I love the look of this heater, you'd never know it was one, it looks like a high-tech retro computer speaker, so cool. The oscillation is smooth and quiet. It hasn't been terribly cold yet (45-50 degrees or so), I'm using it to heat a den, about 20'x20", and it heats the entire room (lots of windows and floor to ceiling sliding glass doors), on the low setting (750 watts), with the thermostat set to about 50%. The thermostat is a dial with plenty of gradationsI want to say it goes to 11 (some of you will get that joke, it actually goes to 9). Seriously, you'll experiment to determine the setting that suits you, but the thermostat is plenty sensitive and works perfectly. I tried it with the unit set to high (1500 watts) and it was too warm in a matter of minutes, heats the room fast.
The owner's manual and description are wrongsay that the thermostat maintains the temperature without the unit cycling on and off, untrue. When it reaches the desired temperature, it shuts off (including oscillation), turns on again when the temperature dips (actually preferable for saving energy). There's one small amber LED, just bright enough to let you know it's on but doesn't light up the room or interfere with sleep.
I formerly had an old oil-filled radiator type electric heater that finally bit the dust, this is the replacement. With that heater in mind, I was looking for one that could be run without the fan. For some reason I had a mind-block on this issue, thought when it was advertised that the heating element and fan were separate that it meant the heat could be run without having the fan on (I mention this if any of you have the same misconception). That's not the caseyou can run the fan by itself with no heat, but you can't run the heater without the fan. The fan is not quiet, but not terribly loud either, has a white noise type neutral sound I don't mind, sleep-wise, but it's loud enough that when it comes on you need to increase the volume on the TV a notch or two. What you'll need to consider is if you're bothered, sleep-wise, by a fan turning on and off, which is does according to the thermostat setting. I've gotten used to it, doesn't bother me.
The metal grille covering the disc on the front gets very hot, but the top stays cool, I have birds that land on it. The heater would not be suitable within reach of small children, I'm not sure about dogs or cats, probably not if they're heat-seeking &/or not too bright.
I bought this because the research literature touted ceramic disc heaters as the most economical and energy efficient to operate, one estimate was 3-5 cents per day. This is my main concern, I'll update this review when I get a full month's electric bill. If my bill is low I'll be VERY happy with this little dynamo.
***I also bought the non-oscillating version with four small discs, I'll be evaluating it too. Both heaters are economically priced, solid, and compact. The 4-disc model doesn't have a low setting, operates at 1500 watts. By the way, these disc heaters are sold under the names Pelonis, Del-Rain, and Lifetime, they're all made by the same company and look to be identical (but with considerable variation in price).
NEW Energy Efficient Ceramic Electric Space Heater Star
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