How to Maintain Your Electric Heater

Your convection, radiant and fan-forced electric heaters should provide you with years of trouble-free comfort. And with a little regular, routine maintenance, they’ll also run as efficiently as possible, too. Here’s how.

Understanding Which Type of Electric Heat You Have

There are three different types of electric heaters: convection heaters, radiant heaters, and fan-forced heaters. Depending on which one you have in your home, how you maintain your electric heater and help keep it running in the most cost-saving, efficient way possible, may be slightly different. 

Convection heaters, like the Apéro or Allegro series by Convectair, don’t have any fans. Instead, they have heating elements designed for exceptional heat conductivity. By naturally drawing cold air in and diffusing warm, heated air throughout the room, convection heaters create a circulating effect that helps keep your room consistently comfortable, in complete silence.   

Creating a soft and gentle heat – like what you feel when you are out in the sun – radiant electric heaters gently fill your space with an enveloping, comfortable warmth. Unlike convection or fan-forced heaters which have slats for openings, the Opera series of radiant heaters from Convectair feature a honeycomb exterior, to better diffuse warm air from the heating element. 

For quick and powerful heating, fan-forced electric heaters like Convectair’s Calypso or Soprano heaters, propel warm air throughout the room – great for on-demand comfort.     

Regardless of the type of electric heating you have in your home, keeping your owner’s manual on hand to help with your routine maintenance is always a good idea. 

Regular Upkeep of Electric Heating is Easy 

The best way to help ensure your electric heaters function as efficiently and effectively as possible is to ensure they are part of your home’s regular maintenance and cleaning routine. Whether you have convection, radiant, or fan-forced electric heat, even the best space heater will collect dust and lint. And just because low-to-the-floor heaters or a heater in-wall may be small and out of the way, they’re likely to collect dust and lint faster than other surfaces since they are so effective at circulating air throughout a room – so don’t forget about them! 

For light, regular maintenance of electric space heaters, removing dust and lint from exterior surfaces every two weeks is recommended. For convection and fan-forced heaters, high-dust areas would be where the air comes in and out of the unit, like at the bottom or its slats. Gently clear away dust and lint from these areas with a soft, clean cloth, being careful not to prod too deeply into the unit’s inner workings. For maintenance of radiant heaters, a quick and regular vacuum of their intricate openings will do the trick. 

For stains and scuffs that might appear on the outside of your electric heater from the trials of everyday life around your home – especially those that provide baseboard electric heat – use a soft, damp cloth soaked in a little bit of soapy water to clean them away with ease.   

Remember, as tough and durable as the exterior of your electric heating units are, never use abrasive materials or chemicals in your regular maintenance routine. Doing so could damage or scratch the surface, leaving small openings for dirt and grim to really set in.

Go for a Deeper Clean of Your Electric Heaters Once a Year

With regular maintenance of your electric heaters, a deeper clean should only be needed in the late summer, before you put your heater – radiant, convection, or fan-forced – back to work for the winter. 

Deeper, more thorough maintenance of your electric heater means gently clearing away dust and lint from the unit’s inner workings, so to start, make sure the heater is disconnected from its power supply and cool to the touch. Also, be sure to have a can of compressed air on hand – like those you would use to clean your computer’s keyboard – as well as a good mask to protect your own airways once the dust starts to fly.  

To safely remove your electric heater’s exterior panel, refer to your owner’s manual. Once inside your electric heater, use the compressed air to gently clear the built-up dust from the heating element, fan-blades (if it’s a fan-forced heater), and delicate electronic components. Also, don’t forget about the inside of the unit’s panel! Use a soft, damp cloth to clean the inside of the panel and let it dry completely before reinstalling. 

So remember, every two weeks for regular, routine maintenance of your electric heater, and with a deep clean once a year, should help you enjoy your home in warm comfort, all winter long.