If you own a car with an engine, then you need to know how many watts does a car block heater draw. Understanding this will help you understand how much it costs to run your car’s block heater.
You’ll learn about the different types of block heaters and how much electricity they use to keep your engine warm.
Most block heaters are rated at 500 watts.
Block heaters are rated in watts, so calculating one’s wattage requires some math. The most common block heater is rated at 500 watts, and will heat up the engine of a typical car or truck with minimal effort. A block heater that is rated at 1000 watts will provide more than enough heat to keep a car warm on cold nights.
When choosing a block heater, look for one that is made from high quality materials and offers multiple settings for different temperatures and conditions. Many manufacturers offer both standard and heavy-duty models. A heavy-duty model will last longer than a standard model, but it is generally more expensive.
A 500-watt heater will use 5 amps of electricity per hour.
It’s important to understand that a block heater will draw power from your electrical system whether or not it’s plugged into the wall. The amount of energy drawn relies on two factors: how many watts the block heater is rated at, and how long you leave the engine running.
If the heater draws 500 watts, for example, then it will use 5 amps over a period of one hour. That doesn’t sound like much, but if you leave your car on for four hours overnight—which is something that a lot of people do—then you’ve just used up 20 amps of your total capacity. That’s enough to do some serious damage to your battery!
A car block heater can use anywhere from $15 to $20 in electricity a month.
To put this in context, that’s roughly $0.50 to $0.67 a day for 8 hours. This is assuming you’re only using the block heater during the winter months, from October to April. If you use it year-round, expect your bill to go up by about $20 per month, or about $100 per year.
In warmer regions, you should be able to get away with using your block heater for two hours or less each day.
In warmer regions, you should be able to get away with using your block heater for two hours or less each day. If the temperature remains above freezing during the day, then plugging in for an hour or two may be more than sufficient—remember that the block heater only needs to keep your engine warm when it’s not being used. Other strategies include installing a timer that automatically shuts off your block heater at a certain time (or after a specific number of hours), using a block heater blanket or pad, or installing a thermostat that turns on and off depending on how cold it is.
A 500-watt garage heater is one of the safest and most efficient options for your garage.
A 500-watt garage heater is one of the safest and most efficient options for your garage. If you have a small garage, or if you keep it at a warm temperature even in the winter, this heater will do the job perfectly. It uses the least amount of fuel while still keeping your workspace warm and toasty.
While many car block heaters look like they would be able to generate heat in any type of room, not all of them can. Consider what size heater you need before purchasing one to make sure that it will work well in your space.
