We have a 1000W oil heater heating my 3 year old's bedroom. It's been there since he was born, and works well. High wall heat pumps in the lounge / kitchen heat the whole house including this room, but the oil heater comes on to keep it warm overnight with the door closed.
My wife is concerned that our toddler may pull the oil heater down on himself and hurt himself. She's asked me to look into panel heaters.
Are panel heaters effective for keeping a well insulated, double glazed room warm? I had a quick look at Briscoes and found the panel type are mostly around 425 watts, if you want more you need to get something that's more like a standard convection heater. Right now the oil heater is in the corner of the room near his bed, a panel heater would have to be across the room, perhaps behind a rocking chair.
Questions
- How effective are panel heaters? I imagine about the same as oil heaters, the heat goes straight up and the room warms from the top down.
- How are panel heaters for safety? They won't fall on him, but there's a fair bit of heat quite close to a wall. Would we be better with a more traditional heater that looks like it would have something solid between the heating element and the wall?
I'm an engineer and understand the different types of heaters well, I'm looking for practical experience.