Electric Room Heating

a type of comfort heating in which rooms are heated and a comfortable temperature is maintained in rooms by means of electric heating units, which convert electric energy into heat.

In the most widely used electric heating units, the heating element is a conductor with a high resistivity. The heating element may be an open-air element or an enclosed element. Open-air heating elements—for example, those used in electric fires and in heat lamps—are in direct contact with the air being heated. Enclosed heating elements are embedded in an electric heater, usually a tubular unit, and transfer heat to the surface of a radiator by means of a heat-transfer fluid—for example, a light oil—that circulates in the radiator. Heating units with an enclosed heating element preclude the possibility of accidental burns or of igniting dust.

In present-day construction, heating units are used in which an electric current heats a heat-retaining material. In turn, the material transfers heat to the room being heated. Such heating units usually consume electricity at hours when the consumption of electricity for other needs is reduced. Structural components, such as reinforced-concrete ceiling or floor panels, containing heating cables may also be used as heat-retaining heating units. In certain cases, conducting wallpaper or articles made of conducting resin may be used for electric room heating.

The main advantage of electric room heating over other types of comfort heating is the simplicity and reliability of automatic temperature regulation, which makes it possible to use electricity more economically. However, the cost of electricity is still rather high. Therefore, electric room heating is not widely used in the USSR.