Talk:Electric heating

Efficiency
every electric heater has same 100% efficiency


 * 100% efficient at the point of use, yes, but you need to consider the inefficiency of converting heat to electricity in the first place. --Heron 20:05, 26 January 2006 (UTC)


 * This is a good point that should be stressed and explained in the article. However, a computer is just as efficient an electric heater as is an electric heater. Someone fresh on their thermodynamics could probably explain this in terms of entropy. Electric heating is 100% efficient at turning electricity into heat, but it could turn it into useful work and the same amount of heat. —Ben FrantzDale 13:23, 26 September 2007 (UTC)

there is no machine that can work efficiently with 100% energy conversion -vamsi
 * Depends on how you define efficiency. This article barely scratches the surface. What about heat pumps - which do NOT rely on Joule heating of a resistor and which in fact can be MORE than 100% effcient (using a fairly reasonable and well-accepted definition of efficiency)?  Where electricity is derived from non-fossil sources electric heating has a lower CO2 emission than local combustion of fossil fuels.  Electric space heating is economical when low night rates are available. What about heat tracing, and industrial applications? --Wtshymanski (talk) 21:43, 11 December 2007 (UTC)


 * The section about efficiency does mention heat pumps and refer to the article on heat pumps.Ccrrccrr (talk) 04:52, 12 December 2007 (UTC)


 * Ok it looks like no one here took anything more advanced then general physics if that. There is no 100% efficient heat pump. Please see Carnot Cycle. It is thermodynamically impossible. You can make up your own definitions for efficiency, but everything in science has an exact meaning, because these are terms representing variables in equations!. For example you can not extract heat. Heat is a process involving the transfer of energy. If you feel the need to argue or debate, please go and read the the first law of thermodynamics to get a general idea of how heat and work are related. 66.176.73.89 (talk) 02:42, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

other forms of electric heating
This article currently begins with the statement "Electric heating is any process in which electrical energy is converted to heat."

However, currently the article focuses entirely on heating air in living spaces, completely neglecting other processes that convert electrical energy to heat -- dielectric heating such as microwave oven, ultrasonic diathermy, incandescent light bulb, etc. -- processes typically intended to heat things other than air.

Should I narrow the scope of this article to "... any process in which electrical energy is converted to hot air"? Or should I expand the scope of this article to the scope implied by that first sentence, and briefly mention all these other processes (and then link to the articles that describe those processes in more detail)? --68.0.124.33 (talk) 15:01, 19 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Add 'em all! Grow the encyclopedia. Trouble is, a really comprehensive article on electric heating could be...quite large. I think it would be useful to concentrate on processes where heat is the desired effect - an incandescent light bulb is also a space heater but that's not usually what we buy it for. --Wtshymanski (talk) 16:16, 19 July 2008 (UTC)

flexible heaters
I just removed a section on flexible heaters. I like flexible heaters and have used them and don't oppose having them mentioned here, but as a major first section of the article the section was absurd, especially with the use and linking of a trade name over a generic term. If that content goes in it should be a sub-section of the appropriate section, without undue weight. Ccrrccrr (talk) 03:20, 20 October 2009 (UTC)

Some of the positive aspects of electric heating?
I wonder if we might consider a section that discusses some of the positive aspects/advantages of electric heating. For example:

1) Initial cost of electric heating devices is usually lower than other types.

2) Electric heat does not require supply pipes or venting for toxic fumes, which is another economy.

3) Because of #2 above, electric heat can be installed almost anywhere.

4) Building on #3, electric heat is often a good choice to help warm a room or part of a room that a building's main heatig system does not heat properly.

5) Electric heat is a good choice for locations where immediate but not longterm heating is desired, such as in bathrooms.

6) Electric heat may be a good choice for homes in rural and remote areas where there is no gas supply, and other types of fuel such as oil or propane must be periodically delivered.

7) Electric heat can act as a "backup" system in homes heated primarily by wood stoves or solar systems.

I would also like to point out that in addition to the point that coal cannot usually be used as fuel at the location where heat is needed anymore, neither can hydropower or nuclear power. The same will be true of wind-generated power and power from solar electric panels when their use becomes widespread enough to make a significant contribution to the world's electric generating capacity.

RogerInPDX (talk) 22:53, 8 June 2010 (UTC)

Space heating
A small cultural correction: the comment -- "In the United Kingdom, these appliances are sometimes called electric fires, because they were originally used to replace open fires" -- is misplaced. It would be correct under the subheading of Radiative Heaters. Convection heaters are not commonly referred to in this way. 81.155.93.207 (talk) 10:11, 5 September 2010 (UTC)

Science Expert
Just to go over this the first law of thermodynamics gives very specific definitions for work and heat. If this article is to be consistent with scientific fact, it requires clean up by someone who can use the correct terminology or include equations to help explain the concepts. If for example the phrase "extracting heat out of the ground" is used, this has no scientific meaning and does not represent what is happening. i.e. a more precise statement would be " using electrical work to transfer energy from the ground in the form of temperature difference." or using electrical heating to transfer energy from the ground causing a temperature difference. 66.176.73.89 (talk) 02:51, 31 October 2011 (UTC)

Information that is not directly relevant to Immersion Heating
Someone added a line mentioning a stand-up comedian's routine about about bathroom water heating works in Ireland and provided a YouTube link.
 * "Irish-American comedian Des Bishop talks about his first encounter with a domestic immersion heater in one of his comedy routines."

The video, Des Bishop's Immersion Routine, is a funny explanation for those unfamiliar with immersion heating and mentions the cultural aspects of it, but in context, it is out-of-place, the video's content is not encyclopaedic, and could be violating the guidelines on promotion. If the original editor would like to keep this for the information that was provided, it would be best if the relevant parts it were précised to give an explanation of how a domestic immersion heater is operated and perhaps explain the role of "The Immersion" in Irish culture.
 * Petropetro (talk) 04:33, 14 May 2017 (UTC)

Article issues and classification
The article has multiple sourcing issues. The B-class criteria #1 states; The article is suitably referenced, with inline citations. It has reliable sources, and any important or controversial material which is likely to be challenged is cited. Reassess the article to C-class. -- Otr500 (talk) 02:35, 1 March 2023 (UTC)