Only if you are on OFF-Peak and you get it at half price does electric heat payoff.. and they can cycle you off

Boomerwang wrote:Does anyone who has this think this space heater would do a good job of keeping a few bedrooms on a second floor reasonable warm for not too much electric usage? I figure since the rooms are close together and if the doors stay open, the heat should still circulate reasonably well, but I've never owned a space heater of any sort, so I don't really know.

I don't have this particular heater, but no, I don't think the heat will circulate reasonably well enough to keep you comfortable.

It's really a directional one, not a circulating one, so it's not even purposed well for what you want to ask of it.

I'm not even sure there would be something good for what you want to do, it might be possible to set up a ceiling fan to move air around enough, but not being in the house, I can hardly give you good advice there.

I use to have this exact model until very recently. It worked for less than 2 months and started turning itself off and not heating. The company could care less and it put me off. I returned to the store I purchased it from and got another brand that I'm not very happy with. I liked this one until it broke. It was also cheaper on my pocket (electricity) than my new one is.

Well, this looks like a fine little heater, but if there's a demon inside it, I don't want it in my house. Sorry!!

I'm sure this has already been said (100 times), but:

Yes, this is a 1500 watt heater, yes a watt is a watt.

Heaters like this claim to be more efficient because that 1500 watts goes through bulbs stuck in the middle of a copper tube. The copper is heated, a fan blows on the copper tubes, and heat is produced creating joy and merriment the world over. The "more efficient" part comes from the 1500 watts worth of lights not being on all the time, but since the copper retains the heat (for a bit) the fan will continue to blow that heat out into the room joy merriment etc.

Whatever. It heats just as well as another 1500 watt heater with a fan, and it's nice that the thing is made of wood which insulates a lot better than any thin metal, meaning the kiddo's won't burn themselves. Of course, I have bare radiators in my house and they don't burn themselves on those either (because I've taught my children how to not be stupid).

Consumer Reports did a review of several of these things and found a $50 (at the time) electric radiator did the best job.

If you have and want to spend the money on this thing because you have a need, do it. Who cares? Electricity is a terrible way to heat your home anyway.

As an electrician, *please* keep in mind that you need a dedicated or very under utilized circuit for this puppy. Most residential outlets are on 15 amp breakers, and this heater will pull about 12.5 amps. You're not really supposed to use more than that on one 15A breaker. Space heaters don't just cause fires because they are hot, they frequently cause fires because they pull too much juice and fry things. Be warm and also safe.

mightymoelectric wrote:As an electrician, *please* keep in mind that you need a dedicated or very under utilized circuit for this puppy. Most residential outlets are on 15 amp breakers, and this heater will pull about 12.5 amps. You're not really supposed to use more than that on one 15A breaker. Space heaters don't just cause fires because they are hot, they frequently cause fires because they pull too much juice and fry things. Be warm and also safe.

Question. By "circuit" do you mean "outlet"? That is, are all the outlets in my house capable of pulling 15 amps, or is it possible that if I've got two outlets along the same wall (it's a big room) that they might both be using the same circuit and therefore I can't get more than 15 amps between the two? I have no idea what a circuit is in this context.

We have a 1915 Georgian farm house that has 12 ft. ceilings. We don't have the cold like the north, but it does get in the 30's in the winter. I have 3 LifeSmart Infrared Quartz Heaters strategically located throughout the house. We only use them when we are in the room for a supplemental heat source. It has reduced our electric heat bill by an average of $100 each month during the winter cold.

I think some of the advantages of a heater like this are the attractive case, the timer functions, the LED temp display, the remote feature, and the fan. Is this worth $75+ over a generic heater? Buyers decision.

I like the classy look this has, if I only had a space to heat, I'd buy one

chaospearl wrote:Question. By "circuit" do you mean "outlet"? That is, are all the outlets in my house capable of pulling 15 amps, or is it possible that if I've got two outlets along the same wall (it's a big room) that they might both be using the same circuit and therefore I can't get more than 15 amps between the two? I have no idea what a circuit is in this context.

Only the most modern home built custom will have one circuit per-outlet. Often times a "nicely" built house will have a circuit per room. In older homes ( like mine ) nothing makes sense. One plug from the bathroom will be on the same circuit as the living room. This is great so when your girl friend blow dries her hair and you have to turn off the Plasma TV or the breaker trips!

Sometimes kitchens and bathrooms will have 20 amp circuits. This lets you run a toaster and coffee maker at the same time. 20 amp plugs are visually denoted by having a little horizontal "key" on each of the vertical plugs.

You can't expect to save money if you run your house at normal heat AND run this item. If you practice Zone Heating, you run your heat at around 60 degrees or so for the entire house, and use these little bundles of joy in rooms you are in.

This is how you save money. Only heat the rooms you're in rather than the whole house.

Have it. Love it. Haven't gotten an electric bill yet, and I'm pissed I paid $149 two weeks ago somewhere else. It's a love/hate Woot relationsip.

johnvassel wrote:A hair dryer on high will use 1500 watts. So will a curling iron. Neither will heat a room. So yes, 1500 watts is 1500 watts, but HOW it uses that energy and converts it to heat is the difference.

Sure they will. 1,500 watts is 1,500 watts and it doesn't matter if it comes from quartz, a curling iron (they use a LOT LESS than 1,500 watts, come on) or a cucumber plugged into the wall.

dirtworship wrote:bought one like this, but way more expensive. Loved how it heated, until I got the electric bill. The gentleman at the Tractor Supply Store said he used 4 heaters to heat his entire house,so we bought 2 thinking we'd save money on oil heat. The electric bill tripled! From $100.00 to $300.00. Yikes!Was using the furnace as well. Now we pay attention to how we are running the heater, and the electric bill is still tripled!

Ouch. Our geothermal heat pump system uses about that much electricity a month. However, we end up using a LOT less liquid propane, from about a 1000 gallon tank a year to about 2% of the tank a month, which makes it about even. The furnace may still turn on if it's below 0°F out.

garryu wrote:Looked at this one really close, but decided to go with a Lasko oscillating tower heater instead. At 1/3 the cost, it does a good job of actually heating our enclosed carport.

Please explain the difference between an enclosed carport and a garage?

I work for an electric company, specializing in helping low income people afford their electric bills.

Space heaters are not an efficient way to heat a home. I have no idea how much this one adds, but a regular dinky space heater can add as much as 70-100 a month to an electric bill used 4 hours a day.

I've seen someone "replace" their gas heat with space heaters and go from a $50 budget to a $500 budget and still had a $200 gas bill. These are not an efficient way to replace your gas heat.

If you're furnace keeps running and your cold, the answer isn't a space heater, it's replacing your furnace filter, getting your ducts clean and using window kits to block the drafts. I love woot, but for me, space heaters are the devil.

There's a reason natural gas is used to heat a home, it's generally the cheapest, most efficent heating source. Get this if you have a space that's not heated that you're in often. Don't get this thinking you're going to stick it to your heating company.

I figured out that it costs more like $2 per day to run this where I live. I don't usually use space heaters but I used to have one at work because it was always chilly in our offices.

Calculation-
wattage x # hours per day x # of days
divide by 1000 to get KW hours used
multiply by kw hour rate

((1500 x 12 x 30)/1000)x.12 = $64.80

holyground wrote:I work for an electric company, specializing in helping low income people afford their electric bills.

Space heaters are not an efficient way to heat a home. I have no idea how much this one adds, but a regular dinky space heater can add as much as 70-100 a month to an electric bill used 4 hours a day.

I've seen someone "replace" their gas heat with space heaters and go from a $50 budget to a $500 budget and still had a $200 gas bill. These are not an efficient way to replace your gas heat.

If you're furnace keeps running and your cold, the answer isn't a space heater, it's replacing your furnace filter, getting your ducts clean and using window kits to block the drafts. I love woot, but for me, space heaters are the devil.

There's a reason natural gas is used to heat a home, it's generally the cheapest, most efficent heating source. Get this if you have a space that's not heated that you're in often. Don't get this thinking you're going to stick it to your heating company.

I don't have professional experience, but you're right. Resistance heating is pretty inefficient.

One thing to look at is an energy audit. Last year we had a guy come inspect our house to find what we should concentrate on next, because the more efficient your house is, the more tax credit you get. This house was built in the '70s, and there was almost no insulation in the attic, and the thermal camera showed places where insulation was sagging or missing.

Insulating an attic with spray foam is a bit more than this heater, but the second floor isn't 50-60 degrees anymore.

Can I run this at the same time with my wood burning stove?

carlcampbelljr wrote:

life smart heater on amazon


WOAHHHH $1 off folks......


Were dealing with a real bad ass over here.

More than that. The shipping for this one on Amazon.com is $21.67. Also it has the cheaper metal cabinet and not the wood one that Woot is offering.

I hope I'm not the only one entertained by multiple people providing drastically different numbers for the (theoretical or observed) cost of running this. Everyone has different energy costs, so instead of asking what other people have paid to run this, you need to look at your own energy bill and do the math. For me, this would not be worthwhile, because the cost for the electricity would not outweigh the saved natural gas from the furnace being on a little less. Your mileage will definitely vary.

Also: the electrician who shared his wisdom about circuits should have a quality post. That's very important information to keep in mind, and as a follow-up poster attested, it's not something everyone understands. My own two cents - our house was built in 1925, and the first couple summers we played circuit roulette, trying to figure out what outlets went together based on what turned off when we had a couple A/C units running.

Bought it 2 months ago on Woot. Very safe, but as much as my gas furnace ran dramatically less, the doubling of my electric bill was a shock. Paid big utility bill in December and it was 12 degrees warmer than average in MN. :-/

Same exact heater on dale at tiger direct except a dollar more but free shipping

radi0j0hn wrote:This is one of those weird fads. Do some research on the whole thing before you buy.

"Infrared Quartz Heater is designed to heat your home without reducing humidity..."

So it defies the laws of physics as well?

No heater actually reduces the humidity of the air, but they all reduce the RELATIVE humidity. So in a way their claim is true...

efooter wrote:Anyone who needs a space heater doesn't have a powerful enough computer.

I do like to leave the compy on during bitter cold nights

Beware: These are a waste of your money. Even $1 a day sure adds up. This is one expensive space heater...

Check it out: http://www.riverlandenergy.com/RIVERLAND%20HOMEPAGE/newsletter/Outlet-Dec11.pdf

Electric Space Heaters and Scams

Ads made to look like news stories abound for “Amish style” fireplaces, a “miracle device” that supposedly can slash your heating bills. In actuality, the appliance is simply a space heater hidden inside a false fireplace with a wooden mantle.
Many electric space heaters are rated at 1,500 watts. This rating is how much power the space heater uses. You are billed for each kilowatt hour of electricity you consume. A thousand watts is equal to one kilowatt, so 1,500 watts is equal to 1.5 kilowatts.

This means for each hour the space heater is running it consumes 1.5 kilowatt hours of electricity, which costs about 15 cents. Doesn’t sound like much, does it? But running that heater nonstop is a surefire way to increase your bill. If you ran one 1,500 watt space heater for 24 hours a day for a single month it would cost about $104. That’s on top of your normal bill.

So where are the savings that are often touted on such items?

An electric space heater can save money, but only if you reduce the running time of your electric furnace or other primary heating system. A space heater could reduce your electric bill, for instance, if you lowered the thermostat on your electric furnace from 72 F to 66 F and used the space heater to heat a single occupied room up to a comfortable temperature. If, however, you’re using the space heater to heat an area of your home normally not heated such as an enclosed deck, then the space heater is simply an additional cost.

Electric space heaters can provide an effective and simple means of heating that cold, unconditioned tool shed, bedroom or other relatively small space, but they should never be allowed to run 24 hours a day and you should always keep in mind the cost of operating such a piece of equipment.

Sources: ConsumerAffairs.com, Cooperative Research Network, Consumer Report

This sell-out corroborates P.T. Barnum.

filups21 wrote:No heater actually reduces the humidity of the air, but they all reduce the RELATIVE humidity. So in a way their claim is true...

Reduce RELATIVE humidity. Hmmm. Does this means that my relatives will sweat less and possibly smell better?

chaospearl wrote:Question. By "circuit" do you mean "outlet"? That is, are all the outlets in my house capable of pulling 15 amps, or is it possible that if I've got two outlets along the same wall (it's a big room) that they might both be using the same circuit and therefore I can't get more than 15 amps between the two? I have no idea what a circuit is in this context.

Be careful when you ask questions like these in an open forum... the answers you get back may seem like "expert" advice- but may get you killed in the process.

Only a licensed electrician can tell you exactly what your electrical system consists of. There are codes that municipalities must follow when building or upgrading a structure. The code changes (usually stricter), over time, are mostly for safety reasons. Not all "global statements" you recieve on forums like "keyed if 20 amp outlets" or the "one circuit per outlet" are remotely accurate! The age and location of the dwelling will have a lot to do with what physical characteristics your system has.

Failing hiring an electrician to physically check your system, you can find your circuit panel, or fuse box, then switch breakers off to see which outlets in your home are on which (separate) circuits. Then add up the wattage all of the appliances, lamps, computers, etc. that are running on that circuit. When you get to around 1500 watts (a conservative figure), you are at about 80% out a 15amp circuit's capability. The circuit amperage is clearly marked on each of the breakers.

Still, it's a little more complicated than this- for instance, motors draw more watts starting up than when running constantly.

My point is NOT to supply electrical facts or education but to make you (everyone) aware that if you aren't knowledgable enough to make a reasonable assessment of your situation, consult a professional that is.

Guaranteed to make your electric meter look like a C.D. player.

All electric heaters have exactly the same efficiency - 100%.

An infrared heater aimed directly at your body may save you money by warming you without warming the air much. You can set the wall thermometer low.

A heater for a small area that lets the rest of the room stay colder may also be worthwhile. For example, keeping your office cool but putting a small heater under the desk you sit at.

A high priced heater that claims it will save you money by being more efficient is a rip off.

ratmotor wrote:This sell-out corroborates P.T. Barnum.

Agreed.

lebert22 wrote:I have one and it heats amazingly, however expect your electric bill to go up but not as much as oil heat

I have always found the primary drawback of an oil heating system is the astronomical electric bill.

sshott wrote:
Not all "global statements" you recieve on forums like "keyed if 20 amp outlets"

Ahh... yeah. if you have keyed outlet and it's _NOT_ on a 20 amp line your house is probably going to burn down tomorrow from all the other code violations.

sshott wrote:
or the "one circuit per outlet" are remotely accurate!

The guy asking the question said this.

sshott wrote:
The age and location of the dwelling will have a lot to do with what physical characteristics your system has.

That's what everyone said.

sshott wrote:
My point is NOT to supply electrical facts or education but to make you (everyone) aware that if you aren't knowledgable enough to make a reasonable assessment of your situation, consult a professional that is.

I agree with you there!

My apartment was built in the seventies and it, too, has wacky electrical connections. One circuit is tied into a different building which always confuses me when it goes out. I have almost no grounded outlets and I am very careful about surge protectors and what is plugged in where. I had a fuse blow on Christmas and it caused a major pain when I had to figure how and where I could plug the refrigerator in until I could buy the correct fuse.

carlcampbelljr wrote:

life smart heater on amazon


WOAHHHH $1 off folks......


Were dealing with a real bad ass over here.

Yeah, but $22 shipping vs. $5 on WOOT

OneStepAhead wrote:Please explain the difference between an enclosed carport and a garage?

I always thought a garage was for multi-vehicles.

These are pretty ugly though...

I am not really sure why people are complaining about the electric bill. I run my oil heater at 1000W for 8 hours every night and last month I paid $53.00 for electricity for my entire 900 sf home with bad basement windows...

What gives? Oh yea, I live in Omaha, where electric rates are lower than most of the country... Haha, losers.