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The reasoning behind the title I chose is due to the amount of people I hear thinking these are supposed to absolutely work miracles. More explaining to this below.
After Reading some of the other posts, I had to add my 2 cents to the pot.
The iHeaters advertised on Amazon right now are the older (Last Year) models. I bought my iHeater last year (2008) in December. I have to say that last years model was great for the heat, but was a little noisy. I saw the new model and called about it and they said that the noise issue was taken care on the newer model due to they put sealed bearings on the fans instead of the open bearings that were on the older model. I decided to sell my older model and bought the new model for this year and man was I impressed. It runs ultra quiet. The one post I read about the hair dryer freaked me out a little as that is completely different. These heaters don't take the humidity out of the air (A hair dryer will) and the iHeater uses that to it's advantage. Think about it this way, moisture in the air is always moving (Whether you can feel it or not) and if the moisture is heated up, then the heat is distributed more evenly and would take less to actually heat the space needed.
I used the older model last year to heat my 900 square ft apartment. Beforehand I was using central heat (Electric Heat Pump) and my electric bill was running between $120-$130 per month. My electric bill after the iHeater was utilized never reached over $60 for the rest of the winter and I never turn my central heat back on. I set the iHeater to the Medium Room setting and the thermostat on 70 Degrees and my apartment never got below 68 Degrees and that was on some nights that the temp outside was in the teens here in Kentucky last winter.
My father owns 3 of these to heat his 2500 square ft (not very well insulated) older 2 story home and 3 more to heat his 3000 sq ft (not very well insulated) kitchen cabinet showroom. He claims that he saves at least $300 a month by using these instead of his heat pumps. We are both happy with ours because they are saving us money, but I could see how it wouldn't do so well for some others. Some of it has to do with conditions of the use. I will say that by far, these will not take the place of insulation or if there easy ways for the heat to escape the location intended for use. Other factors people should take into consideration... Multiple Stories, Tall Ceilings, Cold Concrete Floors, Older Windows, Amount of Doorways the Heat has to travel through, Temperature Outside, etc. If the heat is escaping with your normal heating source, the heat from this heater will escape also. That is where the "Not a Miracle" in the title I chose for this review came into play. I rate this item at 5 stars because it is doing exactly what I wanted it to do. Heat my apartment and save me money. Whether it will do this for you requires a little common sense and not really expecting a miracle. When a heater says it's rated for 1000 sq ft or 1500 sq ft, that is based on the most optimal conditions. When have you heard of any company trying to sell their product do ratings on their products in the worst possible conditions?
I suggest that if anyone who reads this does purchase a heater or multiple heaters, to figure some overkill just in case of that extra cold unexpected day, or just to make sure to save the optimum amount of money as possible. Keep in mind that if one of these are running full blast constantly every day to barely keep up, then that is constant electricity being pulled, but if you are running 2 or 3 of them spaced out among the location, then the heat will be spread out more evenly and they will run alot less altogether than the one that would be running constantly (non-stop) all day and all night.
I personally believe these things are the best things since sliced bread, but I used common sense when I set my expectations for the product. If you think that you can purchase one of these to heat 1500 sq ft and the rooms are very chopped up and/or you don't have insulation above the ceiling or under the crawlspace and/or in some outer walls, but not in others, then you really setting yourself up for disapoint or just want to buy one to be mad about it and prove the person that told you about them wrong.
Also, the one review I read on here said that they asked about a return policy by e-mail and never got a response from TOP TEN IMPORTS. But yet, she still bought it anyway. First off, if you e-mail someone about a product you are wanting to purchase and they don't respond, then why would you still buy from them after you already see what their customer service is like. There are other places that sale these products, find one with the customer service and courtesy you expect, then buy it from there. In my opinion, that person chose their own fate with this heater and not being able to return it due to not getting answers before she bought.
Hope some people find this helpful.
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We bought an iHeater 1500 after using a standard infrared tower heater so, we had some idea of how to use it. It doesn't work miracles but it will warm a room when used in conjunction with a regular heater, propane in our case. Here is the difference it makes and what it does. First, our room is only 500 square feet but has a sloping ceiling 12'at the highest point and 8' at the lowest making air circulation important so, we bought the larger capacity heater intentionally. This heater comes on and with the fan running, it slowly starts heating the room. It takes a while to feel the effect and unlike the propane heater that just heats the air, the iHeater actually heats the floor, walls, furniture and bed with the infrared heat. We notice the biggest difference in the room that has only propane heat. Chairs and fixtures are colder to the touch and the air temperature gradient can be anywhere from 2 to 5 degrees cooler. It works as advertised and we notice the biggest difference at night because the bed is definitely warmer from the infrared heat.The heater cycles on and off as it should and we are using significantly less propane. I won't say 50% less because we need to see how it does during the colder months to really evaluate it's performance cost wise. Regardless though, we are more comfortable in the room with the iHeater than in the rooms without it, just as we expected.
I think the biggest mistake people make with these types of heaters is that that have an expectation it will instantly warm a room and will replace your other heat source. It doesn't work that way. Used in conjunction with and to supplement your normal heat source though, it does what it needs to do. The other thing you need to realize with any infrared heater is that you need to leave it on so that it cycles and continuously heats the floor, furniture, walls, etc.
I would definitely buy another one of these heaters and we are finding the PTC element to be preferable to bulb heat. I would also recommend this heater but caution that you need to understand how it works and how to use it to get the best results. Bottom line, we like it, it works and does what it is supposed to do.
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I wish I would have seen the reviews of the I-Heater H1500 before I had ordered and it would have saved me the grief I'm having now. To leave a review you have to give this item a star and it really deserves no stars. Top Ten Imports states that it will heat 1000-1500 sq feet....it didn't even heat a 13 x 13 room let alone warm us sitting right in front of it. I'm very disappointed and feel as if I was really taken. I'm upset because I'm an honest person and expect everyone else to be. Live & Learn...as they say. This product is a no return item but that is not stated on the website. Just like the other reviewer states if you see IHeater or Top Ten Import Co., RUN. I am also going to complain to my credit card company and hope they can help us.Honest reviews on iheater IH-1500B Quartz Infrared Portable Heater
This is my first review on Amazon, and I decided to write one for this product for several reasons:I was a huge skeptic
I've tried several other options to keep my 1400 sq. ft home warm, and they worked, but only heated a very small space to a temperature (63-65 degrees F) that was still on the cool side
When I first started using the iHeater I was sure that I would have to return it because it wasn't heating my home but I found out I wasn't using it correctly
Ok, the first thing to know before you buy this heater, or any other heater of this type, is that it will not heat your home by itself! If you are looking to replace your furnace (like I was naively trying to do), then don't spend your money. However, if you are looking for a way to heat your living space to a comfortable temperature without your furnace kicking on every 10 15 minutes, then I would give this product a try.
Here's what I tried to do when I first bought the heater.
Set the furnace thermostat to 60 degrees F
Set the iHeater to 90 with the medium room setting
The results: The outside temperature was anywhere from 32 degrees F to the teens overnight. I let the heater run from about 3PM until the next morning at 7AM and the temperature in my living room (where the iHeater was positioned) didn't go over 63 degrees. When we woke up, it was 59 degrees and the furnace had kicked on over night. Needless to say I was discouraged after spending $300 on this black box.
Here's what I tried the next day:
Move the iHeater to a central place in my living area (I put it in a small hallway that connects my living room and dining room)
Turn the iHeater to 72 degrees F with the medium room setting
Turn my furnace thermostat to 68 degrees F
The results: The outside temperature was anywhere from 32 degrees F to the mid forties throughout the afternoon. The furnace got my home temperature up to 68 degrees after kicking on about 5 times in the first hour it was running. That was 7AM-8AM. Between 8AM and 9AM the furnace turned only 2 times, and the temperature inside remained 68 degrees. It's now 5PM, and the furnace has averaged to turn on only 1 time per hour for about 10 minutes to maintain 68 degrees throughout my home's main floor. That's 1/5th the amount of times it had to turn on without the iHeater.
I plan on playing with the settings (changing the room setting and/or the temperature on the iHeater) to see if I can get better results, however, changing the room setting will increase your power consumption. I have a Kill-A-Watt meter measuring the iHeater right now and Small uses about 950W, Medium 1070W, Large 1500+. Given my current setup the electric usage will be roughly 24-26kWH per day.
I hope this helps anyone that was thinking of purchasing this product, because I know I've been trying to find a way to cost-effectively heat my home for over a year and a half. Hopefully I've found it. Good luck!
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for iheater IH-1500B Quartz Infrared Portable Heater
What a great little unit. I wasn't expecting much to honest just something to help a little with the cold WI winters and the high heating bills. I have the 1500 model hoping to keep the living room warm on my 1600 sq. ft home. I was amazed how it did this and more. I have 3 bedrooms upstairs and as long as I kept the doors open it did a nice job of even warming them from downstairs. If people think you just turn it on and instant heat your living in a dream world. It takes time, not overly long either but it does take a bit. Very very quiet. Just bought another smaller unit for my daughter that she also just loves.
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