Difference between ヒーター and ストーブ


I have a question about the words ヒーター and ストーブ.

I understand that they are both used to heat rooms. However, I am not sure
exactly the difference between the two. A Yahoo answer in Japanese says
something about a ストーブ using resources directly to heat and a ヒーター heating
indirectly, but I don't fully understand.

Could someone explain the difference between a ヒーター and a ストーブ?




It might be valuable to preface this by saying that many buildings in Japan do
not have any kind of central heating system. They rely on various kinds of
discrete units to provide heating. The difference in the units will be in
their heating mechanisms and the extent to which they can heat a certain area.

To state the difference very simply, a ストーブ in home use will generally be a
standalone unit that sits on the floor and burns some sort of fuel to create
heat. There are [many types of
ストーブ](http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%B9%E3%83%88%E3%83%BC%E3%83%96),
burning wood or coal or natural gas or any variety of fuel, but modern units
in homes will usually use kerosene.

![Stove example](https://i.stack.imgur.com/b1rs5.jpg)

[Image source](http://www.kondo-sanko.jp/shouhin/index.php?ID=4060401)

A ヒーター will usually be a sort of space heater. They'll have tubes that are
heated and glow orange/red, radiating heat. Other sorts exist, like fan
heaters or the like, but in my experience ヒーター has usually meant the radiating
kind.

![Heater example](https://i.stack.imgur.com/NFdJ1.jpg)

[Image source](http://item.rakuten.co.jp/ace/1501733/)

There is a third type of (often) wall-mounted heating device that combines air
conditioning and heating into one unit. I believe that while stove or heater
might have dedicated terms, people use 暖房 more generally with this, i.e.
暖房を入れる (referring to the エアコン). I'm not sure what mechanism they use to heat,
but I'd guess they fall under the fan heater category because they blow warm
air into the room. Note that 暖房 is a term for all kinds of heating and not air
conditioning units exclusively.

There are very likely exceptions to each of these terms that I didn't cover
and am not aware of, but this has been the difference in my personal
experience.




It might be valuable to preface this by saying that many buildings in Japan do
not have any kind of central heating system. They rely on various kinds of
discrete units to provide heating. The difference in the units will be in
their heating mechanisms and the extent to which they can heat a certain area.

To state the difference very simply, a ストーブ in home use will generally be a
standalone unit that sits on the floor and burns some sort of fuel to create
heat. There are [many types of
ストーブ](http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%B9%E3%83%88%E3%83%BC%E3%83%96),
burning wood or coal or natural gas or any variety of fuel, but modern units
in homes will usually use kerosene.

![Stove example](https://i.stack.imgur.com/b1rs5.jpg)

[Image source](http://www.kondo-sanko.jp/shouhin/index.php?ID=4060401)

A ヒーター will usually be a sort of space heater. They'll have tubes that are
heated and glow orange/red, radiating heat. Other sorts exist, like fan
heaters or the like, but in my experience ヒーター has usually meant the radiating
kind.

![Heater example](https://i.stack.imgur.com/NFdJ1.jpg)

[Image source](http://item.rakuten.co.jp/ace/1501733/)

There is a third type of (often) wall-mounted heating device that combines air
conditioning and heating into one unit. I believe that while stove or heater
might have dedicated terms, people use 暖房 more generally with this, i.e.
暖房を入れる (referring to the エアコン). I'm not sure what mechanism they use to heat,
but I'd guess they fall under the fan heater category because they blow warm
air into the room. Note that 暖房 is a term for all kinds of heating and not air
conditioning units exclusively.

There are very likely exceptions to each of these terms that I didn't cover
and am not aware of, but this has been the difference in my personal
experience.

