There are many types of space heaters present in the market like ceramic, mica, oil-filled space heaters, etc. Here I am gonna compare the oil filled space heater vs ceramic space heater because these are the most wanted space heaters.
Let me clear one thing at the beginning itself, if you are thinking that you will save some money using one of these heaters, it is not true. Both of these heaters consume almost the same energy and money. We are gonna discuss this later in this article.
There is no better model between these two because both are good at their work and you have to decide which one will suit your need.
I’ll share all the pros and cons of ceramic and oil-filled heaters based on my experience and researches.
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Oil Filled Space Heater vs Ceramic Space Heater
If you don’t have time to read the whole article, then see these 3 main points which will help you decide which room heater is better for you.
Why should you buy Ceramic Space Heater?
- Fast heating and fast cooling
- Easily portable
- Lightweight
- Good for small spaces
- Safe for children
- Comparatively cheaper in price
Why should you buy an Oil-filled Space Heater?
- Keeps heating even after switching it off
- Long-lasting
- Good for medium to large rooms
- Quiet space heater
- If you have allergies
So, I will start with the basic difference between ceramic and oil-filled space heaters i.e their definition.
What is an oil-filled space heater?
From the name itself, we can understand that the oil-filled space heaters work with the help of oil inside them. When we switch it on, the oil inside the heater gets heated up with the help of a heating element inside it, then it spreads the heat throughout the room. As oil takes some time to heat up, that’s why oil-filled heaters take some time to start heating the room.
Oil takes some time to cool down and that’s why even after you turn off the oil-filled heater, it continues heating for some more times.
What is a ceramic space heater?
In ceramic space heaters, there is a fan that circulates the hot air throughout the room. There is not much difference between ceramic and a fan room heater. The ceramic heater heats via a ceramic plate instead of a filament. Just because the plate retains heat, ceramic heaters give long-lasting heat than fan heaters.
As ceramic heaters have a fan that circulates the hot air, they make more noise than oil-filled space heaters.
Ceramic Heaters Advantages & Disadvantages
| Pros | Cons |
| Small in size: It is a good thing about a ceramic room heater that, it has a small body and it is good for the people who have small space issues in their room. That means it is space efficient. | Not For BIgger Rooms: Usually the ceramic heaters are small in size and that’s why they are good for small rooms like office room, bedroom, etc but not suitable for a big or medium sized living room. |
| Easy Portable: Just because it is small, it is light is weight also and that’s why is it easily portable. | Noise: As you know ceramic heaters have fan inside them and that’s why when fan starts rotating it makes noise that would be irritating to you if you are doing any peaceful job. |
| Body doesn’t get heated: It is another good thing about a ceramic room heater, i.e its body doesn’t get heated that much. You can touch the body easily even when it is working. | Hard to clean: Cleaning is very important for the heaters especially if they have fan. But in this case, it is a little bit hard to clean for the allergic people. |
| Fast Heating: Ceramic heaters are good at fast heating, that means it will start blowing the hot air instantly after you turn it on. | Fast Cool Down: In case of oil-filled space heaters, the heaters provides heat even after turning it off. But in case of ceramic heaters, they stop heater right after turning them off. |
| Aim: Many Ceramic heaters allow you to target the area where you want direct hot air to hit. | |
| Safe: They are safe to use especially if you have children in your home. | |
| Cheap Price: Almost all ceramic heaters come under 40$ and that is really a reasonable cost. |
Oil-Filled Heaters Advantages & Disadvantages
| Pros | Cons |
| Good for bigger rooms: The oil-filled heaters are strong space heaters and good for the medium or large size rooms. | Heavy: Although in oil-filled space heaters, there are wheels and are called portable heaters but because of their heavy weight it is not really so. You will feel difficulty to move it from one room to another. |
| Silence: Oil-filled heaters don’t have fans so it has no such element that will make noise and irritate you. So, almost all oil-filled heaters are quiet. | Slow heat: As we know oil takes time to heat up and that’s why oil-filled heaters also take time to start heating up the room. |
| Long cool down period: As we know the oil-filled space heaters use oil to heat up the surroundings and that’s why it takes long time to cool down the room unlike ceramic heaters. | Costly: They are comparatibly costilier than the ceramic heater but I must say cost is worth it. |
| Energy efficient: Why am I calling it energy efficient is because even after you turn it off, it keeps the room hot. That will save you energy. So, where you had to run it for 4 hours, there you can run it for 3.5 hours. | Big Size: If you have small space in your room then you may feel difficulty to keep it because oil-filled heaters are big in size unlike ceramic heaters. So, you need space inside the room to keep them safely. |
| Allergy-free: As it doesn’t have any fan inside it to blow any air, it is good choice for the people who have allergy withdust particles. | |
| Safe to touch: They are quite safe to touch while they are running because the surface doesn’t get hot much. |
Oil Filled Space Heater vs Ceramic Space Heater Comparison Chart
| Oil-filled | Ceramic | |
| Portability | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Silent | ✔️ | ❌ |
| Fast heating | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Long heating | ✔️ | ❌ |
| Durable | ✔️ | ❌ |
| Good for children | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Good for Allergies | ✔️ | ❌ |
| Heavy | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Easy cleaning | ✔️ | ❌ |
| Energy Efficient | ✔️ | ❌ |
