Why Regulating the Home Environment Requires more than a Storage Heater

For most home owners, keeping the home comfortable means ensuring the family lives in a warm house. Wintry weather can be miserable, and having that snug, protected feeling can make a home so much more enjoyable for everyone. However, the problem is that sometimes the extra warmth provided by a panel or storage heater is not actually what is required. In fact, what can keep a person warm and snug in the hallway or living room, may not be what is needed in other rooms. Take the bathroom, for example, where between hot showers and a relatively small area, the heaters so effective elsewhere may only serve to create a claustrophobic environment, thereby taking away that sense of comfort. In this situation, the ideal solution is a bathroom fan heater that can be easily turned on and off, and also force air to move around. When the weather is not cold, but is instead clammy, mild or even hot, the need for heating at all is completely removed, but opening a window is not always the most effective solution either. In this case, a portable air conditioner is the perfect answer. There can be no surprise then, that in recent years, more and more home owners are investing in air conditioners to help regulate temperatures by cooling rooms. When most people think of an air conditioner, they think of the large machine that turns hot air into cooler air and blows a refreshing breeze through a room, gradually lowering the temperature. This image is, of course, accurate but portable models are obviously not the machines the sit in a hole in the exterior wall or a window, drawing the air from outside. Instead, these stylishly designed models can be easily wheeled or carried to where ever they are most needed. These air conditioners draw the warm air already in a room, chills it and then blows its back out to cool the room temperature. What warm air is created by the mechanical and electronic activities of the machine is dispelled through a discreet exhaust tube that leads outside. There are clear advantages to using an air conditioner over simply opening windows or turning off a heater. Firstly, there is an immediate impact from an air conditioner, with cool air actively being generated to replace the warm air. Turning off a storage or panel heater only results in the heat source slowing down to an eventual stop, so the heat remains in the room for some time afterwards. And secondly, how effective an open window is depends greatly on the weather conditions outside. If it is mild or humid, then the relief is likely to be minimal. A portable model can distribute cool air to where it is needed most, allowing one particular area to be cooled, facilitating the needs of individuals within the dwelling. It is also not a permanent fixture so can be put away easily, to be called upon again when needed. What is more, it can provide more than just cooling services, with ventilation and dehumidifying modes available on the latest models. Options can also be programmed into the machine, while an automatic timer allows the machine to turn on and off strategically, saving on energy and therefore costs. Of course, the size and power of a portable air conditioner is telling in terms of performance. A large room needs an air conditioner with a suitable capacity, while a smaller room can be very efficiently served by smaller units. The BTU rating of the unit will reveal if it is capable of doing the job at hand. BTU stands for British Thermal Units, and is used to measure how much heat is lost per hour. Smaller models boast rates of around 7,500 or 8,000 BTU, which can be sufficient to cool a room of around 200 sq ft. Larger spaces, say of 500 or 600 sq ft, need larger units which have ratings of around 12,000 BTU. While a bathroom fan heater can easily heat a bathroom on a chilly morning, and a storage heater can turn a frosty hallway into a cozy heart of the home, neither are particularly effective when family members are already too warm. The air conditioner unit, and preferably of the portable type, is far more effective at improving the home environment in such cases.