Looking for the 'BEST' Heater-experience preferred please :)?

Athena

We have a 2 story office building. The office space on top is currently not being used. The bottom office is long & narrow. It is approximately 1000 square feet with 14 foot ceilings. It is brick on the two longest sides (top to bottom) with the front wall totally being glass (windows). The back wall is brick and glass as well. There are 2 ceiling fans we use to keep the heat from totally going upstairs.
It currently heats with a propane furnace but when it gets really cold we spend about 300 on propane every two weeks to heat it. Not an option any more. I sure like the way the heat fills the whole place but we simply can't afford it.
I wanted to put a wood stove in but the stove pipe alone is over $1000 . We have offices on both sides of us so the stove pipe has to go up 2 stories and that is also not an option. Neither is a pellet stove.
I am looking at possibly getting an Edenpure Gen 4 or one of those Amish stoves. Those are really the only ones I have heard of so I am open if you have other ideas. I would like suggestions as to what you think might work in this space to heat it as well as your own experiences.

Thank you in advance for your replies.
Anyone?
Thank you PA for your thoughtful detailed answer. I wasn't looking for a free lunch just a solution that wouldn't eat MY lunch every month...*smile* Thanks again

Answer
I have friends with both - and like them........but there's no such thing as a free lunch. Their comments:

the Edenpure is safe around kids & pets because the cabinet stays cool . . . . . but no way does it heat an entire house - and doubt if it would evenly heat the space you describe. The Edenpure uses quartz infra-red tubes to heat a copper plate: you aren't getting the heat directly from the tubes - heating the copper plate makes it a steadier heat as the tubes cycle on and off. My friend says that it's nice for a room - does no good in heating adjacent rooms in his small house.

I believe the "Amish fireplace" units also use quartz heating tubes, but have a more powerful fan to distribute the air over a greater area.

Most plug-in electric space heaters draw 1500 watts @ 110 volts when on - - - I think that's the same consumption of the Edenpure and "fireplace". A disadvantage of quartz infra-red tube heaters is that the tubes burnout just like light bulbs . . . . they cost from $30 to $45 each and I believe the heaters have 3 or 4 of them. I understand that it's quite a job to disassemble the Edenpure to replace the tubes.

Google Edenpure and "Amish Fireplace" "reviews" and "complaints" and you'll find posts by both satisfied and dissatisfied buyers.

Consumer Reports tested electric heaters a couple years ago: they didn't think much of either (and many others) . . . on their recommendation we got Honeywell baseboard heaters at about $65 each and are very satisfied with them.......maybe the info is still available at the CR website or BUying Guide.

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Where can I buy an Amish Fireplace in Kentucky?

electric fireplaces reviews consumer reports image

jenelle

Where can I buy one? and how much are there.

If u don't mind, include a source, please. =]

Answer
If you are getting it for looks is fine but if you are getting it for "saving" money dont even waste your time. I read it on other places too but here are few reviews that people wrote on this site http://www.alternativeconsumer.com/2007/12/09/heat-surge-fireplace-whats-up-with-that/

My husband and I purchased two of these Heat Surge fireplaces and we have seen NO savings on ur electric bill. We turned our thermostat down to 68 degrees for the month, and our electric bill went up. Go figure. Where is the savings at?? They are misleading the public into a ton of savings, and all you have is fireplaces that look good in your home. We purchased these for the saving, but their is NONE! Very dissapointed and would not recommend these unless you want to pay higher electric bills.


Eden Pure finished dead last in Consumer Reports Oct. 2007 report.

If you have access to nat. gas, it takes a lot of discipline to come out ahead by heating just one room at a time with electricity.

Electric heat costs about twice as much per delivered BTU as natural gas in most parts of the USA. One kilowatt hour of electricity supplies 3413 BTU. One hundred cubic feet of gas (almost exactly one âthermâ on your gas bill) is 100,000 BTU. Look up your local prices and do the math. One therm costs about $1.05 right now in the upper Midwest. Divide that by 80% efficiency on a typical furnace = $1.31 per 100,000 BTU delivered. You need 29.3 kilowatt hours to deliver 100,000 BTU (at 100% efficiency). At 10 cents per kilowatt hour, thatâs about $2.90.

Does anyone have info on "Heat Surge HT-Xl" furnaces made by the Amish ?

HollysMom

I read about this furnace in the newspaper & thought it sounded GREAT, before I buy it I would like to know if anyone has bought 1 or knows of someone who has. Can you also give me your input on this furnace, every little bit will help. The newspaper is offering a $198.00 coupon.

Answer
Consumer Reports posted a video review of this exact item on YouTube. It's a Chinese made faux fireplace with an Amish-made wooden mantle. For some reason, it seems heaters with combustible housings are trendy lately. Check the first link I've included if you want to see what happens when something goes horribly wrong with a heater made out of materials that burn.

All 120v electric heaters are 100% efficient and they all max out at 1,500 watts (5,121 BTU). Buy the least expensive one that is made out of something that doesn't burn - that means not plastic or wood.

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Does anyone have info on "Heat Surge HT-Xl" furnaces made by the Amish ?

electric fireplaces reviews consumer reports image

HollysMom

I read about this furnace in the newspaper & thought it sounded GREAT, before I buy it I would like to know if anyone has bought 1 or knows of someone who has. Can you also give me your input on this furnace, every little bit will help. The newspaper is offering a $198.00 coupon.

Answer
Consumer Reports posted a video review of this exact item on YouTube. It's a Chinese made faux fireplace with an Amish-made wooden mantle. For some reason, it seems heaters with combustible housings are trendy lately. Check the first link I've included if you want to see what happens when something goes horribly wrong with a heater made out of materials that burn.

All 120v electric heaters are 100% efficient and they all max out at 1,500 watts (5,121 BTU). Buy the least expensive one that is made out of something that doesn't burn - that means not plastic or wood.

Looking for the 'BEST' Heater-experience preferred please :)?

Athena

We have a 2 story office building. The office space on top is currently not being used. The bottom office is long & narrow. It is approximately 1000 square feet with 14 foot ceilings. It is brick on the two longest sides (top to bottom) with the front wall totally being glass (windows). The back wall is brick and glass as well. There are 2 ceiling fans we use to keep the heat from totally going upstairs.
It currently heats with a propane furnace but when it gets really cold we spend about 300 on propane every two weeks to heat it. Not an option any more. I sure like the way the heat fills the whole place but we simply can't afford it.
I wanted to put a wood stove in but the stove pipe alone is over $1000 . We have offices on both sides of us so the stove pipe has to go up 2 stories and that is also not an option. Neither is a pellet stove.
I am looking at possibly getting an Edenpure Gen 4 or one of those Amish stoves. Those are really the only ones I have heard of so I am open if you have other ideas. I would like suggestions as to what you think might work in this space to heat it as well as your own experiences.

Thank you in advance for your replies.
Anyone?
Thank you PA for your thoughtful detailed answer. I wasn't looking for a free lunch just a solution that wouldn't eat MY lunch every month...*smile* Thanks again

Answer
I have friends with both - and like them........but there's no such thing as a free lunch. Their comments:

the Edenpure is safe around kids & pets because the cabinet stays cool . . . . . but no way does it heat an entire house - and doubt if it would evenly heat the space you describe. The Edenpure uses quartz infra-red tubes to heat a copper plate: you aren't getting the heat directly from the tubes - heating the copper plate makes it a steadier heat as the tubes cycle on and off. My friend says that it's nice for a room - does no good in heating adjacent rooms in his small house.

I believe the "Amish fireplace" units also use quartz heating tubes, but have a more powerful fan to distribute the air over a greater area.

Most plug-in electric space heaters draw 1500 watts @ 110 volts when on - - - I think that's the same consumption of the Edenpure and "fireplace". A disadvantage of quartz infra-red tube heaters is that the tubes burnout just like light bulbs . . . . they cost from $30 to $45 each and I believe the heaters have 3 or 4 of them. I understand that it's quite a job to disassemble the Edenpure to replace the tubes.

Google Edenpure and "Amish Fireplace" "reviews" and "complaints" and you'll find posts by both satisfied and dissatisfied buyers.

Consumer Reports tested electric heaters a couple years ago: they didn't think much of either (and many others) . . . on their recommendation we got Honeywell baseboard heaters at about $65 each and are very satisfied with them.......maybe the info is still available at the CR website or BUying Guide.

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