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[winamac1]

On 1/9/2014 depglass said:

Unless you have electric heat, why would your bill go down? They say a quarter an hour is what it costs to run these things. So run one for four hours a nite and your bill will go up $30.00 a month.

I ran mine no more than 3 hours a day on average, and my duraflame made my bill go up about $30 a month. It also didn't give off much heat at all. The unit is adorable, but imo..not practical.

[Ms X]

I love my Duraflame. It makes my electric bill go up when I use it, but the gas bill goes down more, so I save money. When I use it, I only have to heat the room I'm in instead of the entire top floor of the house. This is the second year I've had it, and it's like new. I bought a cheap space heater at a discount store years ago that didn't last until the end of the season.

[ChillyTulip]

On 1/9/2014 depglass said:

Unless you have electric heat, why would your bill go down? They say a quarter an hour is what it costs to run these things. So run one for four hours a nite and your bill will go up $30.00 a month.

I'm glad you posted this because I thought the exact same thing. Why would the bill go down?

[Kcubed]

On 1/12/2014 ChillyTulip said:

On 1/9/2014 depglass said:

Unless you have electric heat, why would your bill go down? They say a quarter an hour is what it costs to run these things. So run one for four hours a nite and your bill will go up $30.00 a month.

I'm glad you posted this because I thought the exact same thing. Why would the bill go down?

Even if you have gas heat, doesn't electricity run the heater? We have a heat pump on the top floor and gas heat that heats our first floor and the basement. When the electricity is off, the heat does not run. If you turn your heat way down and only run the heater in the room that you are in, the .25 per hour should be less than your heater running. It should save money shouldn't it? I'll bet the people whose bill goes up are the people who run the little heaters without adjusting their main heat.

I know our Duraflame makes our bill go up because we have one in the basement and run it every night because it is always very cold down there without it. Our regular heat never makes it warm enough. We run it and do not adjust our heat for the rest of the house.

[RedTop]

I don't own a Duraflame heater, but after seeing them advertised repeatedly on QVC, I looked one over to see what the hype was all about. After looking at the heater, and reading the booklet with it, I came to the conclusion that it was all sales hype to buy a cute heater in your choice of colors. I read nothing at all in the booklet that convinced me the heater would save money on heating expenses.

Both my brother and my mother heat their homes with wood and coal, so they are used to a hot, dry heat. Brother bought 2 of the Amish infrared heaters that were introduced several years ago, and lets our Mother use one in her living room. They both love the heaters, think they perform as advertised, and are cost efficient. With wood and coal, the fire usually dies down by around 4 a.m., so the house begins to cool off, and the inside temperature begins to drop. When Mom gets up in the morning, her living room temperature is 72, and her electric bill was only $5.00 more; brother's electric bill was $8.00 more, due to the heater being used as the sole heat source in one of the older, and unremodeled rooms in his house. While the cost of these infrared heaters are much more than a Duraflame, they do seem to be a wise investment for safe, supplemental heat. Because of Mom and brothers experience, another SIL bought a knock-off of these infrared heaters at a bargain outlet. After one month, she found herself taking that heater back for a refund, because their electric bill went up $20.00, and did not provide the heat expected.

If I were in the market for a supplemental heat source, I would choose one of the Amish infrared heaters and spend $350 to get something that works, and performs as advertised.

[jc1457]

It's colder in Dec and January than October and November. Wouldn't there be an increase in your heating costs because of this? I'm not sure that comparing your October or November bill to December or January's bill would be accurate.

I think the comparison you should be making is the usage of gas and electric from Dec - Jan this year to last year's usage. Rates can change so you should look at usage. On our bill it shows the usage and then rate so this would be easy to track.

Hopefully I'm making sense!

[Annabellethecat66]

I just a few minutes almost bought that Duraflame heater that Dan was on advertising. That is the one I have sitting in my living room. I don't use it because I don't need to.

Jack the cat worships the radiant heater here in the TV room. That thing gets hot!!

I would use it if I sat in the living room though. It is cute and makes a lot of heat. I have an all electric house. The house is big (3,000 sq ft) with a 2 car garage. My electric bills seem reasonable to me.

I almost sent to my best friend's parents who live in a house that's over 100 years old with no heat upstairs that same Duraflame heater.

Then I thought I'd better ask my friend if the electricity in the house could handle the heater. I have found from a friend who worked for the electric company that old wiring cannot always handle some heaters.

I will have to do some research before I send this to them. I love to surprise people by doing things like that if I know they could use it.

[DRalene11]

On 1/12/2014 jc1457 said:

It's colder in Dec and January than October and November. Wouldn't there be an increase in your heating costs because of this? I'm not sure that comparing your October or November bill to December or January's bill would be accurate.

I think the comparison you should be making is the usage of gas and electric from Dec - Jan this year to last year's usage. Rates can change so you should look at usage. On our bill it shows the usage and then rate so this would be easy to track.

Hopefully I'm making sense!

@jc1457 Exactly! You're making perfect sense! I have an example. I live in a large one bedroom apartment. I do have someone living below and above me. Last year I didn't have these heaters and my highest electric bill was $125. This winter I have two different Duraflame heaters. I use one in the living room and one in the bedroom. I just received my electric bill for December, it's $85. My whole family has Duraflame heaters and they report a decrease in their electric bill. We also love how they look.

[bells4me]

I think it depends on where you live, and your source of heat. If you have to use oil it probably is cheaper. I have 2 Duraflame's & quit using the heat feature after the first month. It's much cheaper to use my forced-air natural gas heater. I was back down to $45 this month & that includes my stove & hot water heater. I use a radiator oil heater for my dogs & parrot in their small room at night, use my electric blanket & turn the heat off. My electric bill was only up $3 this month. We have had temps in the teens for the entire month. January will be my highest month, February second. Long story short, I only use the flame feature. I also got mine much cheaper at Walmart & Kmart. Sorry, think they will be a décor item.

[bells4me]

On 1/12/2014 ChillyTulip said:

On 1/9/2014 depglass said:

Unless you have electric heat, why would your bill go down? They say a quarter an hour is what it costs to run these things. So run one for four hours a nite and your bill will go up $30.00 a month.

I'm glad you posted this because I thought the exact same thing. Why would the bill go down?

Well, because that's what they say to sell the product. I have natural gas heat & it takes electricity to run the furnace.