Sunheat Infrared: Does it live up to claims?

Looks nice, but worth the money?

Winter is approaching and it's getting cold outside, so it's time to put on sweaters in your homes to stay warm (to really save energy) or just turn up your heat (boooo!). But let's all be honest, as much as we say we can just bundle up inside, nobody likes getting out of the shower or waking up to a cold room. Recently my interest was piqued about a heater I saw an ad for in Popular Science no less. The claim at the top of the page was very inticing. It read: SLASH YOUR HEAT BILL UP TO 50%

Wow! How can anyone turn that down. I wold love to pay 50% less for heating. But how? Well...that is where things get a little tricky. The product is called SunHeat and the marketing gurus advertise it as an infrared heating system. From their web page:

The Original SUNHEAT electronic zone heater is the safest, most energy efficient infrared heater on the market; available only from authorized SUNHEAT dealers. SUNHEAT infrared heating technology is the most efficient way to turn electricity into heat, with high cost of heating fuels; electricity is more affordable than ever. SUNHEAT lets you turn down the furnace and put heat where you live.

Sounds too good to be true? But wait, there's more! In their Energy Comparisons section they claim:

In addition, calculations show that the SUNHEAT™ will heat more efficiently than the Heat Pump. With today's spiraling gas, propane and fuel oil costs, it’s obvious that this system can offer you tremendous savings.

More efficiently than a heat pump? So why exactly can't we see these calculations? I love it when sites say "calculation show" and then don't SHOW THE CALCULATIONS!!!

And what about this "Infrared Heating System"? Simple: The Sun transmits its heat to the Earth with Infrared Radiation. The SunHeat heater has the word "sun" in it, so ipso facto it is an infrared heater. Not so fast. According to Laren Corie of Thermal Attic:

The SunHeat heater, is not a radiant/infrared heater. It is a convective, heater, which does all of its room heating via forced air. It does not supply any infrared heating to the room (besides an insignificant amount from a little warmth of the box) It does the same as a $20 WalMart electric heater will do, at the identical efficiency.

So why does SunHeat call their product an Infrared Heating System? Probably because it sounds cooler than convective heating system.

I found a blog, Frontlaven, that actually has a pretty good review of the Sunheat. From his review:

Prior to receiving this, I was going to buy a portable heater that they had at Costco for $60. The main difference was that it did not have a fan and did not have a turn-off mechanism. If you compare this Sunheat with what I was going to buy, it seems like a pretty fair comparison, right? So what's the catch you ask? The price for this Sunheat heater was somewhere in the ballpark of $550-650. Yeah....WTF....exactly my thoughts too.

and then:

This device is a space heater since it cannot heat a whole house. Space heaters can make things catch on fire, so if you use one, don't be a dumbass. If you're not going to use your central heating system to heat your house because it's either too expensive, you're too cheap, or you don't have one, don't make the mistake of comparing this Sunheat heater to a central heater because it's not the same thing.

Bottom Line:

While SunHeat advertises itself as Energy Efficient and able to "slash your heating bills" I just dont see how it is better than a regular convection space heater you can buy at Wal Mart. The SunHeat will not replace central heating if you have it. It is a space heater!

As far as saving energy, I'd like to know what they are using for a baseline. Sure, it probably saves energy compared to heating your home with your oven, but I have central heat with Natural Gas. Is it going to save me energy? I have a 3 story town-home, so I would probably need a few of these things to keep it comfortable (for my wife of course. I sacrifice my comfort to save energy - if you believe this you should buy a SunHeat). I dont think an electric powered heater is more efficient than natural gas heating.

The nice thing compared to central heat is that you can heat just one room at a time, meaning you don't have to heat "wasted space". But (according to the Frontlaven review) the SunHeat consumes 1446 Watts! That's no small amount. I'm not sure that this is any more efficient than my natural gas heat. The advertisement from Popular Science claims you can heat up to 1000 sq. ft. for "pennies a day". Well, only if you had the thing on for less than an hour. If you used it an hour and it consumes about 1500 Watts (1.5 kWh) and a you pay for electricity at a rate of $0.10/kWh that comes out to be 15 cents. I wouldn't call that pennies. I would call that 1 dime and 1 nickel. Ok, Ok, I'm nitpicking. The question is could the SunHeat really heat your space just by staying on for 1 hour, and would it cost you less than what you are currently using? Until you know these answers you don't know if these claims are true!

I'm all for a product trying to market itself, as long as the marketers aren't trying to take advantage of people who don't know to much about energy conservation products. By nature, energy saving claims are easy to make (I have the most efficient mousetrap!). Especially when marketers aren't required to provide any data to back up their claims. If you do want to buy a SunHeat heater, then ask them if they have any studies and calculation to back up why their heater is the most efficient and how exactly it will save you money on your heating bills. If you can't see the data, then don't waste your money!

Tags:

infrared heating

misleading heater

ripoff report

space heating

sunheat

sunheat power consumption

Comments

Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 04/20/2010 - 00:34

We bought a Sunheat to save money. We were using gas forced air prior. The first month we were really surprised to see that the gas bill had gone down some, but the electric bill had gone higher than what the gas bill was prior. We went a whole year before using it again, and the same thing happened. Apart from paying $52.19 for the unit, it cost us to use it. It isn't right that they can advertise all the false advantages that are not true.

Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 11/19/2009 - 23:44

I fell for the advertising on this heater. I do want to point out that due to the movement of air my home is warmer. The heater actually turns off when the temperature is at the set point. So it does not run for 60 minutes each hour. It runs for between 60 and 80 percent of the time dependant on insulation, drafts, size of space etc. During one 40 day period where the outside temperature was aproximately 28F to 38 F on average I managed to heat 1080 square feet for a reasonable price. The entire bill for all my household hotwater, lights, heat and entertainment was $379 for 40 days. This in my opinion was a reasonable cost as oil is much higher than the 8.5cents canadian per killowatt hour I am paying currently in Northern Newfoundland Canada. If you go into the purchase with full realization that it is not a miracle machine than it will give you decent heat. I might not purchase again though if I could find a really good oil filled heater that had a fan to move the air. Circulation of the air in my opinion is important. Also my home has all new tyvec house wrap, new windows, doors and vinyl siding installed this summer and decent insulation. Just my opinion folks.

Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 11/20/2009 - 07:25

Good points Timothy. I'm sure the heater works well, but I'm sure there are other space heaters out there for less than $50 that work well too. Good feedback though!

Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 01/26/2010 - 12:11

I have a Sunheat heater and I have used LOTS of cheaper space heaters. They do NOT last like this heater does. It has cut our electricity bill down substantially and we are all electric...maybe I got lucky and got a good one but I would not hesitate to buy another. We use it mainly in a room with no other heart source. I would give this heater 5 stars! The cheaper heaters just last and I got tired of that.....and they did not work well after awhile and I am sure it cost more because they were less efficient and no good way to clean it, so after awhile you just have to junk it.

Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 01/05/2010 - 12:57

Disapointing. I see no discussion of the all copper tubing and chamber filled with a special silicone with heat retention qualities. Is that valid? Is that more than a plain old space heater? This is the specifics that help me with a buying decision.

Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 11/19/2009 - 14:58

Emily, Thanks for your comment. One point to make though: A 1500 Watt heater running for an hour would consume 1.5 kWh. If you are only paying 5 cents for it to be an an hour, that means you are only paying 3.3 cents/kWh, and nobody pays that little. I know it is a minor detail, but it can't be overlooked.

Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 11/29/2010 - 17:29

The problem with your calcuations is that these heaters run on a thermostat. You would not figure the cost of running a central unit at running capacity for 24 hours. It's the same with the Sun Heat. It runs and provides infrared heat - not forced air - until the room temp hits the thermostat setting and then turns off. So unless you have tested one in a real setting- you can't calculate the electricity usage. The difference we found is the type of heat. Infrared uses the humidity in the room to move from place to place - no humidity and it stays in one room. However, since it travels on the humidity, it keeps the temp from floor to ceiling consistent - unlike our forced air. $50 space heaters will not do that.

Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 01/11/2010 - 20:35

It does a good job of heating the room but don't let anyone tell you you're going to save money. Our home is all electric and our bills have went up considerably since we started using it. I wish we would have saved the $500. we paid for it. We're very disappointed in the unit...costing us more than it's worth!!!

Anonymous (not verified) Sun, 01/24/2010 - 12:37

'In addition, calculations show that the SUNHEAT™ will heat more efficiently than the Heat Pump. With today’s spiraling gas, propane and fuel oil costs, it’s obvious that this system can offer you tremendous savings.' Anytime someone makes the above claim it is obvious they are shysters. A modern heat pump produces heat something like 3 times or more the kilowatts put in as electricity. Possible due to the use of the refrigeration cycle and heat extraction from the ambient air. An electric radiant heater of any type can NOT produce any more than 1 kW of heat output for 1 kW of electricity input. İt makes no difference if the fill it with silicone, copper, bat guano or sunflower seeds. Bob Villa, Ed Begley, Jay Leno and others pushing the silly stuff should have a special place reserved for them in hell - they are surely on their way!

Anonymous (not verified) Sun, 01/24/2010 - 17:24

Good points. I wont go so far to say that Bob, Ed, and Jay are on their way to hell for promoting the product, but I sure wish they would wouldnt promote products that use shady marketing claims. They may be too ignorant to realize the products aren't as good as advertised.

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