# Can electric space heaters kill you via carbon monoxide poisoning? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 10, 2016, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-electric-space-heaters-kill-you-via-carbon-monoxide-poisoning/742717 "2016-01-10T19:09:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2016, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-electric-space-heaters-kill-you-via-carbon-monoxide-poisoning/742717/21 "2016-01-11T13:19:45Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > But, but… what about the [fans](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1245/will-sleeping-in-a-closed-room-with-an-electric-fan-cause-death)!? Not a concern unless the OP is Korean. ---
**Author:** ![sweat209](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@sweat209](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweat209)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2016, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-electric-space-heaters-kill-you-via-carbon-monoxide-poisoning/742717/22 "2016-01-11T23:54:18Z")
> [@alterego](#): > > The heating element is presumably interacting with the air in some way. If the room runs out of oxygen can carbon monoxide be released via some mechanism? A electric space heaters like these. [http://cms.srmi.biz/website//images/resize.jpg](http://cms.srmi.biz/website//images/resize.jpg) [![](https://1468ravignani.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/img_4834b.jpg) ](https://1468ravignani.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/img_4834b.jpg) [http://madisonhomebuilders.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/11177107663\_a3d135e122\_z.jpg](http://madisonhomebuilders.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/11177107663_a3d135e122_z.jpg) Put out no CO unless it is burning oil or kerosene. If it is electric not burning oil or kerosene there is no CO being put out. ---
**Author:** ![LC\_Strawhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@LC\_Strawhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LC_Strawhouse)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2016, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-electric-space-heaters-kill-you-via-carbon-monoxide-poisoning/742717/23 "2016-01-12T04:12:25Z")
If you’re running a generator which produces the electricity that runs the space heater, the aforementioned generator could have an upset and release CO that kills you… (hey, it could happen) 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2016, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-electric-space-heaters-kill-you-via-carbon-monoxide-poisoning/742717/24 "2016-01-12T06:25:15Z")
> [@Gary\_T](#): > > The heating element is interacting physically by heating the air. It is not interacting chemically (i.e., can’t generate any different substances). > > There is no reason for the room to run out oxygen that is in any way related to using the space heater. You might just as well say the space heater is on, and if four hungry lions enter the room they might attack you – makes just as much sense. Actually, makes more sense because it isn’t quite as unlikely. > > There is no mechanism to produce carbon monoxide in this scenario. Simple electric space heaters produce the majority of their heat thru direct radiation. Fancier ones with fans amplify this by heating and circulating the air via convection. If you put a radiant electric space heater in a giant glass bell jar and pumped out the air and turned it on, if you put your hand up to the glass it would still feel warm by being heated via direct radiation (in this case a fan would do nothing)… ---
**Author:** ![alterego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6bbea6/32.png) [@alterego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alterego)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2016, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-electric-space-heaters-kill-you-via-carbon-monoxide-poisoning/742717/25 "2016-01-13T02:18:51Z")
You guys really beat this one to death. Nice job 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2016, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-electric-space-heaters-kill-you-via-carbon-monoxide-poisoning/742717/26 "2016-01-13T03:37:58Z")
> [@Isilder](#): > > WARNING: There is no way a gas oven or gas range can be used safely for ROOM HEATING. Whether it vents to outside or not … > > Because if it did heat the room, it must have put a lot of the combustion product, and hence CO, into the room. > > In summer, even with the vent on, using the OVEN will make your kitchen will feel hot, but thats just a trifling amount of heat compared to the amount of heat required for room heating in winter. > (There’s only a few degrees to turn a kitchen from pleasant summers day to hot, but in winter, you might be trying to change the temperature over 30 degrees ! ) Interesting answer. I know that ventless gas fireplaces are becoming more prevalant and are used for some heating. I am not a huge fan not just because of CO possibilities but because of lots of additional H20 being added to the air. Potentially too much. And you shouldn’t use ceiling fan while they are on etc. I wonder how the gas oven differs from a ventless fireplace when used in a house designed for a ventless fireplace. I’d assume the combustion process is similar but I don’t really know. ---
**Author:** ![Francis\_Vaughan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/francis_vaughan/32/3093_2.png) [@Francis\_Vaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_Vaughan)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2016, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-electric-space-heaters-kill-you-via-carbon-monoxide-poisoning/742717/27 "2016-01-13T03:46:41Z")
A properly designed gas fire should produce little to no CO. Production of CO is evidence of inefficiencies in combustion. (One might note that during the combustion of gas there is a lot of CO involved - it is what makes the flame blue) but once done, the products are ideally CO[sub]2[/sub] and H[sub]2[/sub]O. Some ventless heaters use catalytic converters, one would expect this to reduce the CO emission to very close to zero (once they are up to temperature.) Where use of gas for heating has probably got a bad name is that town gas (as opposed to natural gas, or LPG) intrinsically contained a lot of CO. That was why it was possible to commit suicide with it. Now the normal gas supply could conceivably suffocate you, but it won’t poison you. Ventless gas heaters always worry me none-the-less. Whilst they should emit close to zero CO, they still need a properly ventilated room to avoid build-up of CO[sub]2[/sub]. People do come to grief because of this. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2016, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-electric-space-heaters-kill-you-via-carbon-monoxide-poisoning/742717/28 "2016-01-13T04:03:34Z")
Ventless fireplaces try to maintain an optimal flame that produces the least amount of CO possible. That amount is not zero. Properly installed they shouldn’t be any more dangerous than a stove, never the less, they have been banned in some states. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2016, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-electric-space-heaters-kill-you-via-carbon-monoxide-poisoning/742717/29 "2016-01-13T08:47:03Z")
> [@alterego](#): > > You guys really beat this one to death. Nice job 🙂 Thank you. We would have been done at post #8, but then in post #10 the OP asked for it. And we made sure he got it. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![KBC76](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8e7dd6/32.png) [@KBC76](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KBC76)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-electric-space-heaters-kill-you-via-carbon-monoxide-poisoning/742717/30 "2019-02-07T04:41:11Z")
For most people low levels of CO from electric heaters are negligible but there are people who have become CO sensitive due to chronic low level or acute high level exposure. For these people they have developed Multi-sensory sensitivity (MUSES). In which cases any stresser ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-electric-space-heaters-kill-you-via-carbon-monoxide-poisoning/742717/31 "2019-02-07T13:22:31Z")
> [@KBC76](#): > > For most people low levels of CO from electric heaters are negligible but there are people who have become CO sensitive due to chronic low level or acute high level exposure. For these people they have developed Multi-sensory sensitivity (MUSES). In which cases any stresser Looks like the imaginary CO finally killed **KBC76**! ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-electric-space-heaters-kill-you-via-carbon-monoxide-poisoning/742717/32 "2019-02-07T13:49:06Z")
One and done. Makes for an awkward ‘In Memoriam’ post. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-electric-space-heaters-kill-you-via-carbon-monoxide-poisoning/742717/33 "2019-02-07T14:40:04Z")
If the amount of CO produced by an electric heater is enough to cause you health problems, then you don’t have a physical health problem; you have a mental health problem. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-electric-space-heaters-kill-you-via-carbon-monoxide-poisoning/742717/34 "2019-02-07T16:19:13Z")
I see we’re still gassing on about this. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-electric-space-heaters-kill-you-via-carbon-monoxide-poisoning/742717/35 "2019-02-07T16:28:13Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I see we’re still gassing on about this. It was the heat of the moment. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-electric-space-heaters-kill-you-via-carbon-monoxide-poisoning/742717/36 "2019-02-07T16:34:47Z")
FWIW, the website linked to near the top of this thread has since been updated. It now says “Electrical space heaters pose no danger of carbon monoxide poisoning, unlike those that burn fuels, such as kerosene.” ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-electric-space-heaters-kill-you-via-carbon-monoxide-poisoning/742717/37 "2019-02-07T22:09:14Z")
If electric space heaters “produced CO” then what about all the other appliances that convert electricity to heat one way or another? TV sets, computers, electric stoves, refrigerators, light bulbs (esp. the old incandescent ones) and on and on. If there was a measurable bit “produced” by an electric heater, the total amount by all appliances would be huuuge. 😉 **KBC76** ’s folk would have to pretty much abstain from electricity entirely. Even wires gets warm! ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-electric-space-heaters-kill-you-via-carbon-monoxide-poisoning/742717/38 "2019-02-07T23:11:23Z")
Flash news: electric space heaters produce enough CO to kill zombies. Like this one, hopefully. What a gas! ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2019, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-electric-space-heaters-kill-you-via-carbon-monoxide-poisoning/742717/39 "2019-02-07T23:29:20Z")
> [@KBC76](#): > > For most people low levels of CO from electric heaters are negligible but there are people who have become CO sensitive due to chronic low level or acute high level exposure. For these people they have developed Multi-sensory sensitivity (MUSES). In which cases any stresser That’s silly. Those people probably are just suffering from an allergy to Wi-Fi. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2019, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-electric-space-heaters-kill-you-via-carbon-monoxide-poisoning/742717/40 "2019-02-08T03:02:19Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > Heater elements hot enough to glow are incandescent. Is my toaster going to kill me? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-electric-space-heaters-kill-you-via-carbon-monoxide-poisoning/742717.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-electric-space-heaters-kill-you-via-carbon-monoxide-poisoning/742717.md?page=3)