Ceramic Heaters
Ceramic heaters are one of the smallest types of space heater, and are also much less of a fire hazard than other heaters. There are different types of ceramic heater: some heat by convective currents and others radiate heat.
Fan Fin Ceramic Heaters
Fan fin ceramic space heaters contain coils of wire, which are inside the ceramic plates. Electricity is used to heat up the coils, and the ceramic plate absorbs the heat from these coils. A fan pushes air over the hot ceramic elements, and this air is then distributed around the room.
The ceramic heaters absorb the heat from the coils of wire imbedded in them, which means they are much safer than electric heaters. They are unlikely to start a fire as they are not as hot as electric heaters. This makes them useful in areas where pets and children could knock over the heater. However, areas of the grill can become fairly hot to touch.
Honeycomb Ceramic Heaters
Honeycomb ceramic heaters are similar to fan fin ceramic heaters, but they have a honeycomb structure. This means that incoming air is pushed into the holes, and then forced out through small holes. This is advantageous, because there is a higher surface area to heat the air. They are more expensive than fan fin ceramic space heaters.
Both honeycomb and fan fin ceramic space heaters use convection heat to raise the air temperature. Convection heat works by raising the air temperature next to the heater. This causes the air to rise. Cold air is then drawn to fill the space left by the hot air. An air current then develops: the hot air rises, spreads out, then cools and falls back to the heater.
Ceramic Space Heaters
Ceramic space heaters which produce convective air currents are suitable to heat larger areas. A ceramic space heater heats the air in the room, rather than objects, unlike a ceramic element heater which is designed to produce infrared waves.
The thermostat on most ceramic heaters is not accurate, and can cause wide temperature variation. Instead of maintaining a specific temperature, these thermostats are either on or off. They use a bimetal thermostat, which contains two different pieces of metal which are bolted together. This is part of an electrical circuit connected to the heater: when the metal is cold, it completes the circuit and the heater is on. When the metal gets hot, one of the two pieces of metal expands and bends the strip until it breaks open the circuit.
Bulb Style Ceramic Heaters
Bulb style ceramic heaters produce infrared waves. When infrared waves strike objects, the waves are converted into heat energy. Infrared heaters are spot heaters, and heat people and objects rather than the air.
Bulb style ceramic heaters are particularly popular to be used in reptile enclosures. They are also known as ceramic infrared bulbs, or Edison screw element ceramic heaters. They allow an area of the reptile enclosure to be heated, which means the reptile can bask to warm up.