Wait, the Amish build electric heaters now?
To be honest, I have not seen one of these mythical heaters live and in-person, but these ads are a little too good to be true. First of all, they are not Amish; the heaters are manufactured in China.
Wait, the Amish build electric heaters now?
Energy Q & A with ECA
Q: Recently I have seen a lot of ads for a “magical Amish space heater” that will heat my home without using much energy. Should I buy one?
A: Probably not. To be honest, I have not seen one of these mythical heaters live and in-person, but these ads are a little too good to be true. First of all, they are not Amish; the heaters are manufactured in China. Tag lines like “Save money: only uses about 8 cents electric an hour” not only give me pause because of the poor sentence structure, but also because the price of electricity depends on where you live. I think they mean 8 cents per kilowatt hour – not 8 cents per hour. Typically, an electric resistance heater use 1500 watts of power, or 360 kilowatt hours per month if used 8 hours a day. In PECO’s service area, where electricity costs 15 cents a kWh, that will run you $54.00 a month or $0.23 an hour – not 8 cents!!
Portable electric heaters are limited to a power of 1500 watts so they can be plugged into a standard 120 volt outlet. A 1500 watt heater, any 1500 watt heater, produces 5119 BTU’s of heat per hour. So the heater you purchase for $15 to $30 at a discount store will do the same job as the $300 “miracle” heater.
I’m also highly skeptical of how the ad manipulates the Amish tradition of high-quality craftsmanship to sell these heaters. Electric space heaters are one of the main reasons that consumers have high electric bills. I don’t believe that just because it has been put inside an Amish-made wood mantle that it is suddenly going to guzzle less energy. I mean come on - their ad copy says that it's "a work of engineering genius from the China coast so advanced, you simply plug it into any standard outlet.” Hello? All electric space heaters plug into a standard outlet!
OK, that’s enough making fun of the advertising. All I’m saying is that I can't vouch for the accuracy of the numbers in this article (note that the Better Business Bureau gives the company a rating of "F"), and would bet, if you purchased one for this winter, that your electric bill has in fact gone up noticeably. If you have purchased one, let us know what your experience has been!
Q: Why does U.S energy consumption continue to rise even as awareness of sustainability issues seems to be increasing everyday?
A: This is a great question, and the answer has to do not so much with education, but with American life style. Did you know that between 1967 and 2007 the average size of the American household declined from 3.33 to a record low of 2.56? One person households are up by 350%. During the same period, the average size of new homes has increased by 34%, which explains why per capita energy use continues to rise by approximately 1.5% every year.
Bigger is not always better. We’ve all been taught to think of big as synonymous with prosperity and luxury. And yet, it turns out bigger is not only what makes us fat, it’s also what makes us energy dependent and addicted to oil. Just chew on some of these facts to be thoroughly convinced. There is no longer a correlation between the age of a home and its efficiency. Overwhelmingly what matters more is its size. Residential energy use is 30% higher today than it was in 1960, which is mostly because of the sharp decline in number of people per household. Just imagine it, all those people living alone, each with their own TV, heater, air conditioner, computer, and the list goes on and on. So, in addition to taking all our advice about the concrete energy efficiency improvements you can make (because they work too!), keep in mind that bigger isn’t always better, and you might not be prepared for the burden of that extra square footage!
In fact, that little rowhouse is looking better and better.
Read more Energy Q&A with ECA here.
RE: "Why does U.S energy consumption continue to rise ..." When we lived in Dayton, OH, years ago, the utility companies had a major PR campaign encouraging residents to reduce energy use. The campaign was very successful and consumption was drastically reduced. The following year, these same utility companies requested and received a major price increase for residential utility fees. Needless to say, residents felt they were royally ripped off. Now we live in South Carolina and in the last two years, the identical scenario to the Dayton fiasco was implemented, with the same results. Do you think people in either location are going to listen to valid reasons for reducing their energy consumption now? I don't think so!! And that may at least partially explain why energy consumption continues to rise, at least in areas where the people were hoodwinked like they were in the two cases I just mentioned.— vblevsen- I always thought the ads were a joke. They just didn't pass the smell test.— chris76
Comment removed.- Household energy usage is going up because we have more electric gadgets in our homes and we use them. We have more TV's hooked up to cable, more PC glowing all night, kids play Wii instead of going outside, even your home phone uses more electricity. Look around your home and think what you have that uses electricity that did not even exist 5 or 10 years ago. They try to think of what devices you have gotten rid of (not many).— towman
The experts at Philadelphia's Energy Coordinating Agency answer your energy questions in our regular feature Stay Warm, Stay Green. Send in your question or questions to energy@phillynews.com.
Look for Jenice Armstrong to supply tips on green living as well as occasional columns on the subject of Green. She also blogs at Hey Jen.
Becky Batcha stays tuned for the here-and-now practical side of conservation, alternative energy, organic foods, etc. - stuff you can do at home now. Plus odds and ends.
Laurie Conrad recycles from her ever-growing e-mailbag to pass along the latest travel deals, fashion statements, household strategies, gadgets, cool local events and other nuggets of interest to those who appreciate a clean, green world.
Vance Lehmkuhl looks at topics like eco-conscious eating, public transportation and fuel-efficient driving from his perspective as a vegetarian, a daily SEPTA bus rider and a hybrid driver, as well as noting the occasional wacky trend or product. Contact Vance with your 'green' news.
Ronnie Polaneczky sees the green movement through the eyes of her 12-year-old daughter, who calls her on every scrap of paper or glass bottle that Ronnie neglects to toss into the house recycling bins. Ronnie will blog about new or unexpected ways to go green. She also blogs at So, What Happened Was...
Sandra Shea and the DN editorial board opine on any green-related legislation or policy. And we'll pass along some of the opeds on the subject that people send us.
Jonathan Takiff will be blogging mainly about consumer electronics - those things that we love to use and that suck too much energy. He'll spotlight green-conscious gizmos made in a responsible fashion, both in terms of materials used and the energy it takes to run them.
Signe Wilkinson draws the comic strip Family Tree, which follows the Tree family as they try to live green in the face of nattering neighbors, plastic-wrapped consumer products, and the primal teenage urge to spend vast quantities of money on hair care products of dubious organic quality.
In addition to these updates from our newsroom bloggers, watch for an occasional feature, Dumpster Diver Dispatches, from Philadelphia's original "green" community of artists, the Dumpster Divers. You'll learn about creative ways to reuse and recycle while you reduce, and about the artists who are making little masterpieces from what others throw out.
Sept. 17: A head start on cold season
Oct. 8: Help with fuel bills
Oct. 29: Last-minute ways to winterize
Nov. 19: Budgeting for the big bite
