The new kitchens are marvels of new storage techniques. Pantries and base cabinet setups line the walls leaving little room for heating elements or ductwork down on the floor where it is needed. So unless you are willing to use in-floor radiant heating there are few other options other than a radiant heat source from the ceiling. And this takes a long time to get doen to the feet!
A good compromise is the kick plate heater, named because the unit fits underneath the base cabinet and produces an airflow horizontally from a fan inside. The heat source is an element which can be either 240 or 110 volts depending on the unit. Some heaters actually come with a switch where the voltage can be changed to either 110 or 220. This is common in European countries.
The nice thing about a kick-plate heater is that is gets hot air to the area where it is needed quickly. At 750 and 1500 watts respectively they do not have to be on for very long to get the desired effect.
Installing a kick plate heater requires an electrician to hook up the power. The thermostat has to be wired as well. The unit, itself, goes underneath a base cabinet in an area where it will spread heat to to the biggest area. in other words don’t have it pointing at the island because the heat will be confined.
There are many styles of grills to cover the kick plate heater, from brass to wood. As for price, they start at around $120 and can go above $300 for a high output heater.
