I have had 2 econo-heaters in my house for 2 yrs. One is in my living room which really helps my furnace from kicking on all the time (because that is where my thermostat is located). The other one is in an 10 X 17 room with high ceilings. This room also attaches to a laundry room and garage with a crawl space underneath. I have found that it keeps both of these rooms comfortably warm. I think it makes a difference in the amount of draft that comes through your house. You also need to mount them on an inside wall away from windows and outside doors.

You don't necessarily "feel" the heat because there are no blowers, unless you are standing right next to them. They have made a tremendous difference in the cost to heat my house. I have natural gas. Prior to getting these I paid around $250-$275/mos. to heat my house in the winter. I live in Ohio right in the snow belt off Lake Erie. My electric bill was usually around $100.00. Now I pay approx. $120/mos for gas (also used for stove, water heater) and about $150/mos. for electric. That is a big savings to me and I keep the house at about 65 degrees.

Hope this helps someone.

Thanks so much for all your help. This site has been incredibly helpful.

Having survived some truly brutal winters in New England, I can say with great confidence (after trying out every kind of heater) that the oil-filled heaters are the most effective for me. They do consume electricity (what doesn't), but you can be smart in how you use them. For example, I use rugs and slippers around the house, dress relatively warmly (full-sleeved clothing and socks, as opposed to shorts and barefeet). Plus, I only use the heaters cyclically...turning them periodically on and off to maintain an ambient temperature. They do a great job of heating the place even when they are off, thanks to the heated oil.

Those of you who are allergic to ceramic filters, i've had similar problems. But i've found that it can be attributed to any of the following - dehydration, dust and/or an aversion to artificial breezes (those generated by fans). In my experience, ceramic heaters have a tendency to dry up the air significantly faster than other types, and some people are extremely sensitive to dryness/dehydration (this can also be from potassium or calcium deficiencies). If your lips or skin chap easily or you have a tendency to cramp easily, this might be the case. So moisturize and hydrate. Another option is to put a steel/ceramic bowl of water near your heater, to humidify your area.

You should know about whether you have dust allergies or not, based on your own experiences in the spring or when you are out and about. You may be allergic to ceramic itself, but this is quite rare (based on what a doctor told me). It could also be that you are sensitive to artificial breeze, as I am. Put a fan blowing in my face while I sleep (even in the hot summer) and I wake up stuffy in the morning. The allergist said that this is normal for a few people and all it means is to avoid that situation.

Hope this helps!

Wow, this is a popular topic. I just wanted to warn that I bought an oil-filled space heater and it cracked and ruined my hardwood floor withnn 15 minutes of being plugged in. The company (honeywell) would only refund the cost of the heater -- would not even entertain the idea of helping to clean or fix the floor.

Wow, and here I thought this blog entry was on fencing, seeing as how there's a fencing mask as the photo....

(Kidding. Kind of.)

my heater is amazing. it's called the eden pur. you can get it online & they will not charge for shipping. i ordered the small one that heats about 500 sq ft & it arrived so fast! it's light weight & ALWAYS cool to the touch. so, you don't have to worry about someone getting burned or starting a fire. it doens't suck the oxygen out of the air like many of the burning heaters do. there's an easy to use filter in the back that can be washed. so, its clean & easy to care for. i have an old victorian (read VERY drafty) apt that's 725. it heats things up just fine. right now, i don't have my heat on at all other than my space heater & it's really cold & windy out (30s). it's worth the $300. i saved SO MUCH money in heating last year. what's more, it doens't use much electric to run. i probably sound like a salesman now, but when you find something this good, you tend to rant. it makes about as much noise as a fan or central air coming through the vent. oh, & there's also a thermastat so at night, it'll shut off when it need it to.

I have a different suggestion for heating: try one of those cheap warm-air-blowing humidifiers (ours is Vicks.) The cleaning's super easy when they're tiny and carryable -- since you need to refill the tank every night, you have the perfect opportunity for a quick rinse. We never had a problem with mold and were able to keep our (granted very small) Boston bedroom warm all night last year without any other heat source. Plus, it was way better for our skin and mucous membranes (as an aside to allycat -- according to med school, dry air is bad for everyone, regardless of Ca/K levels), it only cost $20, and it barely raised our electric bill.

i use two delonghi's, one for the bathroom and one for the bedroom. i used the delonghi HR715 retro convection heater for the bathroom and the TRR0715 Retro Oil-Filled Radiator for the bedroom. both work great for the spaces their in. i wouldn't recommend the convection heater for the bedroom but in a small bathroom, it's great (and nice and skinny). the oil filled one is great for cold days. both also have a nice aesthetic that fits in well with my house.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/410DD%2BG-wVL._SS500_.jpg
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41wpgN8CAyL._SS500_.jpg

After reading through this post, I ran out and bought an oil-filled heater last night (Delonghi TRD0715T)... and I'll be running back and returning it tonight.

I think these things are intended to be used as normal radiators-in that they are meant to be on all of the time in order to heat up a room. I wasn't expecting that and honestly, I don't think the room ever got over 10 degrees above what it would be without the heater, even after being on for several hours. The room isn't huge, 15x17 minus about 30 sq feet for closets. There are two windows with (older) storm panels installed.

I was previously using a Lasko ceramic tower heater (5132) in this room and *thought* I wasn't getting the best results. Now I think that heater will be just fine. I'll try and work around the moisture issues and will just have to put up with the fan noise. (One other advantage is that the room is noticeably warmer within a few minutes with the tower heater.)

I'm glad some people are having good experiences with those heaters, I just can't count myself one of them.

I have a 20x25 foot room that heats really fast with a vornado heater. Much faster because of the way the vornado circulates that air.

That being said, in a smaller room, my office where I spend the most time diring the day, the vornado kicks up enough minor dust that it aggravates my allergies so I use an oil filled. The smaller room lets the oil filled heat the room up fast enough in the morning that I'm happy with it.

In my bedroom I have a micathermic from bionaire. I loved it last year, but this year, it's developed a high pitched whine associated with the thermostat that is driving both my dog and myself nuts.

If a man came and robbed me of all my space heaters and i could only replace one, it would be the vornado - allergies included in the decision. I love that thing. You can point it at yourself when you first turn it on, and in minutes the entire room is warm.

best,
-janice

Oh, and I want to add, I've really done my due diligence in terms of winterizing. If you can find a draft, you can usually get rid of it for less than 5 bucks. Please, do that first. it saves so much energy and makes your space so much more comfortable. that way you're not just pouring heat into a problem that 10 minutes and some materials (caulk, clear tape, draft snake etc) could cure! You'll be happy you did. Then your heater can keep you toasty warm for cheap!

I bought peloni oil hear 1 and half years ago and it broke, guess I had no luck?

a downside about the oil heaters... the use of electricity! they take too long to hit a nice temperature, so it's too much time consuming energy without any gain. the ones with a fan warm the room in no time and this saves some energy!

Just bought a simple DeLonghi oil space heater from Walmart for $37. After a week of use in my bedroom in unusually cold south Alabama (18-20 degrees) I have to give a big thumbs up! Very pleased with its ability to warm the average size bedroom up a few degrees on medium setting, while at same time allowing me to turn central air temp setting down a good six or seven degrees from where I would normally have it. I turn the Delonghi on at medium setting with its thermostat set to highest about two hours before bed-time while at same time turning down main central thermostat likewise same amount. When I enter bedroom couple hours later I immediately notice how much toastier it is compared to the cooler rest of house. Before shutting eyes I turn the DeLonghi thermostat slowly down until I hear the little click which is usually about two notches down on the "4" setting (highest is 6).

Another tip that helps. In the same bedroom I covered from the inside the two windows with two layers of clear bubble wrap...lets light in but insulates well. Got two rolls at WalMart for $8 total.

I found this website helpful with my questions about the edenpure heaters www.edenpuresale.com

I got my infrared heater from www.originaliheater.com and it is awesome. I turned off my gas and use it to heat my whole apartment, and it doesn't even need to run that often. It is a really useful site, and tells the truth about the thing rather than the garbage that most sites try to feed you.

check out http://originaliheater.com/comparison.htm for a good comparison guide.

Check out this collection of energy efficient radiant space heaters. I prefer the wall mountable options for playrooms and childrens rooms as there are no cords to trip over. But Dyson Hot is pretty cool looking too.
http://www.squidoo.com/modern-energy-efficient-space-heaters-including-eco-heat

Based on this oil heater vs infrared heater comparison I'd go for an oil-filled radiator without a hesitation. However micathermic heaters came to my knowledge, like this bionaire heater so now Im thinking about getting one of those.