Here is a comprehensive article to answer whether you can use an extension cord with your space heater or not.
You should handle space heaters carefully in terms of installation in your space. If you need an extended cord, for instance, you have to keep in view some safety aspects first.
In this article, I am going to answer whether you can use an extension cord with your space heater and where you have to be careful with it.
Can I use an extension cord with a space heater?
Quick Answer: You should avoid using an extension cord with your space heater because most extension cords cannot bear the high current space heaters draw. The reason is that small, low-quality extension cords can cause fire easily. However. If you highly need an extension cord, then you should consider getting a heavy-duty one.
Let’s discuss some cords which can be used safely with space heaters if you have to use them. After that, we will discuss why cheap extension cords are bad for you in terms of safety.
Safe heavy-duty extension cords for space heaters
If you are left with no choice other than to use an extension cord with your space heater, for instance, when you want to heat a room that does not have electricity, then it is my suggestion to go for a heavy-duty extension cord.
With these cords, you can manage the current that high-power devices draw.
My recommendation and trust is this POWTECH heavy-duty extension cord (click here to see it).
You need to keep in mind that it is only 25 feet long!
If you are looking for a longer one, my suggestion is this 100 ft Clear Power heavy-duty extension cord (click here to view it).
Both of them are safe to use when you connect them in a proper way to the wall outlet.
Can You use a Cheap Extension Cord with a Space Heater?
This section of the article will pay attention to the downsides of running a space heater with an extension cord. Everything that we talk about from now on will be on the cheaply made regular extension cords which are available at Home Depot or Walmart.
“You should never plug a heater into a power strip. These units are not designed to handle the high current flow needed for a space heater and can overheat or even catch fire due to the added energy flow.”
Umatilla County Fire District #1 in Hermiston, Oregon
Here’s something to briefly explain it:
Extension cords are not designed to handle high-current
Cheap extension cords are usually made to manage the lower amounts of current.
Medium-sized space heaters use more or less 1,500 watts and 12.5 or more amps. That is what most extension cords can hardly manage. Your extension cord should have a rating of between 10 and 15A.
Even a slight fluctuation in power can result in cable burning.
If your cable has a rating of 15A, these high amounts of current can result in heat insulation and cause it to meld.
Most extension cords are not made for space heaters.
Someone can trip and stumble on the extension cord
A longer extension cord in your house can also boost the chance of someone tipping over it.
If you have pets or kids at home, sooner or later someone trips over the cable.
This situation might not be harmful to the person stumbling on but it can harm your space heater.
Your space heater is likely to lose balance and cause damage
When someone trips over the extension cord, it can cause your space heater to fall over.
This can result in damage by the impact of hitting the floor and might even burn or melt anything that comes in the way.
Modern space heaters are designed with tip-over protection that automatically turns off the heat when it tips over. However, if the heater is not cooled down yet, something can be burnt.
Be careful with older units that do not shut off. If they fall over on your carpet, you will see visible black burned stains on it that are impossible to clean.
Cheap extension cords lower the efficiency
Efficiency is an important thing when dealing with space heaters: You want to get the most heat at a reasonable price.
Heaters need a strong power source that provides them with energy. If you use a long extension cord to connect your space heater and wall plug, you are boosting the resistance between the two in terms of flowing current.
Our modern power supplies can increase the power when required. When you use an extension cord, it will increase the power supply to reach the space heater.
Even though it causes a minor effect, extension cords may increase your electricity bill.
Extension cords deliver high currents
When you use an extension cord, its resistance will result in a voltage drop. This voltage drop is dealt with in your power supply by increasing currents.
Note: Your space heater will use 1500W, whatever you do.
Power equals voltage multiplied by current. It indicates that the currents have to increase.
These higher currents can result in fire. This is one of the main causes to avoid extension cords.
Can I use a Power Strip with a Space Heater?
No, you should avoid using power strips with space heaters like extension cords. There can be exceptions if you use a heavy-duty product. Cheaply made power strips can get heated with ease resulting in material melting. They can cause fire too.
My recommendation is this heavy-duty power strip (click here to view it).
The bad thing about this power strip is when you do a comparison of an extension cord, it is much shorter. The one I mentioned is 15 feet only, so I would suggest heavy-duty extension cords.
It can be more dangerous to cheap power strips as compared to using a cheap extension cord in case you have more devices rather than only your space heater.
The more devices you use on the power strip, the more power it consumes. But a space heater only uses a limit of what your power strip can offer.
It indicates that there is a high risk of a cable overheating or fuse melting as compared to regular extension cords.
Useful Tips to use a space heater with an extension cord
“Between 2011 and 2015, portable and stationary space heaters accounted for more than two of every five (43 percent) U.S. home heating fires and five out of six (85 percent) home heating fire deaths.”
National Fire Protection Association
Running heaters too close to things like clothing or furniture causes almost half of all home heating fires. So, you have to be careful to select the space where you run your heater.
If you are left with no choice other than an extension cord, here is what you need to do:
Get a space heater that can change between 750W and 1500W. Modern space heaters are designed with the ability to limit their power usage.
When you use an extension cord, you should run your space heater at 750W.
Lower power can decrease the risk of damaging your power supply. All regular extension cords can easily manage 750W.
If you use your heater at 750W, if the extension cord increases the current, it will not do anything harmful to your cable as it is still within the boundaries.
Additionally, always try to use the space heater when you are there. It will prevent the accidents that people faced in the past, where they left the space heater unattended and the fire burned their homes.
How to determine whether your extension cord is safe
If too much power is used by your extension cord such as a space heater that uses 1500 watts, here is what can happen:
It will heat up your cable. Usually, the thinner the cable, the hotter it gets. The problem with the thin cable is that the amount of “current per diameter” increases.
A large number of electrons will bump into the metal atoms of your extension cord when you try to press a lot of current through a thin cable. The atoms will begin wiggling resulting in heat.
The bad part is that lots of extension cords that look thick are not compatible with high-power applications. Some extension cord makers just use a lot of insulation to make it appear thick and save some bucks with thin copper wires.
A thick cable generally remains cool, because the current gets more space to move.
If you drain too much power from the power supply of your home, it will cause your fuse to melt to keep your power supply secure from any damage.
Question: Can I use an Extension Cord with a Space Heater?
Yes, you can use heavy-duty extension cords with your space heater. You cannot trust cheaply made products such as Made-in-China extension cords.
For instance, a cheap extension cord increases the current that your power supply has to provide. It causes cables to overheat and catch fire.
In addition, people can fall over the cable and cause the space heater to tip over. And it can also decrease the efficiency of your space heater as well.
However, if you are left with no choice, you must limit the power demand of your space heater to 750W or 1000W. Modern space heaters allow you to do it.
Your room will take a little longer to heat up, this is the safer approach so use your heater at low power.