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We’ve all been there, the heating system has broken down, or it’s suddenly just a little bit cold for the heating system to cope. What do we do? We either upgrade, or purchase a portable to use in the interim. Now it’s a better choice to purchase a portable heater, this will give some redundancy, and allow you to move the heat around to where it’s needed. Portable heaters give flexibility.

Gas? Diesel? Electric? What kind of portable heater should you buy? It might be more critical than that – it might be a case of what kind ‘can’ you buy, particularly if there are flammables in the area to be heated or if it is poorly ventilated. You can scour the web for heating guides if you like, some are great, some are simply out to sell you a particular product.

Before you go scouring the internet for heating guides, here are a few simple things to consider.

What sort of heat ouptut are you looking for? Take the dimensions of the room, and I mean all three dimensions! Many people forget the height and wonder why their 3kW heater can’t heat a small square footage room, with a 30′ high ceiling. Is the insulation level good? What temperature rise are you trying to achieve? I say temperature rise because if you want it at twenty degreees in the room and it’s minus five outside – you are looking to put 25 degrees C into the room!

Use a web based calculator for ease – but don’t forget to consider temperature rise over temperature!

When you know how much heat you need, you then need to think about how you are going to deliver it. An electric heater is a good idea – but don’t forget a standard domestic 13A socket will only do 3kW of heat! If you need more, then you need to think about 3 phase heaters, or even burning a fuel.

Also look at the materials which are in the area which needs to be heated. Flammables like paper and fuel cannot be stored in an area where a direct fired gas heater is burning for obvious reasons. Doing so will probably invalidate your fire insurance. Likewise for direct diesel heaters. If you have three phase electrics then you can get up to 20kW of heat off a 32A socket, otherwise you have to look at indirect diesel heaters. Some heaters can only be used in well ventilated areas – because of fumes, you should only use direct gas and diesel heaters where there is excellent ventilation. If it’s in an area which has explosive gases then an expensive, probably bespoke explosion proof heater will be needed. All in all choosing the correct portable heater for your application can be a minefield. You have to take into consideration the power needed, the electrical power requirements and what is safe for the area being heated.

For more information on the many different kinds and sizes of heaters available, please see Portable Heating and Cooling range of Mobile heaters or for information on mobile air conditioners, please see cooling guide at portable heating and cooling.