Editors Blog

Angela Harris is Associate Editor. Email her at angelaharris@achrnews.com.


Use Space Heater to Zone A Home?

November 30, 2010
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Flipping channels late one night, I found the solution to all my heating problems; at least that is what Richard Karn, a.k.a. Al Borland, and Bob Vila wanted me to think. Together the two took me on a 20 minute adventure as to why I should invest in an EdenPure Heater. I’ll admit they had me going for a minute. Before showing the product, this tag team intelligently discussed Environmental Protection Agency findings, system efficiency percentages, and duct leakage. When Vila went on site with a certified home energy rater equipped with an infrared gun and a plain English explanation, I half thought I may have found the new product that would revolutionize the HVACR industry. And then - there it was - an EdenPure quartz infrared heater. It looked nice and seemed to be an improvement on standard space heaters, but one thing stood out - it was a space heater.

“Are you kidding me?” I asked out loud as I readied the remote to change channels. The next line, however, kept my attention for just a few more minutes as Vila explained to me how I could use this device to save money and zone my home. Yes, you heard me right. Bob Vila, among others I am sure, is out there trying to convince consumers that they can save money and zone their homes with a space heater more efficiently than standard HVACR practices.

Don’t believe me? Watch the video below and then hit our comments section with your observations. It may be ridiculous to us, but over 40,000 people have watched this video and many of them are convinced the “This Old House” veteran knows what he is talking about.

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EDENPURE

DAVE
December 6, 2010
ELECTRIC HEAT IS ELECTRIC HEAT NO MATTER WHAT KIND OF BOX IT'S IN

Buyer Beware

John
December 7, 2010
This is an electric resistance heater with same heating ability as any other electric space heater. Same heater Paul Harvey promoted, now Bob Vila is promoting. If you pay these guys enough money, they will speak as being experts on any topic. Basically, if you turn the heat off in your home in rooms that are unused, you will save money regardless if using this heater or any other heat source. If you want a zonal electric heater to do this, any low cost brand ($30) will do the same. If you want to achieve real energy savings while maintaining comfort, a better direction is to make efficiency improvements in your homes envelope. Off-peak electric storage heating systems however can save you considerable money as they use energy only during times of the day or night when electric rates are low.

Amish Fireplace, EdenPure Heater

Dick Foster
December 13, 2010
Angela, thanks for trying to get this word out. As an industry we do a lousy job and these fly by nighters buy alot of press for a cheap heater. See the link: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40113829/?gt1=43001 This exposes much of what these are or really are not. Our industry need to wake up and sell the benefits of HVAC, comfort and energy savings, especially when you zone the system right the first time.

Space heater to zone a home

Randy Koch
December 22, 2010
A fish aquarium in every room with a heat lamp will produce the same results. Think about all the entertainment that comes as a bonus while saving energy this way. One word of caution though; make sure the species you select are hardy and very tolerant of temperature swings! www.fourseasonshvacr.com

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