Depending on where you live--and the cost of electricity--you may have one or more electric heaters in your home, built-in or portable. And they may need fixing. Fortunately, they are relatively simple in operation and as simple to troubleshoot and repair.

How Does It Work?

Space heaters can often be repaired relatively easily.

Electric baseboard and wall heaters are room air-heating units. A baseboard heater has one or more horizontal heating elements and is controlled by a thermostat. Baseboard heaters are mounted at the base of a room wall. Air is drawn in through the bottom and heated by the electric elements. The warm air then rises into the room. The electric elements are often shaped like metal fins, and some are filled with fluid to maximize their heat retention. Often several units are installed around the perimeter of a room.

An electric wall heater is a forced-air heating device. The wall heater fits into the wall and uses a fan to circulate air that has been warmed by an electric heating element. The fan and row of heating elements inside the unit are controlled by a thermostat. Wall heaters are often installed in bathrooms, laundry rooms, and other areas to provide supplemental or occasional heat.

A portable electric or "space" heater is designed to warm a small area. There are two types. In convective heaters, air heated by one or more heating elements is blown into the room by a fan. In radiant heaters, the elements heat a liquid that radiates heat into the room rather than blowing it in.

A ceramic heater, a type of convective heater, uses a larger ceramic element that allows the heater to be run at lower temperatures, making it somewhat safer than other convective heaters that rely on conventional elements.

Additional components in a typical electric heater include control switches, elements, and a motorized fan. Heaters also typically have a thermostat. For safety, portable heaters usually include a tip-over switch, which shuts off the heater if it's knocked over, and a thermal cutoff, which shuts off an overheating unit. Some cutoffs reset after the heater has cooled down, but others must be replaced if they trip.

What Can Go Wrong?

Even though there are few parts to the typical electric heater, most of the parts can make the heater stop working. Heating elements burn out. The thermostat can fail. Power cords and switches can fail. The fan in a wall heater can fail. The most common problems are caused by switches, thermostats, and heating elements. In addition, higher-watt heaters can trip a circuit breaker or blow a fuse, stopping electricity to the circuit.

Caution!

Make sure nothing flammable is on or near an electric heater.