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PTC Heaters · PTC Ceramic Elements

PTC Ceramic Heating Elements

Continuous to 300 °C, wound for 12-220 V, built to IEC 60335 / UL 499 / RoHS. The capability table below states what the part is bounded by.

PTC Ceramic Heating Elements are continuous to 300 °C, wound for 12-220 V, watt density 0.5 W/cm² in free air and 3 W/cm² bonded to a heat sink, self-regulating at the Curie point. Power falls as the surface approaches the Curie point, so the element cannot run away — but the settling temperature moves with the airflow and the load, so this is protection rather than accurate control.

Continuous temperature
to 300 °C
Supply voltage
12-220 V
Watt density
0.5 W/cm² free air / 3 W/cm² bonded
Thickness
Element 1.5 mm to 3 mm; assembly to your drawing
Maximum one-piece size
5 x 20 mm to 25 x 60 mm

These are the process limits for this construction, not the rating of a finished part. The ratings of your heater come from the drawing it is built to, and the watt density it can carry depends on what it is bonded to.

Outline & Specification Builder

Set the outline, the size, the voltage and the power you have in mind. The drawing redraws to match, and the panel works out the heated area, the watt density and the current — then checks that watt density against what this construction survives in free air and bonded to a heat sink. Those two limits are different by several times, and it is the difference that decides whether a heater lasts.

Fills in the form below; attach your outline drawing or DXF there.

Request a Quotation for PTC Ceramic Heating Elements

The form below follows the current technical drawing configuration. Change the drawing values above and the request details update automatically.

Request a Quotation

The part

If you have an outline drawing or a DXF, say so in the notes and we will reply with an address to send it to — a drawing turns an estimate into a quotation.

Business Information

Dimensions & Specifications (IEC 60335 / UL 499 / RoHS)

Every row below is a starting point for the customizer above — pick any size and the drawing will redraw to that row.

ParameterSpecificationLimit / note
ConstructionBarium titanate PTC ceramic, electroded on both faces, in an aluminium carrierAssembly built around the element to suit the load
Curie temperature+60 u00b0C to +300 u00b0C, selectedSelected at order u2014 it is the surface temperature ceiling and cannot be adjusted afterwards
Self-regulationPower falls to a fraction of rated as the surface reaches the Curie pointNo thermostat is required to prevent runaway; one may still be wanted for control
Element size5 x 20 mm to 25 x 60 mmStandard element footprints; assemblies to your drawing
Supply voltage12 V, 24 V, 48 V, 110 V, 220 VThe same element works over a voltage band with different output
Power output0.5 W/cmu00b2 typical in still air, 3.0 W/cmu00b2 with forced airOutput is set by the airflow, not by a setting u2014 this is what self-regulating means
Inrush current3 to 8 times running current for 1 to 3 secondsThe supply and any relay or MOSFET must tolerate it
Dielectric strength1800 V AC, 1 minute, element to caseOn the assembled unit with its insulation in place
Insulation resistancegreater than 100 Mu03a9 at 500 V DC
TerminationsFaston 2.8/4.8 mm, crimp, or flying leadsChosen for the assembly temperature
LifeOver 10,000 hours at rated conditionsAgeing shows as a slow rise in cold resistance, not as sudden failure
Certifications availableUL 499, IEC/EN 60335, RoHS, REACH, CE, IATF 16949Construction level
MountingClamped between aluminium with thermally conductive siliconeContact pressure decides the output; a loosely held element self-limits at low power

PTC Ceramic Heating Elements are ptc heaters. There is no catalogue size and no stocked part number here — the drawing decides the outline and the wattage. What this page gives you instead is everything that constrains the drawing: watt density, temperature, thickness, tolerance, voltage and the certifications the construction is built to.

What Are PTC Ceramic Heating Elements?

PTC Ceramic Heating Elements are ptc heaters. They are specified by rating together with the outline drawing, the wattage or the temperature to be held, and what the heater is bonded to — that last one decides the permissible watt density and is the question a quotation cannot skip. The construction is built and tested to IEC 60335 / UL 499 / RoHS.

Construction & Insulation System

The element is barium titanate ceramic whose resistance rises by orders of magnitude above its Curie point. As the surface warms it throttles its own current, so power falls as it approaches the design temperature and it settles there — with no thermostat, no controller and no software involved. The Curie point is selected at order, from 60 °C to 300 °C, and cannot be adjusted afterwards. The ceramic is bonded into an aluminium carrier or fin stack, which is what turns a small hot element into a useful heated surface. Inrush is three to eight times the running current for the first seconds, and the supply and any switching device have to tolerate it.

Watt Density

In free air, with nothing conducting heat away from it, this construction carries 0.5 W/cm². Bonded over its full area to metal that carries the heat off, it carries 3 W/cm². The second figure is not an upgrade of the first — it is a different operating condition, and a heater ordered at 3 W/cm² and then run unbonded fails within minutes. Divide the wattage you need by the area you have before anything else: if the answer is above the free-air figure, either the area grows or the heater gets bonded down.

Typical Applications

Vehicle cabin and battery heating, control cabinet and telecom enclosure anti-condensation, hand dryers and air curtains, washer fluid and coolant warming, mirror and sensor de-icing — duties where a control failure must not be allowed to become a runaway, and where a blocked fan should make the heater quieter rather than hotter. Read the full application guide for PTC Ceramic Heating Elements →

Inside the plant

Manufactured in our own plant

This heater is laid out, wound or etched, laminated, cut, tested and imaged in-house. The stages below are where its resistance tolerance, its temperature uniformity and its insulation integrity are actually decided.

  1. Heating film materials prepared and staged at the start of the line
    01

    Circuit design & material preparation

    The customer outline comes in as a drawing or a DXF, and the element is laid out inside it: conductor gauge from the voltage, path length from the resistance, pitch from the watt density wanted at each part of the surface. Where the load needs more heat at the edges than in the middle, that is decided here, in the geometry, not later with more power. The insulation, the foil or wire and the adhesive for that build are then drawn from stock and staged together as one kit.

    Calculated resistance and watt density checked against the construction limits before any tooling is cut; every material lot recorded against the works order.

  2. Insulation film being fed from the roll onto the line
    02

    Roll feeding & sheet handling

    Film and silicone sheet are fed from the roll and cut to sheet, handled flat and kept clean. A fingerprint, a crease or a speck of dust trapped under the insulation becomes a void after pressing, and a void is a place the heat cannot leave from.

    Sheet cleanliness and flatness checked at feed; material lot number stays with the sheet through to the finished part.

  3. A heater lay-up stacked ready for the press: insulation, element, insulation
    03

    Element preparation & lay-up

    Wire-wound elements are wound on a glass carrier at the calculated pitch; etched-foil circuits are photo-imaged and etched from Inconel or copper foil to a trace width held within 0.05 mm. That tolerance is what makes the resistance repeatable from lot to lot, which is what makes the temperature repeatable. The element and its sensor are then stacked between the insulation sheets in the order the drawing specifies.

    Trace width and element resistance measured before lamination — a circuit out of tolerance is scrapped here, not after it is sealed inside the part.

  4. Heated press closing on a heater lay-up
    04

    Lamination & vulcanising

    The lay-up is pressed under heat: silicone is vulcanised, polyimide and PET are laminated with a high temperature adhesive, epoxy plates are potted under vacuum so no voids are left anywhere in the heat path. A void is not a cosmetic defect — it is a place the heat cannot leave from, and it becomes the hot spot that ends the part.

    Press temperature, pressure and dwell recorded per lot; potted plates checked for voids.

  5. Heater outlines being die cut from a pressed sheet
    05

    Die cutting

    The outline is die cut with radiused corners — a die does not cut a sharp inside corner, and a sharp corner in a film is where a tear starts. Cut-outs, sensor windows and mounting holes come out in the same operation, which is why they have to be on the drawing before the tool is made rather than added afterwards.

    Outline to ±0.5 mm on film, ±1.5 mm on silicone, gauged against the first-off sample for the tool.

  6. Lead wires being attached and strain relieved at the heater exit
    06

    Leads, terminals & connectors

    Leads are crimped or soldered at the exit and strain relieved, then connectors are fitted to the harness drawing so the assembly line never has to solder. The lead is worth as much attention as the heater: its jacket rating is frequently the lowest temperature limit in the whole assembly, and the exit is where a flexible heater is handled and where it fails if the relief is wrong.

    Lead pull-out tested per lot; jacket rating and connector part number checked against the drawing rather than against the last order.

Video: PTC Ceramic Heating Elements

A Space Heater Teardown and Discussion (PTC-based)

Third-party video, selected automatically for this topic. It is not produced by Heating Film and is not a specification source — use the tables on this page for dimensional data.

Frequently Asked Questions

What watt density can PTC Ceramic Heating Elements run at?

Two figures, and they are not interchangeable. In free air, with nothing conducting heat away, 0.5 W/cm². Bonded over its full area to metal that carries the heat off, 3 W/cm². A heater ordered at the second figure and then run in the first condition fails within minutes, so the quotation asks what the heater is bonded to before it asks anything else.

How hot can PTC Ceramic Heating Elements run?

Up to 300 °C, and the figure is chosen at order rather than adjusted afterwards: the Curie point of the ceramic IS the surface temperature ceiling. The element throttles its own power as it approaches that point, so it settles there and stays, whatever the load does. Selecting a different ceiling means a different element, not a different setting.

Do PTC Ceramic Heating Elements need a thermostat?

Not to prevent a runaway. The ceramic's resistance rises steeply above its Curie point, so the element throttles its own power as the surface approaches that temperature and cannot overheat, whatever the control does or fails to do. What it does not give you is accurate control: the settling temperature moves with the airflow and the load, so where a set point has to be held to a few degrees, a sensor and a controller are still required.

How are PTC Ceramic Heating Elements fitted?

They are clamped between machined faces with a thermally conductive interface, where flatness of the mating face matters more than clamping force.

What voltages are PTC Ceramic Heating Elements available in?

12 V DC, 24 V DC, 48 V DC, 110-120 V AC and 220-240 V AC. The element is wound for the voltage ordered — it is not a switchable range, and running a heater at a voltage other than the one it was wound for changes its power by the square of the ratio.

What is the dielectric strength of PTC Ceramic Heating Elements?

1800 V AC, 1 minute, element to case, with insulation resistance above 100 MΩ at 500 V DC measured after the dielectric test. Both are tested on every unit rather than on a sample, because a heater that fails this test in service fails it into whatever it is bonded to.

How do I get a quotation?

Set the outline, size, voltage and power in the builder on this page and send that configuration through, or attach a drawing. The quotation needs six things: the outline, the supply voltage, the power or the temperature you need to hold, what the heater is bonded to, the ambient it works in, and the quantity. With those, a quotation comes back within one business day.