ENVI electric wall mount plug in heaters...

[Kahud48]

Hi, I know my questions is not pertaining to wood heat but with the knowledge you all have here, I felt you would know the answer to me question the best.
I am thinking of using these to heat my home this Winter, I am in a 900 sq. foot home and will be investing in maybe 5 of these and an air flow with tall floor fans. They say that the walls where they are mounted to can get up to 180 degrees and are not hot enough for any danger. I also see where some can get a little warmer but says still no ignition danger to the wall. My walls do have a paper covered sheet rock of sorts and just needed your input on the safety of these temps at the walls. I am thinking, to be on the safer side to put some 1/4" plywood on the walls first then mount these units to that instead of just to my naked walls. What do you all think? Need you expertise on ignition temps at certain heat levels.

Thanks
Kathy

 

[clancey]

I am no expert here but I have a blower cord cord attached to my stove and had the electrician put in a outlet and I do believe the stove clearances would take care of this but I am not sure and hoping some one with more expertise comes on and helps you and me too for that matter...clancey

 

[Kahud48]

I am no expert here but I have a blower cord cord attached to my stove and had the electrician put in a outlet and I do believe the stove clearances would take care of this but I am not sure and hoping some one with more expertise comes on and helps you and me too for that matter...clancey

Thanks, me too. These heaters mount right up against the wall. Just want safety above all

 

[begreen]

It looks like these are 500w units and safe to put directly on sheetrock walls. I wonder though if you are thinking you will need fans to help convection, why not buy a heater with a fan in it?
5 of these units will equal 2500w of heat. That's not a lot for the dead of winter. Is there any other source of heat in the house? The other concern would be circuit load if multiple heaters are on the same circuit. How up to date is the wiring?

 

[clancey]

Yea I was always curious about these wall heaters and just could not in my mind trust them but that seems like a lot of electricity to me but what do I know --still trying to figure out if my outlet will be safe--lol...."that fan suggestion might be real good"...just thinking here..clancey

 

[Kahud48]

It looks like these are 500w units and safe to put directly on sheetrock walls. I wonder though if you are thinking you will need fans to help convection, why not buy a heater with a fan in it?
5 of these units will equal 2500w of heat. That's not a lot for the dead of winter. Is there any other source of heat in the house? The other concern would be circuit load if multiple heaters are on the same circuit. How up to date is the wiring?

Oh yes, my wiring is up to date and they will be two at the most on one breaker.
I will be using for full heat because my furnace has played out and can't afford to put in a new one as of this coming Winter. They will be on different breakers, maybe two on one at the most. And figured to set a tall fan up to blow on low to circulate. If I am running 5 max, that will only be 2500 watts and like I said, there will be a couple fans to push and pull the heat from room to room. I read that they will need to run for at least a day full run to get the house heated up and then they can be turned down and run to keep it holding.
The main reason not to run the others is that they are mostly 1500 watts and I know they would be really pulling my current and at night these would be on low with us using our electric blankets. Just trying to figure a way to heat that would be safe. I wish I could afford a good wood stove and get it installed professionally, where I live it has to be done by a certified installer and then inspected. Sometimes I wish I was back way out in the country, city life can really be a pain sometimes

 

[peakbagger]

Just in case you did not know the math 2500 watts =8500 btu/hr which is not a lot of heat in cold winter temps even for 900 square feet. If you havent done so invest in temporary weatherstripping along all window seams and cover the windows with plastic. If you have north facing windows, consider buying a sheet of Isoboard foam and cutting it to fit in the window openings. Take a good look at your exterior doors and see if there are any cracks around them. See if your utility has any free or low cost energy saving programs. Many utilities do free blower door testing and will seal air leaks. My guess is you will be running those heaters on full a lot more than you think and the bllls will be steep. Spending money now wlll pay off a lot later this winter.

 

[John Galt]

Our neighbors have one of these in their tiny house bathroom. They said it does a good job at heating that 40 sq. ft. but not much more.

 

[Bad LP]

I can't imagine these heating the space very well.

 

[Don2222]

One of my friends bought electric heaters to heat his house instead of oil forced hot water heat in the North East here. After the first month when he received his electric bill, he pulled out all the plugs and never talked about it since! It may be a good idea to ask the electric company how much the electricity is per killawatt hour and all the other fees that apply and do a calculation of a monthly bill before investing in all those heaters.
I had a similar shock when I moved into my house and started watering the lawn being on town water. After I got the first bill, I have never watered the lawn again since 1986!!
Cutting down the 5 pine trees 1 acorn oak tree and one huge Magnolia tree and planting maple trees, a tri-color beach tree and a flowering Bradford pear tree helped shade the lawn without robbing the nutrients and with a little fertilizer we have a green lawn.

 

[begreen]

Oh yes, my wiring is up to date and they will be two at the most on one breaker.
I will be using for full heat because my furnace has played out and can't afford to put in a new one as of this coming Winter. They will be on different breakers, maybe two on one at the most. And figured to set a tall fan up to blow on low to circulate. If I am running 5 max, that will only be 2500 watts and like I said, there will be a couple fans to push and pull the heat from room to room. I read that they will need to run for at least a day full run to get the house heated up and then they can be turned down and run to keep it holding.
The main reason not to run the others is that they are mostly 1500 watts and I know they would be really pulling my current and at night these would be on low with us using our electric blankets. Just trying to figure a way to heat that would be safe. I wish I could afford a good wood stove and get it installed professionally, where I live it has to be done by a certified installer and then inspected. Sometimes I wish I was back way out in the country, city life can really be a pain sometimes

I think 2500w will be insufficient for cold weather. Many electric heaters have multiple wattage settings. I have a Vornado MVH heater in my office which has 3 wattage settings. It normally runs on the thermostatically controlled 500w setting in winter, but in very cold weather I boost it to 1000w. It is turned off at night. There are also oil-filled radiators that have multiple wattage settings. Some offer a setback setting or a timer for nighttime. They cost less and do more than the expensive ENVI wall heaters.

(broken link removed to http://heating.delonghi.com/products/oil_filled_radiators/dragon_series/Dragon3_TRD0820ER)

 

[Kahud48]

It looks like these are 500w units and safe to put directly on sheetrock walls. I wonder though if you are thinking you will need fans to help convection, why not buy a heater with a fan in it?
5 of these units will equal 2500w of heat. That's not a lot for the dead of winter. Is there any other source of heat in the house? The other concern would be circuit load if multiple heaters are on the same circuit. How up to date is the wiring?

Oh yes, my wiring is up to date and they will be

I think 2500w will be insufficient for cold weather. Many electric heaters have multiple wattage settings. I have a Vornado MVH heater in my office which has 3 wattage settings. It normally runs on the thermostatically controlled 500w setting in winter, but in very cold weather I boost it to 1000w. It is turned off at night. There are also oil-filled radiators that have multiple wattage settings. Some offer a setback setting or a timer for nighttime. They cost less and do more than the expensive ENVI wall heaters.

(broken link removed to http://heating.delonghi.com/products/oil_filled_radiators/dragon_series/Dragon3_TRD0820ER)

Thank you, I have been looking at the DeLongi (excuse spelling) and debating it. I too have a Vornado NVH and it pulls 1500 and just didn't want to use it this year, ups my bill noticeably!

 

[Kahud48]

One of my friends bought electric heaters to heat his house instead of oil forced hot water heat in the North East here. After the first month when he received his electric bill, he pulled out all the plugs and never talked about it since! It may be a good idea to ask the electric company how much the electricity is per killawatt hour and all the other fees that apply and do a calculation of a monthly bill before investing in all those heaters.
I had a similar shock when I moved into my house and started watering the lawn being on town water. After I got the first bill, I have never watered the lawn again since 1986!!
Cutting down the 5 pine trees 1 acorn oak tree and one huge Magnolia tree and planting maple trees, a tri-color beach tree and a flowering Bradford pear tree helped shade the lawn without robbing the nutrients and with a little fertilizer we have a green lawn.

I know exactly what you mean. I did the same thing with my water and I bought rain barrels

 

[EbS-P]

Point of reference for electric heat My heatpump has about 3.3 kw (10kBTUs) for every 1000 sq ft. (10kw for 2000 sq for up stairs and 1000 sq ft down) And Bowling Green has a design temp 12 degrees lower than I do here in costal NC. At temps less than 20 degrees my heatpump is ineffective and the restive strips are needed. At 12.5 cents per kWh it costs me $1.25 an hour to run.

The total heating capacity you are adding is less than two hair dryers on hi.

Evan.

 

[clancey]

I have two Dilonghi heaters in my bird loft and I use them in winter when it gets real cold and I keep the temperature about 60 degrees just to make it comfortable and I keep the two of them on just at night time and it raises my electric bill about 100 dollars more.. They are nice heaters no blowing noise or fumes and they are clean burning as well all contained..They would be good for you..clancey

 

[tlc1976]

Electric heat is the same, regardless how pricey or fancy the heater. What you’re doing would be about the same as 2 cheap 1500 watt heaters. I did that at my old house one year during hard times, it wasn’t comfortable but it kept the core of the house about 50-60f. Combined with blankets over the windows and closing off all the bedrooms. I got a supply of wood and started burning the next year.

I would invest as least as possible into this. Since you really want to save your money for a new furnace. Like others said, seal off windows and air leaks. As always, make sure you can still get out in case of fire. Get a couple of cheap 1500 watt heaters and see how it goes. Most have a low setting if you’re concerned about drawing too much. Placement really makes a difference. Make sure they are each on separate circuits that don’t have anything else running on them, don’t use extension cords, and make sure the plugs seat firmly into the outlets. I would check daily to make sure the cords and outlets were not getting hot. I also set the heaters on a non combustible surface.

 

[Kahud48]

Point of reference for electric heat My heatpump has about 3.3 kw (10kBTUs) for every 1000 sq ft. (10kw for 2000 sq for up stairs and 1000 sq ft down) And Bowling Green has a design temp 12 degrees lower than I do here in costal NC. At temps less than 20 degrees my heatpump is ineffective and the restive strips are needed. At 12.5 cents per kWh it costs me $1.25 an hour to run.

The total heating capacity you are adding is less than two hair dryers on hi.

Evan.

One of these heaters, on low are rated to heat a 10x10 room and at max approx of 500watts, how is it they can not heat my home? My electric furnace os a joke on heating my home and it runs me around $200-$300 a month in the Winter. And for the most part here, we average in the 30's at night in the dead of Winter, maybe a few nights in the 20's and at least once or twice in the teens. I live in south central KY near the TN border.

 

[peakbagger]

No substitute for experience, let us know how it worked in the spring.

 

[begreen]

One of these heaters, on low are rated to heat a 10x10 room and at max approx of 500watts, how is it they can not heat my home? My electric furnace os a joke on heating my home and it runs me around $200-$300 a month in the Winter. And for the most part here, we average in the 30's at night in the dead of Winter, maybe a few nights in the 20's and at least once or twice in the teens. I live in south central KY near the TN border.

That is a marketing statement. It doesn't say at what outdoor temperature it will heat a 10x10 room and what amount of insulation it would take to keep the room at 70º when it is 20º outside.

If the issue is heat loss because the house is poorly insulated and leaky then this could be the issue, not the electric furnace.

 

[semipro]

My electric furnace os a joke on heating my home and it runs me around $200-$300 a month in the Winter.

Electric resistance heat is basically 100% efficient. Its sounds like the central unit you have now and what you are looking at buying are both electrical resistance units. You will spend a fair amount of money on the ENVI heaters and gain nothing when compared to running your central unit. You can achieve the same or better results with your current system by lowering the thermostat set temp since the amount of heat you're proposing won't likely warm your house to acceptable temps. Your money is better spent using your existing unit and sealing air leaks and insulating. Check this out to get a better idea of what many of us here are talking about.

If you must use plug-in electric heaters consider you should consider using an infrared unit and moving it around to wherever it is needed, pointed at a human. We do this in our bathroom in winter. We only use them when we are nearby, usually while standing in front of our sink. This is much like using your electric blanket. Heat the person, not the room.

Edit: 500 watts of resistance heat is 1706 BTU
According to the info at the link I shared above you need about 40,500 BTU total for your house based on your climate and average parameters. In other words, you'd need about 24 of the ENVI units to put out that much heat.

 

[clancey]

That's true for my loft is well insulated with blanket pink insulation on the walls and the ceiling and this makes a real big difference--even with having 7 windows on one side top and also bottom windows and three on the other side but insulated well and caulked too being shut in the wintertime. With this insulation at night I can keep it around 60 degrees with the two oil heaters but it takes a while for them to get heated up but once they do clear sailing. The heating area is about 10 foot wide to 18 foot long and 8 foot high about...Use to be an old horse carriage area with the horse-lol . Only now it is for my birdies-pigeons...but it keeps it about 60 and that's the most it will do .They are on a concrete floor...So if you go cheap and try to save money you most likely can heat only one room unless you move the heaters around...what a pain that would be...I would seek help to see if you could get help to put a nice furnace in your place that would be energy efficient and they are out there and they do real well "if you house is well insulated", then your heating bills will be much lower. begreen is right with the insulation talk..I have oil filled radiator heaters because with the other type of heaters I do not like them blowing around with the red hot looking heating elements.. My type of heaters give a steady heat flow and they do for the birdies..clancey

 

[EbS-P]

shared above you need about 50,000 BTU

I can’t imagine that for 900 sq ft in KY. design temp for BG is like 15 F.

Evan

 

[semipro]

I can’t imagine that for 900 sq ft in KY. design temp for BG is like 15 F.

Evan

I just thought I'd note that I was editing my post while you were writing. I revised my number to 40,000 BTU.

 

[Kahud48]

No substitute for experience, let us know how it worked in the spring.

Still debating, but what people don't know is that I have an $800 credit with my power company and that the old furnace was running us a LOT every Winter before it played out. Here where I live they want $3000 for a new unit put in. Last year when it went out was at our coldest when we dipped into the teens for about 4 nights that week. Closed off all my rooms but 2 and these two little 1500 watt blow heaters I had eat us up in current pulled (worse than a blow dryer) just to stay halfway warm and them staying on are true fire hazards, over heating wires on them made me nervous to where I had to turn them off, could NOT keep on.
What I have learned is that a radiant heat has to run and that they do not heat fast, but once all in the home has warmed up, the heater and the objects in the rooms will keep the heat retained. I just can't understand how a 500watt x's 5 units scattered throughout my home won't keep it hoovering around the 60's.
For 2,500 watts and two stand up fans on low helping to get the heat down from the ceiling and circulating in the house can't do the job to stay decently warm.

Heck, my furnace only blowed half butt warm air out and kept it warm in here before it went out, evidently this mobile home is better insulated than I thought

Living on fixed income makes one have to cut corners and budget to the max. Maybe by this time next year I can afford to get another furnace put in. And for a low cost, radiant heater, by Nov. I can have them bought and installed ready to go a LOT cheaper than a new furnace, for now.

 

[Kahud48]

I can’t imagine that for 900 sq ft in KY. design temp for BG is like 15 F.

Evan

We do good to get down to 15 degrees in the Winter. Most lows are in the 30's, sometimes we do drop to the 20's but not for long. AND maybe a very few days we do dip into the teens but that don't last long.