Quartz infrared heaters use as much power as electric heaters with resistive elements. The energy consumption depends on the rating of the infrared element, and that is usually in the neighborhood of 750 to 1500 watts.
Infrared Heater Operation
In a quartz infrared heater, electricity energizes a heating element in the same way it does in a conventional heater. The energy radiates out from the heater, and any part of your body in its path absorbs the energy and becomes warmer. Because the energy must be absorbed to be useful, some heaters incorporate a heat exchanger, which is usually a copper plate. The heat exchanger absorbs the heat and warms up, and a fan circulates warm air from the exchanger.
Power Consumption
Infrared heat is safer than conventional, resistive heat, but it takes just as much electricity to produce it. The rating for a particular heater is specified on a label — usually affixed near the power cord — and can be as high as 1500 watts. In California, where residential electricity costs about 17 cents per kilowatt hour, it costs about a quarter to run a 1500-watt heater for an hour. If you run it for 10 hours a day, that works out to about $75 a month.
