Don’t burn away your money using your fan heater this winter
Infrared Heaters vs Electric Fan Heaters: Which Is More Efficient?
Electric fan heaters are often seen as a quick and inexpensive way to heat a room. In reality, they are one of the most expensive and inefficient forms of electric heating used in UK homes and workplaces. Because fan heaters rely on rapidly heating and circulating air, they consume large amounts of electricity while delivering short-lived comfort, particularly in draughty or poorly insulated spaces.
Infrared heaters work in a fundamentally different way. Instead of heating the air, they emit infrared radiation that warms people, walls, floors, and objects directly. This reduces heat loss, improves comfort, and allows warmth to be felt almost immediately without the need to heat an entire volume of air.
For a broader comparison with fixed heating systems, you can also read our infrared heating vs traditional heating guide.
How Electric Fan Heaters Work
Electric fan heaters draw air over a heated element and push it into the room using a fan. This can raise air temperature quickly, but it comes with several drawbacks:
- Heat is uneven and easily lost through draughts and open doors
- Warm air rises, leaving colder conditions at occupant level
- Units typically run at 2kW to 3kW continuously
- Fan noise can be disruptive in offices, bedrooms, and study areas
Because comfort disappears quickly once the heater switches off, fan heaters often run for long periods, leading to high electricity use.
How Infrared Heating Differs
Infrared heaters do not rely on air circulation. They emit radiant heat that travels through the air and warms solid surfaces directly.
This results in:
- Faster perceived warmth
- Comfort at lower air temperatures
- Reduced heat loss through air movement
- Less need for continuous operation
In many real-world environments, this leads to lower total energy use compared with fan heaters, even though both systems use electricity.
For a realistic view of winter electricity usage, see are infrared heaters expensive to run in winter.
Real-World Energy Use Comparison
Fan heaters are often used in offices and workshops as a temporary solution, but this can lead to significant energy waste.
In one office environment, multiple fan heaters and oil radiators were being used across several rooms, drawing a combined electrical load of around 18kW. These were replaced with four correctly sized 900W infrared heating panels, reducing the total connected load to just 3.6kW while improving comfort.
This type of outcome is common where fan heaters are used continuously to compensate for poor heat retention.
The Infrared Heating Advantage
Infrared heaters offer several practical benefits over electric fan heaters:
- Lower overall energy use – heating can be accurately matched to each room rather than relying on oversized portable heaters
- Improved comfort – heat is delivered directly to occupants and surfaces, reducing cold spots
- Silent operation – no fans or moving parts, ideal for offices and bedrooms
- Flexible installation – wall mounted, ceiling mounted, or positioned above desks and work areas
Long-Term Cost Considerations
While electric fan heaters are cheap to buy, they are expensive to run. Continuous operation at high wattage leads to high electricity bills, particularly during winter.
Infrared heaters typically cost more upfront but are significantly more efficient in real-world use when sized and controlled correctly. Over time, reduced electricity consumption can offset the initial purchase cost.
You can see a detailed cost breakdown in why infrared heating is the cost efficient solution to your high energy bill.
Commercial and Specialist Applications
Infrared Heating Supplies works with businesses, workshops, churches, and heritage buildings where traditional air-based heating performs poorly. These environments consistently highlight the limitations of fan heaters and the advantages of targeted radiant heating.
Conclusion
Electric fan heaters offer short-term warmth but are inefficient, noisy, and costly to run over time. Infrared heaters provide a more efficient and comfortable alternative by delivering heat directly where it is needed and reducing wasted energy.
If you are still relying on fan heaters for regular heating, switching to infrared can significantly improve comfort while reducing long-term running costs.
