Vornado Vortex Review: A Smart, Energy Efficient Space Heater
As winter rolls around and we start thinking about heating our homes, in a year in which few of us have loads of expendable cash and fuel prices remain volatile, it's a good time to start thinking about low energy heating solutions for your home. One good strategy we've come across is to close up areas of the house that aren't often occupied and heat them - when necessary - with a low energy space heater. Although even low energy space heaters aren't the best option for whole house heating, they can be a good economical choice for infrequent spot heating. They're low cost, don't require ventilation, and installation is as simple as plugging them in.
Our favorite electric space heater is the Vornado Vortex space heater. It's one of the most energy efficient space heaters we've come across, and it's smart. (So smart, in fact, that we even have a - notably alliterative - Vornado Vortex video highlighting its features.)
For starters, the Vornado Vortex heater automatically directs heat toward the remote control. So if you're sitting in a chair on one side of the room, it won't blow heat in the opposite direction - it heats you before it heats up the space around it, or the rest of the room.
Secondly, it's loaded with safety features: it has a tight grill for finger protection, a cabinet that stays cool to the touch, and a non-glowing heating element. And if it accidentally gets knocked over it automatically switches off.
Finally, it's as quiet as a mouse. My first encounter with a Vornado Vortex heater was at the Energy Circle office where it sat quietly in the corner. I felt a mild gust of warm air blowing in my direction and couldn't figure out where it was coming from - for about two minutes I kept looking over at it, sitting silently, unable to figure out the source of that pleasant gust. Eventually I walked over to discover that, in fact, the power was on - I literally couldn't hear it from my seat.
Space conditioning (heating and cooling) is responsible for as much as half of an average North American household's energy consumption. A good way to cut back on those heating bills is to strategically utilize a small, energy efficient space heater like the Vornado Vortex. There's no sense in heating a guest room 24/7 when there are no guests, for example, but it does make sense to run a small low energy heater for a couple hours before they show up.
If it helps prove the point at all, we've still got that Vornado heater running in the Energy Circle office, and I've now got one in my apartment too. It's smart, safe, energy efficient, and comfortable. Relish that.