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2 Guys with a beard does not equal credibility

It was almost exactly a year ago when I first saw the EdenPure heater advertised and I warned readers to take caution when believing some of the claims. Well, it looks like EdenPure is at it again, this time with a TV commercial! But this time, not only do they have Bob Vila promoting the device, they’ve added Al from Home Improvement! I guess two guys with a beard is supposed to lend your overpriced heater more credibility.

It’s not that I think the EdenPURE doesn’t work. I’m sure it puts out heat. I criticize the device for a few reasons:

1. Space heaters save money because instead of heating your whole home, you just heat a small space. It’s not the space heater itself that saves you money, it’s the fact you aren’t heating the rest of the space in your home. Another way to do this is to just turn down your thermostat.
2. Most space heaters like EdenPure use electricity to produce heat. While almost 100% of the electricity is transformed to heat, it is one of the most expensive ways to produce heat. For the same heat output, electrical heaters are way more expensive than heating with a fuel like natural gas.
3. Since electric space heaters convert almost all the electricity into heat, they are all equally efficient. So why pay a few hundred dollar for a space heater when you can pick one up at your local big box store for $30?
4. Many heaters like EdenPure claim to “Cut your heating bills in half!”. I don’t believe people can stay comfortable in their homes with just a space heater, so I don’t believe they’ll reduce your heating bills in half. I’ll tell you a secret…you can eliminate your heating bills! How? Just don’t turn on your heat.

But Consumer Reports latest review on EdenPure says it best:

Manufacturers of electric space heaters want you to believe that using one of their devices will lower your heating bill. Lowering your home’s thermostat(s) and using your main heating system less in tandem with a space heater—called zone heating - will cut your utility bill. (Every degree you lower the thermostat(s) can save you about 2 percent on your heating bill.) But keep in mind that based on current national average prices and adjusting for the energy losses due to burning a fuel, heating with electricity is about two and a half times more expensive than heating with gas, the most common heating fuel in this country.

EdenPure suggests that “you can turn the heat down in your house as low as 50°F, yet the room you are in will be warm and comfortable. When you move to another room, the EdenPure goes with you. Its wheels make relocation a snap.” That scenario assumes that you have to heat only a single room to heat at a time or that you own multiple EdenPure space heaters; that once you’re in a room you stay put and don’t move around the house; and that you’re willing to keep the rest of your home at a chilly 50°F. Lowering the thermostat(s) by 3°F would likely result in minimal discomfort for you and your family, but are you willing to keep your home at 50°F?

And closes with:

In the end, remember that electric space heaters in and of themselves can’t save you energy and lower your utility bills over the winter. To do that, you need to weatherize your home and lower your thermostat(s) so your heating system has to work less. But if you’re going to buy a space heater, you don’t have to shell out $400 or more for the EdenPure Gen 3 Model 1000.

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