EdenPURE Gold iHeater?

When it comes to space heaters, there are plenty of options to choose from online and in big box stores. In general, space heaters are designed and used to provide spot heating to a specific small area or person. Examples would be placing a heater under a desk to warm a person’s legs and feet, or placing the heater in a small room, such as a bathroom, for additional heat.

We typically think of a space heater as a small, inexpensive unit with metal ribbons or coils inside that heat up (like a toaster) to radiate heat. Others are designed to have airflow over the coils to deliver fan-forced hot air. Most inexpensive units are made with plastic components and are not designed to last very long. Other units are more expensive and can last for years or decades.

But are they really space heaters or something else?

I think they are actually more than just a space heater. You’ve no doubt seen the ads and infomercials for the wonderful handmade wooden boxes that can heat up an entire room. I am referring to the EdenPURE GEN4 models. There is a similar unit that does the same job called the iHeater 1500. Do they work and which one is better?

The answer is that they work when used correctly and the decision point as to which is better is really a personal preference. What is preferred is if you like infrared heat technology which is solid state or quartz tube, or if you like heat lamp or quartz tube bulb technology.

EdenPURE units have typically used Sylvania heat lamp bulbs in the past. The main problem with these units is that the bulbs burn out and need to be replaced. Recently, the EdenPURE GEN4 (about $397) was upgraded to include infrared technology which is basically a glass quartz tube that heats a metal cylinder. There are three of these quartz tube/cylinder combinations. These glass quartz tubes can also burn out and need to be replaced. The three tube/cylinder units are built into a rounded triangular casing through which air forced by a fan moves. The fact that there are three of them built into one case would make it difficult to detect if any of them are burnt or not. Ambient room air enters the back of the unit, moves through the quartz tube cylinder housing and exits through the top front of the EdenPURE unit, and the warm air fills the space in which it sits. find. The Eden Pure Gen4 uses three Sylvania infrared quartz bulbs that have an advertised lifespan of 10-15 years for the unit, 20,000 hours for the bulbs. They cost about $50-$60 to replace.

The iHeater uses a solid-state copper heat chamber with a lifetime warranty and claims it can last 9 years of continuous use or 15 winter seasons. The iHeater 1500 (approximately $379) uses a solid-state copper heating chamber infrared system that contains no bulbs or quartz glass tubes. It comes with a lifetime filter that can be removed and cleaned without tools. The iHeater 1500 also uses fan-driven air through its heating chamber. Ambient air from the room enters the rear of the unit, moves through the solid-state infrared copper heating chamber and exits through the top front of the iHeater 1500, and the warm air fills the space in which it sits. it’s found.

Both units have similarities.

Both units have closed cases that are cool to the touch. Both are portable and can be placed on wheels to roll. They both have digital controls and a remote. Both are safe around children and pets and have an overheat sensor to shut the unit off at a set temperature.

Both units have been modified to improve performance. The EdenPURE GEN4 runs more quietly and has an improved fan, improved thermostat, and quartz infrared bulbs. The iHeater 1500 upgraded its thermostat and relocated it inside the unit away from the heat chamber, improved the unit’s seals and built it to more stringent specifications improving airflow force and air heating. Both units have a lifetime air filter that can be easily removed and cleaned. And finally, both units claim to heat a room evenly, from wall to wall, floor to ceiling, lowering your heating bill.

Both units have differences.

The EdenPURE GEN4 has three bulbs that need to be replaced and you don’t know when one or more of them are out. If even one burns out, the unit must work longer to produce the same heat, reducing its efficiency. The iHeater 1500 uses no bulbs and offers a lifetime warranty on its solid-state heat chamber. Additionally, the EdenPURE GEN4 advertises an approximate BTU of 5,000 covering 1,000 square feet. The iHeater 1500 advertises that it covers up to 1,500 square feet with approximately 5,125 BTUs. The iHeater also has a safety feature that will turn off the unit if it tips over. Lastly, the retail price for the units is about $18, with the EdenPURE GEN4 at $397 and the iHeater 1500 at $379.

You can find both offered at various discounts. An internet search turned up a reputable negative comment with one of the units. A report was found in Consumer Reports about the EdenPURE GEN4 1000 burnt and melted plastic problem. The link for more information is http://news.consumerreports.org/appliances/2011/02/one-melted-edenpure-space -heater-sparks-costco-recall-.html.

Now that the units have been identified by general operation, heat chamber technology, similarities, differences, and prices, how do they save money?

It’s simple, 100% of the heated air produced by the unit is used within the space in which the unit is located. The heat evenly warms a room from wall to wall and floor to ceiling. This is not the case with your oven inside your home. Most homes that use a furnace only use 50% of the hot air forced by a fan. About 10% of the heat from your oven escapes up the chimney. Additional heat loss occurs at the joints and connections in the tin work and ductwork of your furnace and registers. If any of those ducts are in an exterior wall, the heat radiates into the wall like a heat sink and can be seen with a thermal camera escaping through the wall to the outside of your home. Drafty windows and other home improvement problems contribute to additional heat loss.

When using a device like the iHeater 1500 or EdenPURE GEN4, 100% of the heated air produced is used within the space being heated. Multiple units can be purchased to place in multiple rooms of a house creating zones. One zone can be set warmer than another. As these units are used, the home furnace thermostat can be lowered, saving natural gas costs. For example, the units can be placed in a living room, study and some bedrooms. During the day, the units in the bedrooms can be turned down to a lower heat level, while the units in the living room and study can be raised a little higher. When you get home, you can put the living room and study units higher up for the night. Before going to bed, you can lower them and raise the bedrooms. Meanwhile, the furnace thermostat can be lowered to reduce natural gas costs.

The electrical cost to run an iHeater or EdenPURE unit is approximately 10-12 cents per 1,000 watt hours. So a 1000 watt EdenPURE unit would cost about 10 cents per hour while running and the iHeater 1500 running at 1500 watts would cost about 15 cents per hour when running. Since these units are equipped with thermostats, they automatically turn off when the room air reaches the desired heat setting.

Typically when using these units, they will be turned on, adjusted to your desired temperature setting, and left on to cycle on and off to maintain the room temperature at your setting.

You just have to choose the unit that you like best and at the best price you can find.

Kevin Owens

US Radiant Heat