Heating element in the context of "Energy economics"

Joule heating (also known as resistive heating, resistance heating, or Ohmic heating) is the process by which the passage of an electric current through a conductor produces heat.

Joule's first law (also just Joule's law), also known in countries of the former USSR as the Joule–Lenz law, states that the power of heating generated by an electrical conductor equals the product of its resistance and the square of the current. Joule heating affects the whole electric conductor, unlike the Peltier effect which transfers heat from one electrical junction to another.

Electric heating is a process in which electrical energy is converted directly to heat energy. Common applications include space heating, cooking, water heating and industrial processes. An electric heater is an electrical device that converts an electric current into heat. The heating element inside every electric heater is an electrical resistor, and works on the principle of Joule heating: an electric current passing through a resistor will convert that electrical energy into heat energy. Most modern electric heating devices use nichrome wire as the active element; the heating element, depicted on the right, uses nichrome wire supported by ceramic insulators.

Alternatively, a heat pump can achieve around 150% – 600% efficiency for heating, or COP 1.5 - 6.0 Coefficient of performance, because it uses electric power only for transferring existing thermal energy. The heat pump uses an electric motor to drive a reversed refrigeration cycle, that draws heat energy from an external source such as the ground or outside air (or the interior of a refrigerator) and directs that heat into the space to be warmed (in case of a fridge, the kitchen). This makes much better use of electric energy than direct electric heating, but requires much more expensive equipment, plus plumbing. Some heating systems can be operated in reverse for air conditioning so that the interior space is cooled and even hotter air or water is discharged outside or into the ground.

A small domestic appliance (also known as a small electric appliance or minor appliance or simply a small appliance, small domestic or small electric) is a portable or semi-portable machine, generally used on table-tops, counter-tops or other platforms, to accomplish a household task. Examples include microwave ovens, kettles, toasters, humidifiers, food processors and coffeemakers. They contrast with major appliances (known as "white goods" in the UK), such as the refrigerators and washing machines, which cannot be easily moved and are generally placed on the floor. Small appliances also contrast with consumer electronics (British "brown goods") which are for leisure and entertainment rather than purely practical tasks. Small appliances are often mechanically simple devices, typically built around a single heating element, fan, set of blades or similar mechanism with only a few mechanical linkages, which generally makes them straightforward to repair.

An electric stove, electric cooker or electric range is a stove with an integrated electrical heating device to cook and bake. Electric stoves became popular as replacements for solid-fuel (wood or coal) stoves which required more labor to operate and maintain. Some modern stoves come in a unit with built-in extractor hoods.

The stove's one or more "burners" (heating elements) may be controlled by a rotary switch with a finite number of positions; or may have an "infinite switch" called a simmerstat that allows constant variability between minimum and maximum heat settings. Some stove burners and controls incorporate thermostats.

A lighter is a portable device which uses mechanical or electrical means to create a controlled flame, and can be used to ignite a variety of flammable items, such as cigarettes, butane gas, fireworks, candles, or campfires. A lighter typically consists of a metal or plastic container filled with a flammable liquid, a compressed flammable gas, or in rarer cases a flammable solid (e.g. rope in a trench lighter); a means of ignition to produce the flame; and some provision for extinguishing the flame or else controlling it to such a degree that users may extinguish it with their breath. Alternatively, a lighter can be one that uses electricity to create an electric arc using the created plasma as the source of ignition or a heating element can be used in a similar vein to heat the target to its ignition temperatures, as first formally used by Friedrich Wilhelm Schindler to light cigars and now more commonly seen incorporated into the automobile auxiliary power outlet to ignite the target material. Different lighter fuels have different characteristics, which is the main influence behind the creation and purchasing of a variety of lighter types.

Nichrome (also known as NiCr, nickel-chromium or chromium-nickel) is a family of alloys of nickel and chromium (and occasionally iron) commonly used as resistance wire, heating elements in devices like toasters, electrical kettles and space heaters, in some dental restorations (fillings) and in a few other applications.

Patented in 1906 by Albert Marsh (US patent 811,859), nichrome is the oldest documented form of resistance heating alloy.

A toaster is a small electric appliance that uses radiant heat to cook sliced bread into toast. When cooked the bread browns due to the maillard reaction. It typically consists of one or more slots into which bread is inserted, lowered, and cooked using heating elements, often made of nichrome wire, to generate heat and toast the bread.

A kettle, sometimes called a tea kettle or teakettle, is a device specialized for boiling water, commonly with a lid, spout, and handle. There are two main types: the stovetop kettle, which uses heat from a hob, and the electric kettle, which is a small kitchen appliance with an internal heating element.