Soleus Air MS-09 Oscillating Radiant Heater
by Soleus Air
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Soleus Air MS-09 Oscillating Radiant Heater
Customer Review: Winter warmth in a small energy-saving way
Summary: 5 Stars
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.
Customer Review: Best Heater I've Ever Had
Summary: 5 Stars
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!
Customer Review: I love this FREAKING THING!
Summary: 5 Stars
First off, if you want to heat a bedroom, or someplace where you don't want light, this is not the unit to get ... an electric-oil-filled radiator would be better.
But for heating a cold kitchen in the morning or a living room, this one is just incredible. First off, it has that beautiful light that just improves your mood.
Second, it's like a having a tiny little sun in your life, that you can turn on whenever you want.
Third, it's more efficient than regular electric heaters, because it uses light, so it doesn't need to heat the air to heat the people ... the light just mostly moves through the air then gets absorbed on the people and things, which then reradiate. This makes a difference for efficiency, because although air seems easy to heat, it isn't.
Finally, all indoor electric heaters are 100% efficient, since all of the electricity that goes into them eventually comes out as heat for the room. So it's pointless to blow a bunch of money on an electric indoor heater. But this radiant heater IS more efficient than a regular electric heater since it heats the people and objects directly rather than first having to heat the air.
I like the way you can set it to sweep like a fan, because the front of it doesn't get insanely hot, and mostly I love this unit just because it makes me feel good when it's turned on ... it's my own little pet Sun. I think I'm going to name him Elmer.
ADDITION: My original unit stopped working on dual-settings, there was something defective with the selector switch. I returned, they sent us a new one, no problem. BUT, there are apparently some quality-control or design issues that need to be addressed by the manufacturer. But when they work, they're excellent.
Customer Review: WHERE THERE'S LIGHT THERE'S HEAT!
Summary: 5 Stars
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.
Customer Review: Like a Caribbean beach
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a great heater! With radiant heat, it doesn't have that "electric heater" feel or faint smell. Instead, even at low power, it makes me feel like I'm stretched out on a beach in Tobago under the Caribbean sun (minus those UV rays!). The low-power option is a terrific energy-saver, using so little electricity to such great effect that I can simultaneously run another heater in another room without blowing my circuit breakers -- I haven't had to use high power yet. It works quickly, bringing a small room from 62 degrees up past 70 in a minute or two. There's no fan, so it's totally quiet (which means I don't have to turn it off when I'm recording telephone interviews). I also like the ability to set a timer to turn off the heat after a set amount of time, which can be useful if you're in and out of the room a lot. The only negative is that it's on the floor with the controls on the bottom, a long way to stoop to turn it on or off, so I wish it had a remote.