Sun Twin Electric Heater?

October 21, 2005 1:14 PM

We're looking for ways to beat the high cost of natural gas this year. Anybody have any experience with the Sun Twin space heater? Additional advertising page here . I've heard about this electric heater from a couple of sources, but can't find any independent verification that it lives up to the claims made in the advertising. Anybody know of this thing?
posted by MonkeyToes to Home & Garden (10 answers total)

If it's an electric heater, it's not possible for it to be more efficient than any other electric heater.

Electric heating, by definition, is 100% efficient. You can't get higher than 100%!

(By 100% efficient I mean that electricity ALWAYS gets converted to heat energy in any device. Yes, even fridges.)

The only things that one electric heater can do better than another is moving the hot air around quicker to prevent hot spots (ie: Your heater is 100 deg C but your room is 15 deg C... you'd rather than the room and heater end up at 20 deg C) thereby heating more evenly.

Electric heaters of all types do not burn up oxygen or emit toxic fumes (once the elements are clean... if they are dirty anything can happen, obviously). Only a combustion heater [eg, kerosene] will do that.

This sentence specifically sets off my bullshit detector:

In a full heating season utility field test the Sun Twin® Cozy® zone heaters used 35% less energy than a conventional electric/baseboard system!

That's simply not possible. That'd be like saying "Our 1 pint glasses hold 35% more water than our competitors 1 pint glasses!"

With justification it is possible, yes, though, for that sentence to be true. For example, the home could have the doors above the baseboard heaters (like my apartment) letting heat escape quicker than their electric heater (if it were placed far away from the door), and other such things, but that isn't a fair comparison at all.

Basically, this is a normal heater with higher grade parts (it says commercial grade -- I suppose they'd warranty it for commercial use then!) and a large wood case to ensure the chassis doesn't heat up dangerously. I'd say it's a good design, but $600 (regular price) for that seems absolutely outrageous!

Personally, I prefer space heaters without fans. No moving parts means they'll last as long as the element does, which could be measured in decades with proper care.
posted by shepd at 1:31 PM on October 21, 2005

Even with natural gas going up in price, heat-via-natural-gas is likely to be at least 30% cheaper than heat-via-electricity, unless your local rates are seriously out of whack. If you're heating the whole house, natural gas is the way to do. Maybe turn down your thermostat a degree or two.

The way to actually save with electric heat is to put a heater in a small room, close the door, turn OFF the heat in the rest of the house, and keep only one room warm. In my experience, Americans don't do that (although much of the rest of the world does). So unless you're prepared to do that this winter, electric heat will cost you, rather than saving you, money.
posted by jellicle at 1:57 PM on October 21, 2005

OK, jellicle (or anyone else)--what would be the best heater to use in that situation? Or are they all pretty much the same?
posted by MrMoonPie at 2:17 PM on October 21, 2005

Where do you live that natural gas is not the cheapest possible heating system? I find it quite a curious idea.
posted by five fresh fish at 5:59 PM on October 21, 2005

According to Wikipedia, heat pumps are typically four times more efficient than traditional electric heaters. In other words, a heat pump can provide 4kWh of heat while only consuming 1kWh of electricity. It's basically a refrigerator that transfers heat from the environment into the house.
posted by ryanrs at 9:19 PM on October 21, 2005

Also, I should point out that the Sun Twin is not a heat pump.
posted by ryanrs at 9:29 PM on October 21, 2005

The Sun Twin page states:

There is no drying effects - it is "soft heat"!

This is bullshit. Simply heating the air in a room will decrease relative humidity. The particular mechanism used to generate the heat is irrelevant. Wikipedia: Relative humidity.

The designers of this heater are either ignorant or dishonest. F 'em.
posted by ryanrs at 9:37 PM on October 21, 2005

Not, Here is the deal, they use a 1500 watt quartz infrared heater (surface temp 400 degrees at least) to heat some copper coils, that heat the air to 120 degrees, avoiding scorching the air you breathe. has a filter too. Healthy I'll bet .
posted by hortense at 11:10 PM on October 21, 2005

Scorched air?
posted by Good Brain at 7:09 PM on October 22, 2005

I was getting killed by propane costs. I did three things that seem to keep the cost in line. 1) I heat only one room. 2)I use the propane heater to take the chill off then turn it off. 3)I switch to an electric Vornado to keep the room comfortable. The Vornado has the advantage of having a thermostat which decreases both heat and fan speeds. This year I put a lock on the propane tank and the company is all pissed off at me, but such is life! I don't even want to think about how much it would cost to fill that stupid tank this year, and I have a half tank left from last year. By the way, I tried one of those oil-filled radiators one year. I froze and my electric bill went through the roof.
posted by phewbertie at 1:48 AM on October 23, 2005