Edenpure Portable Heater: Likes And Dislikes

Before I tell you what's not to like about the Edenpure quartz infrared heater, I'd like to spend a minute telling you what I do like, and explain how it works.

How the EdenPure Works At the heart of these infrared heaters are the quartz bulbs.

Similar to incandescent lamps, quartz bulbs are formed by enclosing a tungsten resistance wire within a high purity quartz sheath.

They provide even, non drying floor to ceiling heat and, according to the manufacturer, reduce positive ions in the atmosphere responsible for many respiratory problems.

The bulbs are rated to last 5 – 7,000 hours, or 3 – 5 years, and cost around $10 each to replace.

The Edenpure/SunTwin (I can't tell the difference) heaters are offered in 3 sizes: 500, 1,000, and 1,500 watt and the unit model numbers coincide with the heat output in watts. So a SunTwin 1500 Elite produces 1,500 watts.

The heaters are thermostatically controlled, equipped with a circuit breaker, and have a 1 year warranty.

What I Do Like About the EdenPure Quartz Infrared Heater It has a cool to the touch exterior and, unlike some other heaters, doesn't have glowing red wires or an exposed fan. This is a big plus if you have kids and/or pets.

Despite the complaints some consumers have with the EdenPure, I haven't found one that is health or safety related.

What's Not to Like The #1 complaint of consumers who have actually purchased the EdenPure heater comes down to this: Too little heat for too much money.

Putting aside the cost factor for a moment, I'll address the "too little heat" complaint first.

Too Little Heat The results you get from a 1,500 watt heater, EdenPure or otherwise, depends on how it's being used. Bear in mind, a 1,500 watt heater is the equivalent of only 450 Btus. This is minuscule compared to a typical 65,000 btu oil or gas fired furnace.

If you're depending on a 1,500 watt heater as your only heat source, it will heat only 150 - 200 square feet depending on how well your home is insulated, obstructions to the flow of heat, such as walls, and the outside temperature.

Here's the basic "rule of thumb" formula for calculating space heater capacity: Watts/10 = heated space in square feet. Or: 1,500/10 = 150.

However, if you use a space heater to supplement your existing heating system by turning back the thermostat and letting the space heater pick up the slack, you could increase the effective heating range of a 1,500 watt heater to around 600 square feet.

Too Much Money I chalk this up to what I call the "furniture factor." You can either buy a space heater that looks like a space heater, or one that doubles as an end table.

An even better example of the "furniture factor" is the electric fireplace. No matter which electric fireplace you look at, they all have the same 1,500 watt heater. Yet, depending on the design of the mantel piece, you could easily spend 2 or 3 times more for an electric fireplace than an EdenPure portable heater.

The difference is, people who buy an electric fireplace are looking for furniture - people who buy an EdenPure quartz heater are looking for heat.

What an Actual EdenPure Owner Has to Say I recently received the following unsolicited comment from a Mr. J. Hendon. He is an actual EdenPure user and here, with his permission, are his unedited comments:

"Hi Sam, a good article and accurate as can be. I don't even find the one lone complaint to be valid, I bought one recently (I got the Edenpure The only difference is the SunTwin has a beautiful wooden case) but I've had enough experience with space heaters to know you cannot heat much space with a 1500 watt unit. So I wasn't expecting miracles. But frankly, it heats much more than I had thought it would and I am grateful. It is the smoothest, best feeling heat, I've ever seen and they are right, it heats all over, not just in front of it. I plan to buy another, maybe even two more. We have been heating our home with a gas furnace until recently and natural gas prices go out of sight in the cold months. I had additional insulation installed overhead, new storm windows, etc. and started using electric heat last year. I have a number of 1500 watt conventional electric heaters and one 220 volt 3000 watt.

But so far this winter with my Edenpure, I have only had to turn the big one on a few times to supplement the Edenpure. Our kitchen, dining and living areas are all together and total about 650 square feet. I still have the furnace in the event of bitter cold.

Understand, we live in east central Alabama which has only been down into the mid 20's thus far this winter, but our average winters usually only get down to about 15 a few times."

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