GE has developed and patented a thermostatically controlled space heater. These heaters operate with a maximum surface temperature of 140ºC and are provided with a hermetically sealed thermostat so they do not spark in an end of life event. In most cases when a motor is shut down, the space heaters are immediately turned on. As the motor may take many hours to cool down, the heaters being automatically turned on can result in a cumulative heat that may result in temperatures that approach the 80% Auto-Ignition Temperature (A.I.T.) limit. A thermostatically controlled heater will not allow the heater to energize until the motor has sufficiently cooled down (below 140ºC thermostat reset temperature) thereby not allowing the temperatures to exceed the stated AIT.
