bulbs, and heat by radiance rather than convection. Surfaces facing the heater are warmed by absorbing the infra-red radiation emitted. They don't "propel" air at all. Very little of their heat is lost to convection.

For this reason halogens are good for use in areas which can't be well sealed or insulated, and where cold air would just blow away the heat of an oil-filled or other convection heater. A patio is a good example. This is why outdoor gas heaters are always of the radiant type.

I have a halogen heater and borrowed a convection heater as my central heating is disabled and it's the coldest winter here for a century.

Watching my electric meter disc spin round it's clear the convection heater uses a lot more electric than my halogen. However, it heats more of the room up too.

anon24099, creating light requires a huge amount less energy than creating heat does. even with the energy used to create light it is still more efficient.

Hey is it possible to get a tan off sittin' in front of the halogen heater for too long? Am I at risk of skin disease from the toxic fumes?

In reply to anon19217:

Halogens are indeed toxic, though not as toxic as, say, mercury. Astatin is definitely not used, as it is indeed radioactive and also quite expensive. Halogen lamps most commonly use iodine or bromine. Iodine and bromine are an irritant to skin and mucous membranes, such as the mouth, eyes and nose. When inhaled and ingested they are indeed also toxic. But lamps hardly contain any halogen, so the risk is minimal.

If you want to feel safe, you could always open a window and leave the room for a moment if a lamp breaks. But they are definitely less hazardous than fluorescent lights.

It is in no way more energy efficient than normal convective or oil filled heaters. Some part of electricity you use goes in producing light and the other part produces heat. So the electricity that produces light is definitely a wastage unless you want to say that you want the light also.

The only advantage is that they heat up quickly.

If your room is small use a convective or fan heater. For bigger room use oil filled heater. they are better in term of energy efficiency.

Your question would make a great topic for a wiseGEEK article. Maybe you would use the wiseGEEK Features menu at the top of the page and select "Suggest a Topic"?

I read on wikipedia, livepedia and other sites that halogen elements are toxic and one of them -called astatin, I think- is radioactive-artificially manufactured and not found in nature. Could you please tell me how safe these halogen heaters are?

thanks a lot

I own a "centameter" - a little LCD display device that shows how much each appliance uses in cents/hour in electricity as I use it. Of my oil column heater, my convection heater and my halogen heater, the halogen is cheapest to run. Also it looks nice and warm because it is so bright and orange!