Electric heating elements, commonly made from nichrome, are used in household products such as toasters and hair dryers. The amount of heat produced depends on the amount of electricity and resistance. Other materials, such as platinum and molybdenum, are used for industrial heating elements that reach higher temperatures.
The heating element is the main part of any product that produces electrical heat. From hair dryers to toasters and industrial irons, an electric heating element helps each one reach just the right temperature. Commonly manufactured from a metal amalgam called nichrome, heating elements come in many types, but all serve a single purpose. There are other materials used to make heating elements, each with unique characteristics that aid in a particular heating style.
A basic heating element is anything that electricity passes through and meets resistance and then produces heat. The amount of heat given off depends on the amount of electricity passing through the electric heating element and the amount of resistance. For example, an element that transmits a lot of electricity but doesn’t provide much resistance will give off a small amount of heat. On the other hand, something that uses a lot of electricity and incorporates a large amount of resistance will give off more heat.
Nichrome is the most common household heating element and is found in many household products. Commonly, items such as toasters, hair dryers, and stoves use nichrome coils to pass electricity and give off heat. Nichrome is made up of 80% nickel and 20% chromium and its high melting point of 1,400 degrees Celsius (2,552 degrees Fahrenheit) makes it a perfect electric heating element.
Nichrome is also used in a tubular electric heating element. This tightly wound coil packs a greater amount of heating wire into a smaller space to create higher temperatures. The curvy bars of an electric stove heating element are a great example.
A ceramic heating element, commonly known as a PTC ceramic, acts as its own thermostat, as opposed to an electric heating element composed of nichrome which must be controlled manually. The resistant temperature threshold of the ceramic heating element comes about because ceramic allows electricity to pass easily when cold but not when hot. This allows designers to more easily set a maximum temperature and is used for items such as car rear window defoggers.
An electric heating element that needs to reach much higher temperatures, such as those used in iron making, commonly uses materials other than nichrome and ceramic. An industrial heating element can be made from materials such as platinum, molybdenum or silicone carbide. Furnace elements reach enormous temperatures and allow many industries to melt metals into their liquid form so they can be poured into molds or used in other ways.
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