What is a toe kick heater? This type of space heater is designed to be virtually invisible to plain sight. This type of space heater could give extra warmth to your home, especially in cold winter seasons. It is primarily used for rooms with complicated layouts but doesn’t get the name confused, and you don’t have to kick the heater to turn it ON or OFF. Like other heaters, they have thermostats to set up your right preferred temperature.
You have probably never seen a toe kick heater at first glance when visiting a home, have you? You wouldn’t even know that there is one unless the house owner tells you so. Well, you might notice that some rooms are not cold during the winter when you can’t see any heater is plugged in. Heaters like these are the ones tricking your eyes.
Of course, you can always wear extra-warm clothes and put some blankets on to warm you up during these cold seasons, but isn’t it much better to dress comfortably while staying cozy? The answer to your problem is a space heater, but try using a heater for a better option. Don’t know anything about it? Well, you’ve come to the right page; as we will all be talking is everything about toe kick heaters. So, sit back, relax, and read until the end of this article.
Toe Kick Heater
So, what is a toe kick heater? These are just like other space heaters, but it is pretty invisible to the naked eye if I describe them. Why is that? It is because it’s hidden in plain sight, so you won’t see it being used unless you know that it is installed. Other space heaters will require you to install additional baseboard units, but when it comes to the toe kick heater, you won’t be needing that.
2 Types Of Toe Kick Heater
There are two types of heaters available. hydronic and electric units. How does each one differ? Well, for obvious—not so obvious reasons—a hydronic type heater unit heats the space using the heat produced by the warm water pumped into the heated coils of the team. At the same time, an electric heater uses electricity to heat the loops, creating a friendly atmosphere.
#1. Hydronic Unit
Because hydronic toe kick heaters absorb heat from your water heaters, having one installed will entail the purchase of a water heater first. The hot water from the boiler will pass through a heated coil before being transferred to the incoming air. The air will then be pushed outward by the fan inside the machine, releasing the excess heat inside the room. Because water and heat are involved in the process, you might want to think of it as steam heat.
#2. Electric Unit
On the other hand, the heating in electric toe kick heaters is done directly with electricity. The heating feature may vary depending on the design, fan power, or heating element. Unlike the hydronic unit, you won’t need a pre-installed water heater to do its job, making it more cost-efficient. Another difference between the two units, electric heaters is more minor in size.
Steps To Get The Right Size For Your Room
Since toe kick heaters can only warm a small space in your home, you will need the right size to fit it in. The sizing of the heaters will very much depend on the heat requirement of your house. So how will you know if that heater is the right size for your room? Don’t worry, and follow the steps I’ve provided below.
Step #1. Know your room size
The first step is to determine the size of your room. It is essential to know this information before considering the size of the heater you will get. You could either use by square feet or see the room’s dimensions—width and length. Let’s say your room measures 12 feet long and 15 feet wide, and then you can calculate 15 x 12 is equal to 180 square feet.
Step #2. Calculate the wattage power of the heater
Since you already know the size of your room, it’s time to determine how intense should the heat be enough for warming the area? There is a rule that for every 1 square foot space, you will need 10 watts of power. With this rule, you can say that you will need at least 10 x your room size in square feet. Using our example in step 1, we will need 10 x 180 = 1800watts of power required for the heater.
Step #3. Choosing the right heater
After determining the correct power for the heater, it doesn’t mean that you’ll have to reach it since toe kick heaters only warm up a portion of your room. You might consider having similar heaters or somewhat near the wattage requirement. It may be helpful to read about best electric and hydronic toe kick heater.
It’s A Wrap!
No more thoughts about what is a toe kick heatersince you are at the end of this article. To sum things up, a toe heater is a hidden heater that warms up your room—more space-saving than the other types of space heaters. You could choose between the two types of toe kick heater, whether hydraulic or electric. Nonetheless, the performance of both is similar to each other. Click on these links to read related articles; know what size toe kick heater do i need and how to wire electric baseboard heater.