If you have a chilly area in your home, you may have considered getting a space heater, just to take the bite out. This can happen even if you have a furnace, if it has not been well maintained or currently needs furnace repair and you haven’t yet gotten around to it. Otherwise, you may want to warm up your garage a little while you work on projects, or maybe you would like to work on projects in your workshop or shed when the weather is a little cooler.
If you have an area of your home that needs a little extra heat, you should consider a propane heater. Propane heaters can be portable, or set in a fixed space. They can even be wall mounted. You will just need to contact a company that provides propane refill every time you run out of propane. You may also need periodic heater repair services for the maintenance of your heating unit.
Consider the following as you decide if you need a propane heater for your home:
Location
Where do you feel like you could most use some extra heat? Your garage? Shed? Maybe even on a three season porch or outdoor area? Luckily, most propane heaters are portable, so if you have several areas of your house that need some extra heat, you can purchase one heater and move it as needed.
If you intend to use your propane heater indoors at all, be sure to purchase a propane heater specifically to be used indoors, since indoor heaters include many safety features, including features to reduce the risk of fires.
Portable vs. Fixed
As mentioned, several models of propane heaters are portable. If you would like to be able to move your heater around, consider a propane heater that is smaller and that has a handle.
Larger propane heaters or heaters with fans that need to be plugged in are semi-fixed. You can move them, but it may take some effort. You may even want to convert some rooms in your home to propane heat and install a fixed, wall-mounted propane heater that stays in one place permanently.
For smaller heaters, you can use smaller tanks, but for larger, fixed heaters, you may need to have a home propane tank that feeds the heater. Either way, you can contact your local propane suppliers for propane delivery options.
Safety
As previously mentioned, there are propane heaters designed for indoor use and outdoor use. Outdoor propane heaters should never be used indoors, since they do not have the same safety features as indoor propane heaters.
Other safety features you should consider as you research propane heaters are overheating protection that can shut down the heater if it senses greatly rising temperatures, automatic shut-off in the case that too much carbon monoxide and too little oxygen is detected, and tip-over protection so that the heater shuts down if it senses that it has tipped over in order to prevent the risk of fire.
There are many things to consider as you ponder a purchase of a propane heater for your home. On the top of your list should be the safety features of the models you are considering. You should also think about where you would like your heater to be located, as well as if you would like your heater to be portable or fixed in place.