Does a CHEs wattage matter?

Its been getting cold at night lately as fall rolls in, making it more difficult for me to keep my bp's tank adequately warm.

I was using just an UTH (on a thermostat) during the summer but I got an 100w CHE as a secondary heat source (also on a thermostat). Does the wattage matter when it comes to heat sources on thermostats? Does it make any difference in terms of performance?

Each thermostat should have a "max" wattage - Going over that may over load it and cause it to not function properly or it could be a fire hazard. The one I have is rated for 1000 watts, the CHE I use is a 100 watt. I think it would be difficult to over load one, but unless you go over that rating it should not matter.

As for wattage of the bulb the higher wattage will put out more heat. A 100 watt bulb will heat a larger area better than a 50 watt bulb

It depends on the size and type of enclosure that you have.

I have a 20 gallon long tank with a 100w CHE and my Herpstat has no trouble keeping 82 degrees ambient temps. I keep my home thermostat set at 68 during the winter and it hasn’t got down that cold yet this year but I think it will be fine. If not, I’ll get a 150w CHE.

Like Crowfingers said, a good thermostat should be able to handle a 100 watt CHE, no problem.

If you want your bulbs to last... get an oversized lamp and bulb and use a dimmer switch to dial it back. Example: I use a 75 watt lamp and 75 watt heat bulb, but I dial it back to about 30 watts of output, as to not overheat the enclosure, nor overwork the bulb and prematurely burn it out.
A bulb dialed down on a dimmer switch will last far longer than a bulb putting out it’s max wattage.

Most good thermostats like a herpstat work using dimmer technology also. As does a rheostat.

I have mine dialed all the way down with my rheostat. My ambient sits at 81

As long as everything you're plugging it into can handle the wattage and the heat (the thermostat, the fixture, etc) you might as well go with a higher wattage than you think you should need. The thermostat can always make a 100 watt CHE run at 50 watts if that's enough to get the temperature you need, but it can't make a 50 watt CHE run at 80 watts if 50 isn't enough.

I agree with others, the dimmer on a higher watt is the way to go.

I got over 2 years on my bulb doing so before switching enclosures and going to RHPs and UTHs.

I never found out what the life span of the bulbs were. But before going to a dimmer my bulbs were only lasting 1-3 months on average.