Review of Soleus Air MS-09 Oscillating Reflective Heater

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List Price: $59.99
Sale Price: $53.24
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I'm getting another one, I love this sucker so much.

Energy efficient at 400 and 800 watts vs 1500 for a convection heater.

In short, if you:

1) stay pretty much in one spot during the day

2) have high ceilings or your home is really hard to heat

3) have dust allergies

4) use a heater just during your waking hours and pile on the warm blankets at night

5) are not bothered by some light being emitted from your heater

6) have cats or dogs

7) love how it feels when the sun warms up your clothes and skin

8) are concerned about energy efficiency

9) need a heater that won't burn anyone who bumps into it

then this is the space heater for you!

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I'm a graduate student living alone in a one-bedroom apartment. Here in Reno, I pay more than $100 for the electricity during the winter season. I figured out that this is probably due to my heaters which are electric-powered. My apartment has a built-in electric heater and I have a Delonghi heater (DFH 333MT). I have no complaints about the Delonghi heater except that it consumes lots of electricity(1500 W) and I just don't like the feeling of the warm air plus it makes me feel dry.

To save money I decided to invest in this little heater and I was not disappointed. It just consumes 400 W (low setting) and 800 W (high setting).

To give you an idea of how good it is, I turned off the built-in electric heater in my apartment and the Delonghi heater and I did not feel cold at all even in the LOW SETTING.

The lights at LOW SETTING is not as bright as I thought. But in case you cannot sleep with its emitted light, I suggest that you put a blindfold. The light feels good. This device has also a safety mechanism. If you tip it, it will stop working and if it reached a certain high temperature,it will automatically stop. To sum up, a good buy.

This heater is made in China. I just hope that it will last for a long time.

UPDATE: In colder evenings, you need to use the HIGH SETTING. The light is too bright but the heat is enough esp. if you are at least 3 feet apart from it. In my case, I still need to turn on my apartment's built-in electric heater but only at LOW SETTING. This Soleus heater is just not enough to heat my whole room which is connected to the kitchen.

Well, it has been more than a year since I updated this review. I now live in Moscow, ID (from Reno, NV)doing postdoctoral studies and this heater still works!

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I bought this product to help heat a large loft. Knowing that hot air would simply blow away and be expensive, I thought I would focus on something energy efficient that could target a location. So here's a little breakdown.

The effective range of this product is limited. We keep it about 5-8 feet away to heat an one person at a time. It really has a max target area diameter of about 4-5 feet from that distance. Left on for a while in a small room, Like a bathroom...it does eventually heat up that space, but otherwise it's for very target heating.

Positives:

Warm instantly when in target area

Not hot to touch

energy efficient

Negative:

Really bright, you can't look at the thing for more than a few seconds when it's on high. We refer to it as "turning on the sun." Imagine a 50 watt bulb with a silver reflecting dish pointed at you.

See the angle that it's pointed in in the picture? It's slightly up. It's as low as it goes, it doesn't go directly straight or down why does this matter? We'll because say I want to heat myself from behind so it doesn't blind me I can't place it on a shelf or table.. It has to be on the floor and every chair I know has a back...so no help there. It will always shine on you. I'd also use it to heat my bed but I can't point it down at the covers. So basically it must be on the floor only.

Overall, a good product if you need target heating, from the floor, and can deal with brightness.

Honest reviews on Soleus Air MS-09 Oscillating Reflective Heater

If you want heat, this one's for you. It puts out more heat at 400 watts than most 1500 watt heaters, so it'll cost far less to run. I haven't even set it on high (800 watts) because I haven't needed to. Some may object to the light it emits but that's like complaining about the sun because it's too bright if you stare at it. You can set it up peripherally or at a slight angle away from your direct vision, avoid the light and still get plenty of heat. Buy this now while it's on sale and you can get free shipping. I don't know how long these halogen bulbs last, but it really does the job.

UPDATE (11/07):

After using this for two years, it's easily paid for itself. However, I bought one for a friend and it and its replacement (covered by Soleus under warranty) were defective. The third one she received seems to be OK, however she prefers the Presto Parabolic Heater since she claims it heats a wider area and doesn't emit as much light. The Presto costs half again as much ($75), may do slightly better but also uses more electricity, so figure out what's right for you. I should add I don't use the Soleus at night, it's less intrusive and more efficient to use an electric blanket instead.

UPDATE (1/13):

Still going! I bought another Soleus a few years ago, slightly different model but both work like charms. I'm convinced this is the best value in space heaters and I'm glad to see they're still available. Look for the best deal and get yours while they last things this good are usually phased out for more expensive/lesser quality "upgrades".

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I recommend this heater, especially if want to stay toasty warm while saving energy. With energy costs going up dramatically this winter, one real way of saving money is to heat the area you are in, rather than the entire house. In the old days, the wood stove would heat the central area of the house, and the bedrooms would be bone cold and one would be buried under a pile of blankets at night. This might not be our favorite thing, but was wise in terms of energy use (and saved a lot of wood-chopping!).

This heater would allow one to keep the temperature of the home much cooler, while staying nice and warm while reading, watching TV, working at the computer, etc. Another advantage to the heater is where the people in the home have different personal "thermostats". Some Nordic types like to be cool all the time and even sleep with a window open every night. Others like to be toasty warm all the time, seemingly lacking the inner furnace that keeps others comfortable in relatively cool (60-65°) household winter temperatures. In addition, as people age, some want to be even warmer as is often the case in nursing homes and I know of those who keep their winter house temperature at 85° on the coldest of days. Unbelievable to me both in terms of energy cost and energy waste.

The bottom line: this heater will save you money, and might help household relationships by allowing those who want to be toasty warm all the time to be so, while allowing others who prefer to be cool, to be comfortable as well.

Read the directions and keep them. When the heater trips off, which can happen from movement or if it is knocked over, etc., it will not come back on until it has cooled, which can take 10 minutes. This is a wise safeguard for this and any electric heater, as they do produce warmth, and one must use common sense in using them. Another example: one should always use a heavy-duty extension cord with electric heaters, which is mentioned in the manual. All easy to do, but important to be aware of in these days of central heating, when many are unfamiliar with space heaters and do not take the time to read the directions. It is always sad to hear of house fires, carbon monoxide poisoning, etc., during the holiday season, as people forget basic safety matters in their desire to be warm.