Space Heater Safety Tips

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If you need to quickly heat a small area in your Broomfield home, a space heater provides a great way to do that. While modern space heaters are largely safe, they must be used wisely in order to prevent any unnecessary safety risks. At True Heating & Cooling, we want you to stay safe as the cold weather arrives, which is why we offer you these space heater safety tips.

Inspect Before Use 

Although your space heater is fairly simple when compared to the HVAC systems installed by True Heating & Cooling, there are still multiple vital components that need to work properly to help your space heater operate safely. Before you turn on your space heater, it’s important to look it over to check for any potential defects. Especially important is the electrical cord since your space heater uses a lot of power to provide heat. Any damage to the cord requires immediate repair or replacement before you can use it again.

Don't Overload 

At 12.5 amps, space heaters are one of the most power-hungry devices in your home. Since most common household circuits are rated for 15 amps of power, it can be easy to overload a circuit that is powering a space heater. To prevent a tripped breaker, it’s important to understand which outlets in a room are connected to which circuits. This will ensure you can keep the space heater on its own circuit while still enjoying the benefits of other electrical devices in the room.

Don't Leave It Alone 

One of the most important rules of using a space heater is to never leave it unattended while it’s running. Considering how much power a space heater uses, leaving a space heater unattended should never be a temptation, anyway. If you should forget to turn your space heater off, though, it’s important to use the thermostat settings on your space heater so it will shut itself down if the room gets too hot.

Watch The Cord 

Even when properly insulated, the power cord on a space heater can become warm when using the space heater for an extended time. Therefore, to help prevent a fire, it’s a good idea to keep your space heater’s power cord away from any flammable materials. Most importantly, we recommend you never run the power cord under a blanket or rug since this could cause the heat to intensify to the point that it becomes a significant safety hazard.

Keep An Eye On The Outlet 

Although most electrical outlets can easily provide the power that’s required to operate a space heater, it’s still important to keep an eye on the outlet where your space heater is plugged in. If there are any wiring defects in your home’s electrical system, the outlet you choose may not be able to provide enough power, which can cause the outlet and the wires inside your wall to become hot. Periodically, you’ll want to touch the outlet to “take its temperature.” If you notice it’s warm or hot to the touch, immediately unplug the space heater and call an electrician to check your home’s electrical system.

Keep Kids and Pets Away 

If you have children or pets in your home, it’s important to keep them away from your space heater at all times. At True Heating & Cooling, we recommend keeping them away from the space heater even when it’s not in use. This is because they can tamper with the space heater, resulting in damage that could make it unsafe to use. Of course, while the heater is running, they could be electrocuted or burned if they accidentally touch one of the unit’s electrical or heating components.

Keep It Stable 

A solid and stable surface is absolutely essential for the safe operation of a space heater. If a space heater is on an unstable surface, it will likely fall over. Although most space heaters include a safety switch that automatically turns the heater off when it falls over, your best bet is to prevent it from falling over in the first place.

Looking Out For You 

The employees of True Heating & Cooling are husbands, wives, mothers, and fathers—just like you. As such, we believe in keeping our customers and their families safe in any way we can. In addition to safety tips, we can help keep you safe by maintaining and repairing your HVAC system, testing for carbon monoxide in your home, and much more. We can also install a variety of home comfort products to help make your home more enjoyable. Since we opened our doors, we’ve been committed to great customer service, which is reflected in our five-star reviews. For more space heater safety tips, give us a call at True Heating & Cooling today.

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