What Can I Use for Bathroom Heaters in My Older Home to Replace the Gas Wall Heaters?

Portable Electric Heater

• A portable electric heater will work, but is not the most efficient or the safest form of heating a bathroom. These heaters should never be used unattended. They can be turned on while you are in the bathroom to heat it, but must be turned off when you leave the room. For bathrooms on interior walls where the risk of having the pipes freeze is minimal, this solution may work, at least until a more permanent one can be found.

Baseboard Heater

• Baseboard heating is ideal for a small room like a bathroom. This an electric heater that is hard wired into your home's electrical system and run by a thermostat. It clicks on when the temperature in the room drops and then turns off when the ambient temperature in the room rises. For bathrooms where the freeze risk is higher, baseboard heaters will work quite well. Newer models are energy-efficient and although they do require professional installation, this is a hassle-free method of heating.

Infrared Heater

• An infrared heater combines the ease of a portable electric heater with a thermostat and a higher level of safety. You can leave these to run unattended, and they only run when the temperature drops below the point you've set. Infrared heaters are small and will easily fit within a small bathroom. They are more efficient that an electric space heater because they only run when necessary.

A Permanent Solution

• The downside of these alternatives is the added cost of running the heaters. A more permanent solution would be to have a heating and air professional run a line of duct work from your home's forced air heating system to this bathroom and install a vent. Although the initial expense is higher than the cost of portable heaters, over time you will save money heating the space as it will raise your overall heating costs negligibly.