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10/29/10, 03:35 PM
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Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: MI (thumb)
Posts: 300
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Infrared heaters? Opinions?
Does anyone have one of these infrared heaters? Do they warm
well and really save on your utility bills? Are they enough to help
heat a whole floor or only one room? I have a couple cold
areas in the house I'd like to heat on the cheap and may need
one to heat my garage for puppies but want to know if they are worth
it and really work and really are cheap to operate. I have babies and pets so I need something safe and not too hot to the touch, want something that there is low chance of a fire with, that is portable and easy to use.
Any brands/models you'd recommend?
I have a electric space heater that I am not happy at all with, heats well
but costs a fortune to use!!!
Stephanie
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10/29/10, 04:39 PM
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Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Eastern North Carolina
Posts: 34,240
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Quote:
I have a electric space heater that I am not happy at all with, heats well
but costs a fortune to use!!!
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ALL electric heaters use the same amount of electricity for an equal amount of heat.
Radiant GAS heaters are more efficient, but NOT electric ones
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ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ
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10/29/10, 04:48 PM
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Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: W. Oregon
Posts: 8,760
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They make you feel all warm and cozy when you are close to it, kind of like a wood stove, but when you get the bill for the electricity you "will" be hot under the collar....James
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10/29/10, 06:06 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: MN
Posts: 7,610
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For your uses, an electrical BTU is an eletrical BTU, and it will cost about the same as your other electrical heater to operate.
Where such heaters help, is if you use them to heat only one room warmer that you occupy, and let the rest of the house get 5 degrees cooler than normal.
Then you pay more for the electric heat for that one room; but you save more than that by not heating the rest of the house as warm.
You can't get something for nothing.
You'd have to make a trade to gain something by using the electric units.
--->Paul
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10/29/10, 06:24 PM
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Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 711
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Ditto on what the others have stated. I have 3 of those sealed oil heaters that utilize 1750 watts. You can get those as low as 29 bucks and those will do just as well as the 300 dollar electric heaters. Nearly all electric heaters are 99% efficient because that is their primary purpose. If energy is lost due to heat in the wire...no big deal, thats what you want.
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10/29/10, 06:30 PM
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Banned
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Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Missouri
Posts: 489
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Unless it is hardwired, electric heaters are limited to 1500 watts, that equates to 5125 Btu's. There are some 220V at Northern Tool that use the same receptacle as a window A/C unit that are 4800 watts, that equates to about 16,000 Btu's. Much cheaper to use a vent free Blue Flame heater if your code enforcement allows them.
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10/29/10, 06:48 PM
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Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Mississippi
Posts: 1,420
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We have infared heaters but they are natural gas. We have successfully heated this two story victorian house with them for the past ten years. Our gas bill in winter usually runs about $200.00 to run three three brick heaters and one smaller blue flame heater.
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10/29/10, 08:14 PM
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I agree with Pancho
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Join Date: Aug 2010
Posts: 2,970
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For the past few years I have been using an electric shop heater in my kennel that pulls around 4 or 5k watts.
I just bought an Edenpure infrared last week and they claim it is supposed to save a lot on bills...too soon for me to tell. Mine is the unit that pulls around 1k watts. I can tell you that it is an ambient heat and will take you longer initially to heat up an area...Unlike my shop heater that instantly sends out a massive blast of hot air. The unit I bought has 5 heat settings and thermostat, the next smaller unit down has on/off only.
Eden Pure has a website with lots o info... http://www.edenpure.com/
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"For if you start dancing on tables, fanning yourself, feeling sleepy when you pick up a book... making love whenever you feel like it, then you know. The south has got you.”
Last edited by Haven; 10/29/10 at 08:19 PM.
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10/29/10, 09:22 PM
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Join Date: May 2003
Location: Zone 7
Posts: 10,560
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Haven
Had you put a line thermostat on the heater you already owned you would have had a variable heat setting instead of being limited to 5 and you would have only had to purchase the line thermostat. The Edenpure units are a ripoff and since Bob Villa endorsed them I have lost all respect for him.
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Agmantoo
If they can do it,
you know you can!
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10/29/10, 11:25 PM
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I agree with Pancho
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Join Date: Aug 2010
Posts: 2,970
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Agman, the shop heater has an adjustable thermostat dial on the back, so it does kick on and off depending on how I set it.
I was hoping the bills would go down with the edenpure, at any rate, it pulls a lot less wattage and be plugged into a normal 3 prong outlet. The shop heater has that funky plug and we had to wire in a special plug so it is on its own circuit, otherwise fuses start blowing when other things are turned on.
Hope I worded that right; I'm not adept at electrical lingo.
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"For if you start dancing on tables, fanning yourself, feeling sleepy when you pick up a book... making love whenever you feel like it, then you know. The south has got you.”
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10/30/10, 01:43 AM
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Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Northern Saskatchewan
Posts: 1,477
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We sell cute little infrared heaters at my work and we were told that they use as much power as a coffee maker and are super energy efficient. Lots of people are buying them and they SWEAR their heating bill goes down. I live in a mobile home with an electric furnace and I am seriously thinking about getting one. They are $220 and my power bill last month was $232. :S A bit of a savings would help.
I am talking about something very similar to this
http://www.totalsupplement.net/specs.php
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10/31/10, 10:37 AM
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Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: MI (thumb)
Posts: 300
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Thanks for the replies!
Stephanie
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10/31/10, 10:40 AM
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Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: MI (thumb)
Posts: 300
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Oh, and I have a wall unit ventless gas heater in my garage but my home owners insurance made me take it out?!?! They canceled us when they did a surprise
inspection and seen it through the garage window (at this time it was never even
used and gas valve to it was shut off) Then we called them and told them we took it down and they came and checked then reinstated our insurance.
I am tempted to put it back up temporarily while the litter of pups are out there then take it back down again once they are gone.
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11/01/10, 08:36 AM
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The cream separator guy
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Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Southern MO
Posts: 3,919
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Has anyone thought of just hanging a big lightbulb up? Seems like that would do the same as the IR heater.
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I'm an environmentalist, left wing, Ron Paul loving Prius driver with a farm. If you have a problem with that, kindly go take a leap.
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11/01/10, 10:50 AM
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Dallas
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Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: N of Dallas, TX
Posts: 10,124
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Get a ceramic heater -- its warmer and cheaper to run that an infrared.
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11/01/10, 06:18 PM
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Join Date: May 2002
Location: Kansas
Posts: 1,190
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I have a natural gas ventless wall mounted infrared heater. it has kept my house very warm. My house is an old drafty place so that says a lot for the heater.
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Living the good life in Kansas.
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