The best indoor heater for your home is the one that suits your needs for an affordable price.
It will need to be sized correctly and have the features you want, such as remote control, thermostat, timer, or safety features, all typically found on Rinnai gas heaters available from Elgas.
Gas Heaters and Gas Heating Explained
Gas heating is the heating of a room or outdoor area using a heater fuelled by natural gas, LPG (propane or butane) or biogas.
Indoor types of gas heaters include unflued portable gas heaters, flued gas heaters, radiant gas heaters, convector gas heaters, radiant-convectors, and gas fireplaces.
Gas heaters are fuel efficient, economical, and durable, as well as the perfect way to stay snug and warm during the Australian winter months.
LPG is clean-burning, colourless, and odourless. An odourant is added to LPG and natural gas for safety detection purposes.
Here are some considerations when choosing a natural gas heater or LPG indoor gas heater for your home or office.
1. Should you choose a portable (unflued) gas heater or flued gas heater?
2. Gas heater types include radiant, convector, radiant-convector, flued gas heaters, and wall heaters.
3. Determine the room heater size you need to adequately warm up the space on chilly days.
4. Choose a gas heater manufacturer known for making high-quality, reliable products such as the Rinnai gas heater or Paloma gas heater range.
Types of Gas Heaters for Home
Nothing beats the inviting feeling of a warm and cosy room on a cold day.
For users of LPG, there are plenty of great gas heater options for the home.
The three most common types of gas heaters are radiant heaters, convection heaters, and radiant/convection heaters.
Here are some ideas courtesy of Elgas.
- Portable convector gas heaters: Unflued gas bayonet types of gas heaters using a fan to distribute the heated air around the room.
- Portable radiant convector gas heaters: Unflued bayonet gas room heaters using a radiant heat panel and fan for warm air distribution around the room.
- Power flued gas heaters: Flued gas heaters with one fan driving combustion gases out of the flue and the other fan to distribute the heated air around the room.
- Console or inbuilt flued gas heaters: Flued gas heaters with a fan to distribute the heated air around the room.
- Log fires gas heaters: Decorative flued gas heaters with a fan to distribute the heated air around the room.
Gas Consumption, Heat Output, and Star Ratings
For indoor types of gas heaters, gas input is expressed in MJ/hour.
Heat output is measured in kW for gas room heaters.
Generally speaking, greater gas input equals increased heat output, taking into account the relative energy efficiency ratings of the models being compared.
Understanding what types of gas room heaters for the home and what ratings mean can save you lots of money.
The Star Rating is based on net heater efficiency.
For more details, see Energy Efficiency & Star Ratings for Gas Heaters.
Best Portable Gas Heater – Unflued Gas Heaters
The best freestanding portable gas room heaters have a number of beneficial features including thermostatic control, twin programmable timers, remote controls, child lock function, tip over cut-off safety feature, and a solid warranty.
The best portable gas heater will have a 5.8 or 5.9 star energy rating and a high heat output in the 6.2 kW range.
The Rinnai Avenger 25 portable gas heater, for example, has all the above features and is attractive and easy to operate.
Check the weight and size of the portable gas heater to ensure it is actually portable and suitable for your living space.
These types of gas heaters require no installation if you already have a gas heater bayonet fitting, and can be stored away when not in use.
Gas room heaters should not be used in very small rooms or rooms without adequate ventilation.
Radiant Gas Heaters
Radiant room heaters allow for specific spaces within an indoor area to be heated, primarily warming only the people and objects positioned in front of the unit.
As most of the warmth felt in the area directly in front of the heater, there can be uneven radiant heat distribution around the room.
Popular gas heater models at Elgas include the Rinnai gas heater and Paloma gas heater.
Gas Convector (Convection) Heaters
Similar in principle to convection ovens, convector space heaters use air movement (convection) along with a gas burner to create and distribute heat evenly around the entire space.
For this reason, convector heaters are also referred to as space heaters.
These modern appliances tend to have more advanced features like remote controls, timers, low emissions technology and electronic thermostatic controls.
Notable brands worth considering include Rinnai, Braemar and Paloma.
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Radiant Convector Heaters
For the best of all worlds, consider a radiant convector home heater.
They provide radiant heat to the area directly in front of the unit while distributing heat around the space using fan driven convection.
The advantage of these types of gas heaters is that you get spot heating as well as space heating.
A radiant convector heater requires an electrical connection to power the fan component.
Check out Rinnai and Everdure radiant convector heaters at Elgas.
Best Flued Gas Heaters
Flued gas heaters offer a superior level of indoor warmth without any combustion emissions.
Today’s built-in flued gas heaters can include fan-forced flues with bends, corners, or horizontal and vertical action.
Whereas conventional gas heaters and electric heaters draw air for combustion from within the home, floor mounted or wall mounted LPG gas heater flued models can be designed to draw the air from outside for more balanced warming.
Flued gas heaters naturally cost a little more than portable gas heaters, and must be installed by a qualified gas fitter.
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Eric Hahn has over a decade of experience in the LPG industry and has become a key figure in shaping how LPG is marketed and communicated. As the creator of one of the world’s first LPG blogs, Eric has authored over 200 technical posts, helping educate and inform the industry and consumers.
Eric has served on multiple committees for Gas Energy Australia and the World LPG Association (WLPGA), contributing to important discussions and advancements within the global LPG sector. He has presented at WLPGA Annual Conferences, sharing his expertise as a speaker, panellist, and panel chair.
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Steve Reynolds
Technical Consultant
Steve Reynolds is a leading expert in the LPG industry with over 22 years of experience. As part of the national management team at ELGAS, Steve ensures the safe and efficient storage, handling, and transportation of LPG. He serves as the lead investigator for incidents and collaborates with authorities on industry developments.
Steve is a technical advisor to Standards Australia and Gas Energy Australia (GEA), and an active member of the World LPG Association (WLPGA), contributing to global standards and technical reviews. He holds a BSc. (Hons) in Industrial Chemistry from UNSW and has held senior safety and technical roles at ELGAS, making him a trusted authority in LPG safety and standards.