How Safe Are Gas Heaters?
In all the continents of the earth, man has sort ways to warm himself, especially in the Northern Hemisphere, Europe, Russia, the Far East and the Middle East. These are more or less the regions of the world that experience winters for a given number of months during the year. In the early centuries, man discovered fire and has used it ever since to cook, warm himself and protect himself against the dangerous wild animals that used to roam the wild in those days. Fire is readily available in nature and all man had to do was feed it with firewood which was also readily available.
If we fast forward to the 20th and 21st century, man still needs to warm himself and fire is still widely used. But now there are electric heaters and gas heaters. In the West and many other parts of the world,. electric heaters and gas heaters have almost taken over from fire heaters although these are still widely used. Fire, is reliable and cheap to start and get going and is available in the outdoors where there is no electricity or gas. In recent times, gas heaters have also become very widespread especially in the US, Europe, Russia, many parts of China and even Latin America. Gas is distributed via a vast network of pipes that are run and maintained by huge utility companies and service companies. So gas is pumped into many homes much the same way as electricity or phone service is served and the residents of those homes receive a bill every month for the service. But are gas heaters safe in comparison to electric heaters and firewood heaters?
Gas heaters are very safe. When we look at the basic ways in which it is obtained, we see that it comes through secure pipes in-built into the house. All the resident has to do is turn on the burner and light it and the house is evently warmed. With firewood on the other hand, one has to get wood or coal to keep the fire going. This can be purchased but also if in the outdoor, one has to get out and chop the wood, a task that can be dangerous if you are not accustomed to it.
Firewood heaters also release smoke particles in the air which when inhaled can be a health hazard by causing lung complications. This has the same effect as cigarette smoke. The smoke from these fireplaces also linger around the house and is absorbed by the walls, clothes, furniture, ceiling and curtains giving the house a “smoky” and murky smell that is very hard to disseminate. Soot is also a byproduct of smoke and can ruin beautiful ceilings and walls. Gas heaters are the solution to this as they release little or no smoke.
Electric heaters are also common but there is a danger of getting an electric shock if there is a fault or short circuit in the system.
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Gas Heaters Good For The Environment?
For centuries now, man has used fire to warm himself, keep wild animals away, and prepare his food. He still does that today although the methods he uses to accomplish this have changed. With civilization having sprung up, man now has homes but still uses fire and electricity to keep himself warm. Fast forward to the present and many homes have three predominant ways of generating heat to keep warm. One is electricity, the other is gas and the third is the regular fire wood. Firewood is still extremely popular because it is very easy to obtain and simply light a fire and the rest is on autopilot. Electricity is also a matter of turning the switch and the heater warms the house easily and conveniently. The third is by using natural gas.
Gas has become a major way that homes heat themselves. Gas comes into the home through a series of underground pipes which are served by the gas utility company. The gas company therefore charges for the gas much in the same way the electric of phone company does and bills the consumer monthly. A gas heater isa device that is either purchased or is pre-installed in a home and which has a burner that when lit using a gently and steady stream of gas, lights and warms the home using technology called radiant heat. Radiant heat is a method of heating where the heat is spread over a wider block of air and in a more consistent manner. Firewood in turn, uses convenctional means where the flame heats the immediate block of air right above which in turn heats the next one and so forth. Heat is thus spread this way.
There have been many debates regarding firewood heaters and gas heaters. Environmentalists have attacked firewood heaters because they controbuite to deforestation in that trees are cut and thickets are cleared. This robs animals of their natural habitats, interferes with water reserviors and also affects the climate of the globe for the worse.
The smoke that emanates from firewood also gets into the atmosphere and decreases the quality of air and causes lung inflamations which can cause breathing anomalies and even death. This is much the same way as cigarette smoke. Firewood heaters have also become a target of ridicule among many politicians, scientists and environmentalists.
Gas heaters on the other hand give off little or no smoke. This contributes to a cleaner atmosphere and a better quality of air. Natural gas comes from the ground and its mining does not interfere in any way form or fashion with the global ecosystems and water catchment areas. Environments have therefore prefered heating homes and buildings using natural gas rather than cutting trees. They contend that there are more trees cut than are planted and many of the people and companies which cut trees do not replace them and this is what is causing global warming, changes in sea level, extinction of certain animals species due to the disappearance of their natural homes and lesser oxygen in the air.
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Are Gas Heaters Becoming More Popular?
There are many ways to heat a house. Since man arrived on the scene, he has tried to find better ways to keep himself warm. Before there was ever a civilization as we know it, man invented ways to light fires and keep wild animals away, cook and keep himself warm. From there civilization sprung up and man put up huge structures and started living in houses. Heaters then became more widespread especially where the weather was puncutuated by some months of winter. Tropical countries did not need heaters as such because the weather was hot all year.
The heater of choice for many centuries has been the one that uses firewood. Even with technological advancements, there are still many buildings and houses that still use firewood. This is essentially because the technology used to power a firewood heater was pretty straightforward and also the firewood was easy to obtain. All one had to do was cut a few branches either from a tree or a thicket and feed these into the fire. There were no manuals to contend with and no added costs. The technology behind the firewood heater was essentially convectional heating. When the fire lights up, is heats the air immediately next to it which in turn transfers this heat to the next block of air and so forth and thus the room was heated. This was and is very straightforward.
With natural gas quickly becoming the predominant way that houses especially in the Northern Hemisphere are heated, gas heaters are also becoming the way homes get heated. Natural gas is pumped to many homes via a gas pipe network mostly located underground. Gas companies are utility companies which provide the service and then charge for it more or less the same way that phone companies and electricity companies do.
Gas heaters are becoming very popular first of all because of the technology that they use. Instead of releasing heat into the room by means of convention, which is the way that firewood heaters do, gas heaters use radiant heat technology which heats more consistently and can heat a larger part of the air all while using less energy. This decreases costs.
Gas heaters are also extremely convenient. There is no need to venture out into the woods to chop firewood or gather branches even in rainy weather. There is no danger that the wood is the wrong kind or is green and wet and therefore will not light up, or will smoke the house. With a turn of a knob and the lighting of a match or a lighter, the gas heater flame leaps into action quietly and beautifully heating the house consistently and comfortably.
Firewood heaters release smoke particles into the air which if inhales can cause lung inflamation and even death. The soot associated with firewood smoke can also stain the house and cause strong smoky smells to permiate the whole house. These smoke and its attendant smells are very difficult to get rid of.
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