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I ordered this in hopes of upgrading from my ancient DeLonghi oil-filled radiator, but the Bionaire is not up to the job. It puts out much less heat than any of my other four whole room space heaters (two DeLonghi oil-filled radiators, one Lakewood oil-filled baseboard heater, and one Honeywell oscillating ceramic heater). I'm returning the Bionaire tomorrow after a week of ownership.
There is one thing I like about this heater: it has two lights, one to indicate that it's plugged in and the other to indicate that it's turned on. I wish more heaters had both lights.
However I have far more gripes than praise for this heater. For one thing, as of this writing, Bionaire fails to mention two very important facts on its website and in its description: unlike some other Bionaire heaters with five year warranties, this one only has a one year warranty and it's only a 1000 watt heater. I confirmed with my Kill-A-Watt meter that the low setting is 900 watts and the high setting is 1000 watts. The main difference between the high and low settings is a weak but very noisy fan that comes on automatically on high.
Another complaint: extremely flimsy construction. This is the only heater I've owned including my tiny 200 watt Lasko that feels tinny and like it could fall apart if I wasn't careful in handling it. Adding to the sensation of shoddiness in mine was a loose interior part that banged around whenever I moved the heater.
One more complaint is the thermostat knob. There are no numbers. I'm not one of those who expects room temperature readings on a space heater, but it is helpful as a reference to have numbers to make it easier to remember what setting you want to use.
All in all this was a disappointment. I hoped I'd be moving into the next generation of heaters beyond oil-filled radiators, but instead I'm returning the Bionaire and returning to the old oil-filled radiators with a new appreciation for their sturdy reliability. I've owned one of my DeLonghi's for 23 years.
I like the idea of this heater's design. If it were a 1500 watt heater with a five year warranty, I'd be much more enthusiastic about it. But considering how flimsy it feels and the loose part inside it, one has to wonder why Bionaire warranties some other micathermic heaters for five years but this one for only one year.
Some reviewers complain about a smell, but this shouldn't be a problem if you let it burn off before you use it indoors. This is standard for any micathermic or oil-filled radiator heater. I left my Bionaire outside for about three hours on high, and even after bringing it indoors it took another hour or so for the smell to entirely go away, but after that there were no more odors at all, even operating it in a small 8'x9' room.
General information about buying electric space heaters:
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I've owned and used electric space heaters since 1988, mostly DeLonghi oil filled radiators. When I recently began looking for a heater that would warm up a room faster, I was frustrated at the lack of hard, objective, facts about electric space heaters. Even the manufacturer websites often fail to mention or makes it hard to learn the most basic information you need to know, such as wattage ratings and warranty lengths. Not even Consumer Reports has enough information to really inform a consumer. Therefore it's up to us as consumers to share what we know. The rest of this review shares some of what I've learned.
In case you're wondering what heater I decided on to replace my DeLonghi, I didn't, at least not yet. I tried a Vornado PVH and a Bionaire BH1331-U, but I ended up returning both heaters. I'm sticking with my oil-filled heaters for now.
Basic electric space heater facts:
1. All electric space heaters are equally efficient. All heaters rated at 1500 watts output the same amount of heat, but may do it very differently. You have to choose the one that heats the way you need it.
2. Power consumption is determined by two things: the power setting you're using and how long the heater is actually on. Turning up the thermostat setting doesn't increase the heat or power consumption; it just lengthens the time that your heater will be running.
3. To reduce power consumption, use the lowest power setting on your heater that produces the heat you need.
4. An electric space heater will save you money only if you turn your central heating down or off and use space heaters to heat only the rooms where you need heat.
5. The only kind of electric space heater that's likely to provide adequate heat in a large or draft space is a radiant heater (not to be confused with a radiator heater, which is very different), but radiant heaters pose a fire hazard.
Don't take manufacturer wattage claims too seriously. When I used my Kill-A-Watt meter on six space heaters, I found variations of up to 200 watts between the claimed and actual wattage for each space heater. In most cases the actual watts were less than the claimed watts, but one of my DeLonghi's 1500 watt heaters turned out actually to be a 1600 watt heater.
Two crucial steps in finding the electric space heater that's right for you:
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1. Learn which heater is right for your needs. A huge percentage of complaints by reviewers about space heaters are due to reviewers buying the wrong type of heater for their needs. Your first step should be to decide between the basic types: Ceramic heaters with a fan, oil-filled radiator, micathermic, and radiant. First learn the conditions in which each one works best and works best and then select the type that will work best for your needs. There is no one single "best" heater for all situations. Each one has conditions in which it works well and conditions in which it's terrible.
2. Look at the warranties. Warranties on space heaters range from one year to five years. Delonghi and Soleus heaters that I've checked have one year warranties. Other companies, such as Bionaire, Honeywell, Lasko, and Vornado offer three year and five year warranties on many but not all of their models. If a company offers only a one year warranty on some models but a five year warranty on others (such as Bionaire), it raises question about the durability of the heater with the shorter warranty. However a long warranty is only as good as the company offering it. Read reviews to learn what experiences people have when their heaters die while still under warranty.
In most cases, you'll have to download the manual from the manufacturer's website to get the length of the warranty. It's a nuisance, but it's worth taking the time to do.
Don't let anyone tell you that any particular type of heater is "the best". The best type is the one that best suits YOUR needs. The best heater for me might be the worst heater for you. Some heaters heat up a cold room faster, some keep a room at a steady temperature, and some will work better in a large space.
Some questions you need to ask yourself before deciding which type of heater to buyWill it be keeping a room at a steady temperature? (oil-filled radiator or micathermics heaters might be best)
Will it be heating up a cold room? (a heater with a fan or a radiant heater might be best)
Are there children or pets who might be injured by touching a hot surface? (oil-filled radiator and radiant heater might be a problem)
Do you want to heat just a particular spot rather than the whole room? (radiant heaters might be best
Are you concerned about fire risks? (oil-filled radiator or micathermic heaters might be best, though no space heater is completely safe)
Oil-filled radiators:
These are my favorite heaters. These are the heaters that look like old-fashioned steam radiators. The oil retains its warmth after the thermostat cycles off, which is important if you want to keep a room at a steady temperature. The downside is that the oil takes longer to heat initially, which is why these heaters take so long to warm up.
I have two DeLonghi oil-filled radiators; I've been using one of them for 23 years, and the other is about eight years old. I love the heat they provide. It's steady, warm, with no noise and no drying out of the air like with some other types of heaters. They are ideal for maintaining a steady temperature in an enclosed room.
Oil filled heaters have a huge drawback, however: they are terrible at heating up a cold room. It can take an oil-filled heater hours longer to heat up a cold room than other types of heaters.
The US Department of Energy recommends oil-filled heaters as the most efficient, because the fins generate warmth even when the heater's thermostat cycles off. However this efficiency is only when the heater is continually on, keeping a room at a constant temperature. If you turn the heater on and off frequently, you'll lose most of the efficiency that's inherent in these heaters.
If you have children or pets, look into one of the shielded radiator heaters. I prefer the unshielded ones because they radiate more heat laterally, but the surface can get very hot and be a hazard if touched. DeLonghi claims that their shielded radiator heaters circulate heated air more quickly. Both of mine are unshielded, so I have no way of confirming that. My concern about the shielded radiators is that they would direct more hot air up rather than to the side, where I need it.
If your electric rates are different for different times of the day, you can use this to your advantage in setting your radiator heater toswitch on and warm the room from cold when rates are low, then let it provide steady heat when rates are higher.
A word of warning about oil-filled radiators: if one is poorly made or damaged, it can leak oil and permanently damage rugs and floors or even start a fire. Only buy from a reputable manufacturer and don't accept one that has any visible damage.
Ceramic fan heaters:
These are great at heating a room quickly, however many people including myself don't like the heat they blow. I don't mind it in my Vornado Personal Heater (375/700watt), which is located under my desk, but I thoroughly dislike it in the old Honeywell ceramic oscillating heater that came with my house. I much prefer the warmth that comes from an oil-filled radiator. Ceramic heaters can be most effective at quickly warming up a cold room.
Radiant heaters
Radiant heaters (don't confuse them with radiator heaters!) work by heating whatever they are pointed at rather than heating the air in the room. If you have a large, drafty space, a radiant heater might be your best choice, because it doesn't heat the air, only the objects and people it's directed at.
Micathermic heaters
Micathermic heaters work similarly to oil-filled radiators, except that instead of heavy metal fins filled with hot oil, micathermic heaters have thin sheets of mica that heat up. I've only had experience with one micathermic, a Bionaire BH1331-U, and found that it's exterior surface remained very cool except for a few very warm spots on top. There would be less risk of young children being burned by touching a micathermic heater than an oil-filled radiator. Micathermic heaters are slower heating than ceramic fan heaters, but are faster then oil-filled radiators..
Baseboard heaters
I have a Lakewood oil-filled baseboard heater I bought five years ago that has many of the advantages of a micathermic heater. It heats faster than an oil-filled radiator but has no hot surfaces and low fire risk. My Lakewood does an excellent job of heating my 12x15 bedroom.
However I have not researched baseboard heaters and only have experience with this Lakewood, so I don't know whether others are as good as this one. I was impressed that when I measured the actual wattages of my various space heaters, the Lakewood's actual wattages came closest to its claimed wattages of all the other heaters I tested. Lakewood unfortunately went out of business in 2009 and had a major problem with oil leaking from its heaters a few years earlier. Despite this, it's in many ways my best heater and has the lowest cost of operation.
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I recently bought this at a warehouse store and just love it. I've had at least 4 heater fans and for some reason, I usually get more fan than heater! I hate the cold air that blows around with most heater fans, giving me a sore throat in the morning. However, this Bionaire heater is so much better. On low, it give silent heat with no breeze. If you like the fan thing, you can turn it to high and it will blow the air around. I find high to be useful for getting the room warm, but once it is, I just turn it back to low. The only difference between high and low is the fan. The temp is adjustable with another dial.
The design is very nice-modern and compact. Lightweight. Much better than oil-filled heaters. Recently returned one of those last weekend.
My only complaint is that sometimes in the morning it doesn't heat as well as it did all night. I'm not sure if it has something to do with the thermostat, but that would probably make the most sense. Since the outside temperature is warmer, the heater doesn't have to be as hot.
I'm so glad to have this heater. No more sore throat, stuffy nose or headache.
Buy Bionaire BH1519-UM Micathermic Flat Panel Heater Now
Our son-in-law purchased one of these and we saw how well it worked in their home. It heats an area of about 10x12 and has some safety guards that we were looking for. The surface of the unit isn't hot when it is on, it automatically shuts off if it were to tip over and it automatically shuts off if it were to get too hot. Our home is heated with oil and we were looking for something that would take the place of heating a room as well as keep the oil heating system thermostat from turning the furnace on and using any more oil that is absolutely necessary. We have the unit in between our living room and dining room next to the heating thermostat for the house to take the chill off of that area of the house. We run the unit all the time and have been pleased with it's service. Our electricity bill has been about thirty to forty dollars more a month compared to hundreds of dollars a month for the use of oil. I will say, it draws a lot of electricity and has tripped our breakers many times. We have to be very careful what else were are running at the same time as the heating unit. We also have a rental apartment and we bought one to use in there as well. We have other individual electrical heating units we have for where ever we might be in our home at the time.
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The Bionaire BH1551-U is a pretty good heater & I got pretty much what I expected out of it. I bought mine used from an Amazon seller and the first one I got didn't work. The seller immediately shipped me a replacement, which was good service, but it still makes me think that these probably aren't too reliable. I took a star off for that and for the fact that the fan is much louder than I expected it to be.
As far as doing what it says, it will certainly heat a closed, medium-sized room very well & the fan does a good job getting the heat going fairly quickly. It looks pretty good (much better than an oil-filled radiator) and it stays fairly cool to the touch, so it's good if you have little kids or pets that you would worry about. You aren't going to feel a lot of direct heat from it, but that's not what this kind of heater is for. Don't expect to use it in a large-open space. It's room heater and it provides slow, even heat and at that it does a good job.
If I had paid $100 for it, or even the $65 that it is listed as "New" I would have been a little disappointed, but for the $40 that I put into it, I'm pretty happy, even though it took 2 tries to get one that worked.
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As I was just about to put the Bionaire BH1551 into my shopping cart, another local warehouse customer was putting one into their shopping cart. So when I asked why they were getting one, I found out that they were coming back to pick up their second unit.
The BH1551 is performing well and if there was a need for another unit I would buy this again.
