Direct Vent vs. Vent-Free Space Heaters: Which Is Best?

When it comes to providing an extra kick for hard-to-heat rooms in your North Carolina home, few options can compete with a propane space heater.

Equipped with thermostats, blowers, and other performance enhancing features, today’s space heaters will keep your basement, hobby room, or any other problem space consistently warm in any weather.

But how do you choose a propane space heater from among the many options available? The search starts by choosing between the two largest categories of space heater: direct vent and vent-free. Let’s take a closer look at each.

Direct vent advantages

Direct vent space heaters are basically closed combustion boxes that use outdoor air to create heat; any fumes produced by burning propane are vented directly outside your home via a small pipe through an exterior wall.

Direct vent space heaters offer:

• A powerful, economical and unobtrusive alternative to a furnace or boiler that is easier to install and maintain
• Precision heating, with the ability to vary intensity and fan speed
• Simple one-hole venting and no ductwork
• Advanced operation, with some models featuring programmable thermostats and other automated settings

Vent-free advantages

Vent-free propane space heaters don’t need vents or ductwork to provide heat, and they are available in a range of sizes to suit most spaces.

Vent-free propane heaters are less expensive to install than direct vent heaters and offer greater installation flexibility, since they don’t require access to an external wall for venting. However, unlike direct vent options, exhaust in a released inside the home. For this reason, it is not legal to install vent-free heaters in rooms where people sleep, and some local building codes do no allow them to be installed at all. Do your research if you are considering one!

Vent-free propane gas heaters are available in two basic types: blue flame or infrared; both are extremely efficient (typically more than 99 percent).

• Infrared vent free heaters use gas to heat ceramic panels that radiate heat onto objects (or people) in the room rather than by heating the air itself. An infrared heater is, therefore, an extremely targeted heat source: if you stand directly in front of one, you will feel the heat immediately, making it a great heater to stand in front of if you have just come in from the cold.
• Blue flame vent free heaters operate by convection, warming the actual air in the room. A blue flame heater may take longer to heat a room because it must heat the air rather than a targeted object, but it will provide more consistent temperature control than an infrared heater. If your space is insulated, a blue flame heater is probably the better choice.

The bottom line

Whatever choice you make, a propane space heater can recover a “lost,” hard-to-heat room with ease; they’re a great, cost-efficient choice for any home with a heating challenge.

Not sure what kind of space heater to choose for your Clinton, NC-area home? Contact Williamson Gas today to discuss your options and get a FREE, no-obligation estimate on a space heater installation!