Envi envy, a new convection wall heater

I'm a happy user of the Econo-heat, a wall-mounted convection heater that silently keeps the chill of a cold room. New for this winter is the Envi heater, which appears to be based on the old Econo-heat model, which is still available, but addresses several concerns.

As you can read in Convection Wall Heater, the Econo-heat seems to eventually, inevitably, crack. This doesn't seem to impact the way it works--one of mine is cracked with no ill-effect--but it is an aesthetic problem and causes anxiety for some customers. The new Envi seems to address this by using a new mounting system, which is thought to be the cause of the previous cracking. But it also encases the heating panel so that if cracks develop, you'll be none the wiser. Clever. The new case is also more stylish and adds status lights and other nice touches. Learn more at the Envi website.

Comments

[shana]

HI,
I just bought an Envi and got it in the mail an hour ago. I am really excited to use it. I was planning on using it in the bathroom but it is much larger than I expected. So I might use it in the living room. Some comments...the info on the website is different than the brochure. The website claims that the Envi is perfect for the bathroom, the instruction pamphlet says it is not intended for use in bathrooms. The website says extremely safe for children and the elderly. The brochure says extreme caution is to be used near children or the disabled. Website says it has a safe surface temperature of 90 degrees. Brochure say to avoid bruns, do not let bare skin touch hot surfaces. Website says heater can be left on indefinitely, brochure says always unplug heater when not in use. So its a little confusing about how "safe" it is and where it can be used. I'll just have to plug it in and find out. By the way eheat.com has offered great customer service to me and I highly recommend them.

[CW]

I just reviewed the web site (Nov 1 2010) and the product manual and found the same information that the other person mentioned. It sounds like a great product, but the information on the web site does not match what is stated in the manual.
- continuous plug-ing
- danger of burning from touching the surface
- ability to use the product in a bathroom

[James and Beverly Molitor]

We got our envi wall mount and are very disatified with it. We have heat on in the house but our bedroom has always been cooler than we like. We thought this heater would be the answer , but you can't tell its even on. We can't get the bedroom above 63 degrees. We are very, very diapointed. If we are doing something wrong please let us know. Or is this just some kind of good sounding ploy to get people to buy this product.

[Liz lawhun]

Why am I unable to mount this darn thing? The third screw looks like you'd need a screwdriver with a magical 90 degree angle to it. What am I doing wrong???

[Gene]

I bought two Envi wall mounted heaters last Spring just as the weather was warming up, so I haven't used them very much until recently. I live in San Francisco and thought these wall heaters would be perfect for this climate because there isn't any severe winter weather. The average temperature for November was 54 F. These heaters put out a weak amount of heat and don't come close to actually heating a room even in rather mild conditions. Feeling really disappointed, I did some research. Apparently, the heaters perform best when left on 24/7 in order to slowly raise the heat in the room. Well, . . . I did that. Now, I just received my first monthly utility bill having left the heaters on 24/7. OMG, my electric bill was off the charts! It was more than double the same month the previous year for electricity. The only thing that's different from last year is these heaters being left on. I can't imagine what else could have caused such a spike in the electric usage. Could two 450 watt heaters running 24/7 be the culprits???? Needless to say, these heaters are turned off not only as being ineffective but because, I suspicion, it costs a lot to leave them on all the time. Very, very disappointed.

[Surrendertome]

I just installed my envi in my daughters back bedroom.it does have a smell,the instructions are different on the site vs manual , and I said the almost exact same thing the last commenter did.about needing a magical 90 degree tool lol it's taking the chill out of her room though and it's around 9 degrees out.room has no heat when the door is closed and I feel less worried about the space heater causing problems,so I'm pretty darn pleased with the thing thus far.