OMG, It's Bob Vila!

I was finishing up November's Popular Science magazine last week and I was at the point where I started getting to the bad advertisements at the end of the magazine.  And much to my surprise, I see yet another expensive space heater advertisement that claims to reduce your energy bills by 50%.  This was a different ad than the Sunheat heater; however it is basically the same product with one major difference:  Bob Vila endorses it!  Woo hoo!!!

This heater is called EdenPURE, and it honestly looks like the same device.  From a forum on the topic comparing EdenPURE and Sunheat a person says:

If you look at Sun Heat and EdenPure, their offers are nearly identical. From what I understand from a local dealer for Sun Heat, EdenPure is a spin-off of theirs, made by a guy who used to work for Sun Heat! Prices are very similar also. EdenPure has a plastic casing. Sun Heat is wood and both have Honeywell thermostats.

And yet the best review of EdenPURE and other expensive space heaters (like Sunheat) comes from one of hte most trusted resources out there: Consumer Reports.  From the Consumer Reports review of the EdenPURE heater:

The unit was the second-lowest-scoring space heater we tested, earning only a 24 out on our 100-point scale. According to the folks in our Tech department who tested space heaters, the EdenPure provided lackluster temperature control and was not particularly easy to use, What's more, it was pricey and lacked an overheat-protection feature (key for safety). The GEN3 models do have this important safety feature, according to BioTech Research.

If you're in the market for a new space heater, be dubious about any heater whose manufacturer claims the appliance will slash your heating bills. Here's why:

For every degree that you lower your home thermostat in the winter, you'll save about 3 percent on heating costs. So the only way to really save with a space heater would be to use the unit in the room you're in and turn down the thermostat elsewhere in the house so that your main heating system would not operate. To save 50 percent on your heating bill, you'd have to lower the home thermostat about 17°F. Also, based on national average fuel prices, using an electric space costs more than twice as much to operate as a natural-gas-fueled central-heating system.

Here's an article from ripoffreport written by someone who used to work at the company that makes Edenpure.  I believe it because they aren't trying to sell anything, just give advice.  I wouldnt put too much stock in the warehouse workers though, I'm sure a lot of companies have those problems.

Some of the more common complaints I've read about the Edenpure heater:

• Quartz bulb burns out
• Too expensive (about $300) for a space heater you can buy at Wal-Mart for 1/10th the price
• Doesn't put out enough heat
• Raises electricity bills

But hey, at least it wont catch your house on fire.

Bottom Line:

The reason they say it will cut your heating bill by 50% is that you are changing from central heat, to a space heater.  This means that you have to move the heater around to each room you are in to stay comfortable.  It's a change in strategy, not a new amazing product.  I'm going to take our a lame ad in Popular Science with the slogan:

SLASH your Energy Bills FOREVER!!!

Do you know what I'll be selling?  A Snuggie.

Snuggie: Slashes heating bills!