eHeat introduces economical "Envi" heaters

I did a post last year, about electric heating panels (imported from South Africa) that used convection heating technology:

A Low-Cost Heating Alternative that uses New Convection Heating Technology

They turned out to be a good low-cost, clean heating solution for heating our back porch in the winter. The company that sells them in the US (eHeat) is now selling an American made version that they claim is even better than the original. They call it the "Envi":

Envi - the pure convection heater

Economical
The stylish wall-mounted Envi panel heater is the most innovative and energy efficient heater available. The Envi is the world's first heater to use “stack convection technology” to evenly distribute the perfect amount of heat throughout a room while reducing your heating bills by up to 50 percent.

Safe
The Envi promotes a safe, healthy living environment, especially for children, seniors, and pets because it cannot be tipped over and the exterior shell always remains cool to the touch. And because the Envi does not use a fan, the days of worrying about dust and other allergen particles being blown into the air are a thing of the past.

Simple
The Envi installs on your wall in seconds using a simple 3-step process. No hassle, just clean, fresh, warm air.

Be warm with Envi.

The imported panels have worked well for us. We have two panels on the back porch. On nights when the temperature went below freezing all night long, I had to supplement them with a space heater. I bought a third panel this summer to install this winter, so I won't have to use the space heater even in freezing weather.

The new Envi model is a bit more powerful than the previous model, and has a built-in thermometer, as well as other improvements. Here is a page that compares the two models:

Envi Comparison

The older imported panels are vulnerable to fractures if they are dropped or hit hard with something, but none of mine have cracked; I'm careful with them. The new Envi model has a protective shield, eliminating that concern.

I don't own an Envi model (yet!), but one thing I like about the older panels is, they are simpler. I have external thermostats to regulate them. The Envi has built-in components, so what happens if they stop working? With the ones I have now, I can just replace the thermostats if they fail. So far though, everything has been good, no complaints.

The eHeat website still offers both kinds of panels, and also sells thermostats, timers and hardware accessories. Have a look around, you may find some things to make your winter more warm and cozy. And more cost-effective, too.
     

A Low-Cost Heating Alternative that uses New Convection Heating Technology

We closed off a porch on our house last year, and made it a kind of farm office/mud room/dog room (I keep a desk out there for managing farm-related stuff, I hang dirty overalls and boots there so I don't track mud in the house, and the dogs sleep out there at night). The room is very comfortable in the spring and summer months, but in fall and winter it gets quite cold.

We originally wanted to put a wood stove out there, but that proved prohibitive for a variety of reasons. I was going to get one of those kerosene heaters made for camping trips, when my sister told me about the solution she had used for the attic space in her house which she had converted into living space. The solution was electric heating panels by a company in Texas called Econo-Heat. They claim the panels only cost pennies to run. My sister claimed that they were indeed economical to run, and efficient too. I was a bit skeptical, but it sounded too good not to try so I ordered one.

Here is a description from their website:

[...] ECONO-HEAT electric space heater panels are the energy efficient, versatile and low-cost alternate heating solution to keeping warm in winter for a cheaper heat bill. The Econo-Heat electric heater operates mainly by heat convection. Designed to be left on for long periods of time, the ECONO-HEAT electric heater panel operates at relatively low surface temperatures, thereby giving a constant, gentle background heat whilst using very little electricity in any house / apartment room such as basement, wall, garage, office, or bathroom and locations such as any baseboard, desk, or wall. This concept is similar to a baseboard heater and performs the same task as central heating systems, however the ECONO-HEAT electric space heater is far less expensive to purchase, install and operate - keeping you comfortably warm, for a cheap alternate heating system!


NO FIRE RISK. Because the ECONO-HEAT electric heater panel has no exposed electric elements and there are no areas for dust to buildup, there is no fire or burn risk, giving you great peace of mind.

SAFE FOR CHILDREN AND PETS.. The surface temperature of the electric space heater panel does not exceed 165°F in normal operating conditions and there are no exposed elements, or fans to entangle hair, making them safe for children and pets. [...]

You can read the rest of the page for the full description. We've been using it for a while now, and haven't seen any significant increase in our electric bill. We bought two more panels, another for the back porch, and another for our RV. We got thermostats for them too, and they do the job quite well, we are really happy with the results.

If you are looking for an economical way to add heating to your living spaces, I would recommend trying the panels sold by Econo-Heat. You can read about the product and see it's specs, a photo and pricing here.

I give them a high recommendation, the panels are worth every penny.