Desperate times call for desperate measures.
Well that’s how the saying goes right.
When the weather gets cold people look for heating solutions, leading some to wonder if candles can heat a room, and if so, how many?
It is possible to heat a room with a candle but you would need to light enough of them. But while it is something that can be done, it’s not safe to do, and certainly not one we recommend! A large number of candles in one area can lead to a fire hazard and is something that could be quite dangerous.
Want to know how many candles it would take to heat a room…. Here is what our research told us.
According to scientists affiliated with Cambridge University, about 8 grams of petroleum-based wax generates about 80 watts of energy, 95% of which is heat. To put things in perspective, the average tea candle is about 17 grams of wax. So a tea candle can generate about 170 watts of energy, 161.5 watts would be heat energy.
According to the indoor air company, Sylvane, a 750 watt space heater warms a 75 square foot space. That’s ten watts for every square foot. Using this logic, one tea candle can heat about 16 square feet. If you are attempting to warm a 10 foot by 10 foot room, that’s 100 square feet, and you would need at least 1,000 watts to warm it. Using our tea candle example, 1000 watts / 161.5 watts = 6.19. This is how many tea candles might warm a small 100 square foot room.
Now, exactly how long the candles will burn is a different story and that totally depends on the size of the candle and how it’s made.
But for now that’s enough of the technical talk right?