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List Price: $79.99
Sale Price: $57.00
Today's Bonus: 29% Off
Although I like this heater, it didn't work for my needs and so I'll be returning it. I hoped it could take the place of the ancient, oscillating Honeywell ceramic fan heater that I use in the morning to warm up my very cold office (which can be as low as 43 inside when I open it up) before I switch on my oil-filled radiator, but it just does not have the power.
I do like this heater. It worked very well at heating up my 12'x15' bedroom and at keeping my office warm on a coolish afternoon, but it was a total failure at heating up my small, unheated and uninsulated office in the early morning. It took two hours forty-five minutes to bring my office from 52F to 67F. My oil-filled radiator does faster!
However for less cold situations, this is an excellent heater even for someone like myself who prefers heat from oil-filled radiator heaters. It's good looking, appears well made, and has an effective tip-over shut off mechanism. Vornado's five year warranty make it a fairly safe investment that should be satisfactory as long as you aren't trying to heat up a very cold, uninsulated room.
I tested it with my Kill-A-Watt to check the accuracy of the wattage claims. It's rated at 750/1500 watts but on mine, the actual wattages were 725 and 1350. When I tested it on thermostat operation for keeping a 12x15 room at 68F for 12 hours, I was impressed that the electrical consumption of this heater was actually lower than the oil-filled radiator heater I tested.
General information about buying electric space heaters:
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I've owned and used electric space heaters since 1988, mostly DeLonghi oil filled radiators. When I recently began looking for a heater that would warm up a room faster, I was frustrated at the lack of hard, objective, facts about electric space heaters. Even the manufacturer websites often fail to mention or makes it hard to learn the most basic information you need to know, such as wattage ratings and warranty lengths. Not even Consumer Reports has enough information to really inform a consumer. Therefore it's up to us as consumers to share what we know. The rest of this review shares some of what I've learned.
In case you're wondering what heater I decided on to replace my DeLonghi, I didn't, at least not yet. I tried a Vornado PVH and a Bionaire BH1331-U, but I ended up returning both heaters. I'm sticking with my oil-filled heaters for now.
Basic electric space heater facts:
1. All electric space heaters are equally efficient. All heaters rated at 1500 watts output the same amount of heat, but may do it very differently. You have to choose the one that heats the way you need it.
2. Power consumption is determined by two things: the power setting you're using and how long the heater is actually on. Turning up the thermostat setting doesn't increase the heat or power consumption; it just lengthens the time that your heater will be running.
3. To reduce power consumption, use the lowest power setting on your heater that produces the heat you need.
4. An electric space heater will save you money only if you turn your central heating down or off and use space heaters to heat only the rooms where you need heat.
5. The only kind of electric space heater that's likely to provide adequate heat in a large or draft space is a radiant heater (not to be confused with a radiator heater, which is very different), but radiant heaters pose a fire hazard.
Don't take manufacturer wattage claims too seriously. When I used my Kill-A-Watt meter on six space heaters, I found variations of up to 200 watts between the claimed and actual wattage for each space heater. In most cases the actual watts were less than the claimed watts, but one of my DeLonghi's 1500 watt heaters turned out actually to be a 1600 watt heater.
Two crucial steps in finding the electric space heater that's right for you:
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1. Learn which heater is right for your needs. A huge percentage of complaints by reviewers about space heaters are due to reviewers buying the wrong type of heater for their needs. Your first step should be to decide between the basic types: Ceramic heaters with a fan, oil-filled radiator, micathermic, and radiant. First learn the conditions in which each one works best and works best and then select the type that will work best for your needs. There is no one single "best" heater for all situations. Each one has conditions in which it works well and conditions in which it's terrible.
2. Look at the warranties. Warranties on space heaters range from one year to five years. Delonghi and Soleus heaters that I've checked have one year warranties. Other companies, such as Bionaire, Honeywell, Lasko, and Vornado offer three year and five year warranties on many but not all of their models. If a company offers only a one year warranty on some models but a five year warranty on others (such as Bionaire), it raises question about the durability of the heater with the shorter warranty. However a long warranty is only as good as the company offering it. Read reviews to learn what experiences people have when their heaters die while still under warranty.
In most cases, you'll have to download the manual from the manufacturer's website to get the length of the warranty. It's a nuisance, but it's worth taking the time to do.
Don't let anyone tell you that any particular type of heater is "the best". The best type is the one that best suits YOUR needs. The best heater for me might be the worst heater for you. Some heaters heat up a cold room faster, some keep a room at a steady temperature, and some will work better in a large space.
Some questions you need to ask yourself before deciding which type of heater to buyWill it be keeping a room at a steady temperature? (oil-filled radiator or micathermics heaters might be best)
Will it be heating up a cold room? (a heater with a fan or a radiant heater might be best)
Are there children or pets who might be injured by touching a hot surface? (oil-filled radiator and radiant heater might be a problem)
Do you want to heat just a particular spot rather than the whole room? (radiant heaters might be best
Are you concerned about fire risks? (oil-filled radiator or micathermic heaters might be best, though no space heater is completely safe)
Oil-filled radiators:
These are my favorite heaters. These are the heaters that look like old-fashioned steam radiators. The oil retains its warmth after the thermostat cycles off, which is important if you want to keep a room at a steady temperature. The downside is that the oil takes longer to heat initially, which is why these heaters take so long to warm up.
I have two DeLonghi oil-filled radiators; I've been using one of them for 23 years, and the other is about eight years old. I love the heat they provide. It's steady, warm, with no noise and no drying out of the air like with some other types of heaters. They are ideal for maintaining a steady temperature in an enclosed room.
Oil filled heaters have a huge drawback, however: they are terrible at heating up a cold room. It can take an oil-filled heater hours longer to heat up a cold room than other types of heaters.
The US Department of Energy recommends oil-filled heaters as the most efficient, because the fins generate warmth even when the heater's thermostat cycles off. However this efficiency is only when the heater is continually on, keeping a room at a constant temperature. If you turn the heater on and off frequently, you'll lose most of the efficiency that's inherent in these heaters.
If you have children or pets, look into one of the shielded radiator heaters. I prefer the unshielded ones because they radiate more heat laterally, but the surface can get very hot and be a hazard if touched. DeLonghi claims that their shielded radiator heaters circulate heated air more quickly. Both of mine are unshielded, so I have no way of confirming that. My concern about the shielded radiators is that they would direct more hot air up rather than to the side, where I need it.
If your electric rates are different for different times of the day, you can use this to your advantage in setting your radiator heater toswitch on and warm the room from cold when rates are low, then let it provide steady heat when rates are higher.
A word of warning about oil-filled radiators: if one is poorly made or damaged, it can leak oil and permanently damage rugs and floors or even start a fire. Only buy from a reputable manufacturer and don't accept one that has any visible damage.
Ceramic fan heaters:
These are great at heating a room quickly, however many people including myself don't like the heat they blow. I don't mind it in my Vornado Personal Heater (375/700watt), which is located under my desk, but I thoroughly dislike it in the old Honeywell ceramic oscillating heater that came with my house. I much prefer the warmth that comes from an oil-filled radiator. Ceramic heaters can be most effective at quickly warming up a cold room.
Radiant heaters
Radiant heaters (don't confuse them with radiator heaters!) work by heating whatever they are pointed at rather than heating the air in the room. If you have a large, drafty space, a radiant heater might be your best choice, because it doesn't heat the air, only the objects and people it's directed at.
Micathermic heaters
Micathermic heaters work similarly to oil-filled radiators, except that instead of heavy metal fins filled with hot oil, micathermic heaters have thin sheets of mica that heat up. I've only had experience with one micathermic, a Bionaire BH1331-U, and found that it's exterior surface remained very cool except for a few very warm spots on top. There would be less risk of young children being burned by touching a micathermic heater than an oil-filled radiator. Micathermic heaters are slower heating than ceramic fan heaters, but are faster then oil-filled radiators..
Baseboard heaters
I have a Lakewood oil-filled baseboard heater I bought five years ago that has many of the advantages of a micathermic heater. It heats faster than an oil-filled radiator but has no hot surfaces and low fire risk. My Lakewood does an excellent job of heating my 12x15 bedroom.
However I have not researched baseboard heaters and only have experience with this Lakewood, so I don't know whether others are as good as this one. I was impressed that when I measured the actual wattages of my various space heaters, the Lakewood's actual wattages came closest to its claimed wattages of all the other heaters I tested. Lakewood unfortunately went out of business in 2009 and had a major problem with oil leaking from its heaters a few years earlier. Despite this, it's in many ways my best heater and has the lowest cost of operation.
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I bought this heater to use in my bedroom. When I first turned it on, it stayed so cool to the touch, I wasn't sure if it could actually heat up the room. But in about 15-20 minutes, it comfortably heats the ENTIRE room evenly (even with 12' ceilings). The best thing is that the heat is not hot or drying. Also, it is not like those old ceramic heaters-this is a totally different technology. I don't really get how it works (or care for that matter), but I already bought another one! Absolutely worth the price-I don't have to turn up the thermostat and heat the rooms I'm not in anymore!
Best Deals on Vornado PVH Whole Room Panel Vortex Heater
I bought this heater for a recent camping trip as an alternative to using a propane heater inside my popup camper. The propane heater works great but you need the fuel source, 's a bit bulky and with the dogs around in a small space you have to worry about a potential burn or tip over. With all that I didn't want to buy a smaller propane heater so after reading a few reviews here and looking at how this function in the store I was still a little skeptical that this would do the job but decided to give it a shot.
We were going camping in Boothbay Harbor Maine, so I expected it to get chilly (To give you a point of reference it's about 3 hours north of Boston.) We were on the water and the first night it went from chilly to cold. It hit the lower 50's so I was thinking I made a bad decision in packing light and that should have lugged the propane heater along.
I plugged it in and for the rest of the night prepared for cold, bitter disappointment about my purchase...
To my surpise this heater was awesome, if you know anything about popups you know it's basically a tent but you are off the ground. No insulation and can be a little drafty where the canvas meets the body of the trailer.
I set the unit for maximum heat (settigng 7?) assuming it need to be on his setting just to give us a little heat, I woke up about 2 hours later and it was hot in the camper, hot enough that I opened the ceiling vent and lowered the setting to the midway point and closed the vent. It cycled on an off to meet the needs of the temperature shifts and kept the cabin temp comfortable for the rest of the night.
The second night wasn't as cold and I left the setting at 2 and it was perfect. A side benefit, the fan isn't loud but fits the need for those who like a little background noise to fall asleep too.
If this can heat and un-insulated, drafty space adequately I think it will fo just fine keep a moderately sized room warmed.
Highest rating for this product, if you are thinking of buying a new heater I recommend you give this one a shot.
Honest reviews on Vornado PVH Whole Room Panel Vortex Heater
Our old ceramic space heater died, and I found myself in the market for a new one right after a cold snap, when the stores had slim pickin's. I bought the Vornado PVH at Target, and I was so hesitant to use it that I left it in my car for about a month before bringing it inside. (I found another ceramic heater at a different store and used that in the meantime.) I was worried mainly that: it would be loud (based on the "Vornado" name), it doesn't oscillate, so it couldn't possibly warm the whole room, and that it didn't have an actual temperature setting, so it would stay on all the time and pump out loud, hot air.
I was so, so wrong. The name is misleading. The sound doesn't conjure images of a vortex or a tornado. It has a quiet hum that is actually comforting more than anything else. I'm actually really glad that it doesn't oscillate, because our ceramic heaters all developed a 'click' sound when changing directions, and the PVH won't have that problem. The heat level selector is great. When I first turned it on, I set it to LOW at level 6, and came back after 30 minutes to a ridiculously cozy, warm (all over) bedroom. It was too warm to even sleep under the covers, so we've since had it set to LOW level 2-3, which I'd say probably keeps the temp in the mid 60s. We don't like a lot of heat; we just want to take the chill off, although there's plenty of upside for people who like really warm rooms. Also, the unit does cycle on and off to maintain the heat setting you've chosen, which is exactly what I wanted. If I walk in front of the the heater, I feel a gentle 'breeze' of air, which is so strange, because the name (and the efficiency of the unit) would suggest that it should be a forceful wind, but it just isn't. I'm not even sure how it works so well, but it does.
We're using the PVH to heat a 12'x14' bedroom with 8' ceilings, and 6' sliding glass patio doors in Northern California (where it actually gets cold, but doesn't snow). The room is warm everywhere, with no chilly or hot spots. My husband and I have been very impressed, and we haven't used our ceramic heater once since I finally pulled the Vornado out of the box. The only downside is that, unlike some of the other reviewers, I do believe the Vornado dries the air out, but I'm a contact lens wearer, and pretty much all fans do that. I would certainly recommend this heater to friends and family. 4 out of 5 stars.
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Just bought and read directions and pluged in. Works great and is very quiet even with the fan running. Brought the room up to temp in about 1520min. Great heater that I recommend.
