Unflued LPG Gas Heaters

Community Energy Action strongly recommends against using unflued portable LPG gas heaters for day to day heating requirements for the following reasons.

• They release up to 1 litre of water into the air per hour of use making your home very damp.
• They work by combustion which draws in oxygen from the surrounding air, and releases water vapour and carbon dioxide into the room. This means they should only be used with adequate ventilation (opening of window) to avoid condensation problems.
• They get less efficient as they get older, which can lead to carbon monoxide (a toxic gas) being released. Carbon monoxide is colourless, odourless, and tasteless. This means unflued gas heaters can only be safely used with adequate ventilation (opening of window) to avoid the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.
• Using portable gas heaters in bedrooms is extremely dangerous and is strongly discouraged. This is because bedrooms are often small and poorly ventilated. People who are asleep will not be able to respond to any poisoning symptoms.
• The high radiant heat output can be a fire risk if placed close to combustible materials such as curtains, furniture and drying clothes. Clothing of people coming to close could also catch fire.
• They are very expensive to run - around 50% more than a standard plug-in electric heater!

If you are concerned about staying warm during a power cut, keep your unflued gas heater in the garage for  emergencies, but do not use them for daily heating requirements.

Unflued portable gas heaters are banned in several countries.

The Gas Regulations require that gas installations are installed in accordance with a set of essential safety requirements (the NZ Gas Installation standard or NZS 5261. It prohibits the installation of (fixed) unflued heaters in bedrooms & bathrooms.