markmccourt's Profile

Hello, I work for Conservetec the manufacturer of the envi heater and I’d like to take an opportunity to answer a few of your questions posted here and clear up any issues.

While the purchase cost per wattage (dollars per heating capacity) may be a factor to some in selecting heaters it is one that we have rarely (maybe never?) encountered in the past. When looking for an economical car, a hybrid vehicle may not be the cheapest solution compared to say a high powered SUV but it is the best solution. Both cars are great, but they are purchased for different needs. High wattage, heaters are designed to heat a room quickly, regardless of running costs. Most people have to leave them on medium to high settings because these heaters are fan forced and do not effectively circulate the warm air in a room. The envi heater when mounted to the wall, is designed to draw cold air from the floor and using the patented, “Stack Convection Technology”, then circulates the heated air all over the room, using a minimum of energy.

What we have found, is that with home heating costs soaring, more and more people are becoming concerned at “lifetime costs” rather than upfront installed costs. One of the most important things our customers are looking for in a heating solution is, “What is it going to cost me to heat my home over the long term and how can I save on my heating bills?”

We designed the envi heater to answer that question from our customers. They were asking for a low cost, safe and effective way to slash their heating bills and the envi heater delivers. Our customers can purchase a heater for around $100, install it themselves and start saving on their heating bills. They are so easy to install that someone with “two left hands” (as one reviewer wrote) can mount it to the wall, plug it in and start saving. In addition they save the expense of hiring contractors or expensive furnace and ducting upgrades. In our opinion, using the envi heater to save money on heating bills is the most cost effect solution on the market, both in upfront and in lifetime running costs. Just turn down the thermostat and heat the areas of your home where you want it, when you want it! In addition to the low installed cost of the envi heating system, the lifetime repair and replacement costs are negligible. Other heaters use fans that break down or fall apart after a couple of years so they have to be replaced. Not so with the envi heater. With no moving parts and a durable, crack resistant construction it will provide years of problem free service but if there is a problem we provide a 3 year warranty (3 times the standard) and industry leading customer service.

The second or perhaps even more important factor our customers look for in purchasing any type of heater is “how safe is this product to use around my family?” We have all seen in the news, reports of house fires caused by space heaters and the subsequent warnings by authorities for consumers to be careful when using space heaters. Many floor standing heaters come with tip over safety switches in case they are knocked over by pets or children, but would you risk the life of your family on an internal component that costs a few cents? In our opinion, the only true peace of mind way to use a space heater is to mount it on the wall where there is no chance that it can be knocked over. This is why we designed the envi to only be a wall mounted heater. It can be used no other way! We also eliminated the risk of burns by reducing the surface temperature to a “cool” 90 degrees.

Regarding the issue of heater efficiency, the envi heater was only designed as a 450 watt heater for a couple of reasons. First, because high wattage elements tend to “fry” the air or as you might know it, “dry out the air”. This is because the hot coils in high wattage space heaters and furnaces actually change the humidity of the air. In fact some high wattage radiators are designed for the user to pour water into a pan underneath the heater to help maintain the humidity levels. None of this is an issue with the envi heater, it doesn’t dry out the air and our customers love the soft, “velvet heat” that it provides to a room. While on the subject of healthier heating, the envi heater doesn’t use a fan so it doesn’t kick up dust and allergens and throw them around the room. Secondly, a 450watt heater is all that is needed to heat a typical sized bedroom room (120-140 square feet.). If you use a higher wattage heater you will most certainly use more energy and your heating costs will continue to rise. Using a low wattage heater like the envi is different than a high wattage unit that blasts out lots of heat to give you immediate warmth. The envi heater is designed to be turned on and left on so that it will run continuously or during the night hours when you are sleeping. We call this “tortoise verses hare heating”:) The vast majority of our customers understand the difference make the change to this type of heating practice. We have even had customers call in to complain that their rooms were too warm even on low setting, but in most cases you can expect to reach a comfortable 68-72 degree temperature range. In my own experience, my sons 200 sq foot bedroom was kept toasty warm during our recent 20 degree weather, with no other source of heat in his room, and it only cost about 4 cents per hour to do this!

One final point that another reader commented on above. We manufacture our product in the US because we made the decision a long time ago that profits were not as important as making America strong. And providing jobs for Americans makes us a stronger country. When you walk through our factory and speak to the workers you will see and hear the appreciation from them regarding this point. Most consumers browsing through big box stores, lined with cheaply made, imported heaters usually don’t think this is a big deal. But having a heater made in America is a huge deal for our factory workers who now have a job. We went out on a limb when we designed the envi heater with a goal to put Americans back to work but we are now seeing this pay off. It is true that we could offer a marginally lower cost product; one manufactured overseas but at what real cost? At the cost of more American jobs lost to China and other parts of the world. In this downturned economy and with millions of Americans unemployed, we are sticking to our guns and will continue to make the envi heater in America. Our engineers, designers, sales, customer service, tech support and manufacturing are all based right here in the good ol’ USA.

I hope this has been of some help, if you need to get in touch with our office, please call toll free (800)-807-0107 or email anytime. You can visit our sales site for purchasing at www.eheat.com and take advantage of our 60 day return policy and free shipping. Thank you for your time.

Mark McCourt
Conservetec International, LLC