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πŸ”₯ Winter Heating Report

Duluth Heating Tech Says Most Families Pay To Heat Rooms Nobody Uses β€” Here’s The Under-$140 Wall Heater He Recommends Instead Of An $8,600 Install

Ray has spent more than 20 years fixing furnaces through Minnesota winters. After a customer was quoted $8,600 just to warm the office over her garage, he started telling people something the heating business doesn't love to hear: you don't have to heat the whole house to be warm in the one room you actually use.

CRG
By the Consumer Reviews Guide Team
Home & Energy Β· Updated Β· 6 min read
Ray switching on a Power Heat Pro wall heater in his garage office.

"My job is to keep families warm, not to sell them things they don't need." β€” Ray, heating technician, Duluth, MN. (Dramatization Β· actor portrayal.)

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… 4.8/5 from 3,700+ reviews on the official Power Heat Pro website

You've probably seen the flowerpot heater hack.

Four tea lights, a couple of bricks, an upside-down clay pot and a little fan. It's all over the internet, and it looks clever.

The viral flowerpot candle heater hack.

The viral "flowerpot heater." Fun to build. It barely warms your hands. (Illustration.)

"It's a fun weekend project," Ray says. "It is not how you heat a room in a Minnesota January."

Ray knows what actually heats a room. He has spent two decades crawling through basements and crawl spaces in and around Duluth, fixing furnaces at two in the morning when it's twenty below outside. And one winter, one service call stuck with him more than the rest.

The quote was $8,600.

The customer was a bookkeeper who works from an office above her garage. Every winter that room ran colder than the rest of the house. Her fingers went numb on the keyboard by mid-morning.

Numb fingers at a cold home-office desk.

Working from the coldest room in the house. (Image from the official Power Heat Pro presentation.)

She tried a $39 coil heater. Loud, stuck on the floor, and it couldn't keep up. Then an $89 oil-filled radiator that took an hour to feel like anything. Then a $54 heated blanket for her chair.

Finally she did what most of us do. She turned the house thermostat from 62 up to 74. Her January gas bill came in at $412.

So she called a contractor about a proper wall unit for that one room. The quote, with new wiring: $8,600, plus weeks of waiting.

That's when Ray got the call. He looked at the quote. He looked at the room. Then he told her the thing he'd been thinking for years.

"You're paying to heat the whole house so you can sit in one room."

What 20 Years In Basements Taught Him

Every winter, Ray sees the same pattern. Families crank the thermostat up to 74 and heat empty bedrooms, hallways and guest rooms, all so the one cold room they actually use finally feels warm. Then the January bill shows up.

Ray on a furnace service call. (Dramatization Β· actor portrayal.)

"A furnace heats every room on the same schedule, whether anybody's in it or not. Most people don't need more furnace. They need the heat where they're sitting." β€” Ray

Heating pros have a name for this: zone heating. You keep the main thermostat lower, and you add heat only to the room you're using. Done right, the rest of the house stays comfortable enough, and you stop paying to keep empty rooms at 74.

The question was what to put in that room. Floor heaters get kicked, tipped and covered with laundry. Contractor-installed wall units cost thousands. Ray wanted something in between.

The Test In His Own Garage Office

He tried it first in the coldest room of his own house: the garage office he'd basically given up on every winter.

Ray in a cold garage office, breath visible.BEFORE
Ray relaxed in the same office with the heater running.ABOUT 15 MIN LATER

Ray's garage office. (Dramatization Β· actor portrayal.)

"I didn't need a new furnace out there. I needed the heat on the wall, a few feet from my chair." β€” Ray

Want To See What Ray Hung On The Wall?

It's a slim, 1800-watt ceramic wall heater, and the official website currently lists it at up to 64% off.

How It Actually Works

It's called Power Heat Pro.

Power Heat Pro 1800W ceramic wall heater.

Power Heat Pro: a slim 1800W ceramic heater that hangs on the wall.

Inside are PTC ceramic heating plates, the same kind of self-regulating ceramic element used in many modern space heaters. They warm up as soon as you switch it on, and a quiet fan pushes that warm air out across the room.

PTC ceramic plates and a quiet fan send warm air out into the room. (Illustration.)

Here's all it takes to set up:

  1. Hang it. Screw the included bracket to the wall and set the heater on it. No contractor, no ductwork.
  2. Plug it in to a standard household outlet.
  3. Pick a mode with the MODE button or the remote: Fan, Low Heat or High Heat.
  4. Set your temperature with the TEMP button. The thermostat holds the room near your setting.
  5. Set the timer in 1-hour steps, so it switches itself off after you fall asleep.

Hanging it takes a few minutes with the included bracket. (Official product video.)

To be clear, it isn't a furnace replacement, and Ray is the first to say so. It's made to heat one room: a bedroom, a home office, a basement, a garage workshop, a mudroom. You keep the furnace lower and let the wall heater handle the room you're in.

Power1800W
Heating elementPTC ceramic
ModesFan Β· Low Heat Β· High Heat
ControlsTouch panel + remote control
Timer1-hour steps, auto shut-off
MountingWall bracket included
Power sourceStandard household outlet

As with any space heater, follow the manual: keep curtains, bedding and furniture clear of the airflow, plug it straight into the wall, and switch it off when you leave the room.

"Turn the furnace down, and heat the room, not the house." β€” Ray

Why It's Catching On

On the official website, Power Heat Pro holds a 4.8-star average from more than 3,700 reviews. The brand also surveyed its customers:

96%felt warm within 15 minutes
91%said it heats faster than their old heater
98%would recommend it

Source: customer survey published on the official Power Heat Pro website.

Here's what people point to most:

Wall heater in a bedroom.
Bedroom
Wall heater in a home office.
Home office
Wall heater in a garage workshop.
Garage workshop
Wall heater in an entryway mudroom.
Mudroom

Images from the official Power Heat Pro presentation.

More Than One Cold Room?

Most houses have more than one: a bedroom at the end of the hall, a basement, a workshop. The official site prices multi-unit packages lower per heater:

PackagePrice eachDiscount
1 heater$136.0655% off
2 heaters$129.2657% off
3 heaters BEST SELLER$122.4560% off
4 heaters$115.6562% off
5 heaters$108.8564% off

Why Some People In The Business Weren't Thrilled

When Ray started recommending a plug-in wall heater to his customers, not everyone was happy about it.

A new furnace or a ductless wall unit can mean thousands of dollars per job. A heater that plugs into the wall doesn't.

A few people in the business told him, more or less, that he was costing them money.

Ray showing customers the heater in their living room. (Dramatization Β· actor portrayal.)

"My job is to keep families warm, not to sell them things they don't need." β€” Ray

To be fair, Ray is the first to say that if your furnace is broken or unsafe, you need a licensed pro, not a space heater. But if the house is fine and one room is always cold, a wall heater may be all you need.

What Customers Are Saying

These reviews are quoted from the official Power Heat Pro website:

Debbie W.
Debbie W.
Michigan Β· Review on official site
β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…
"Our sunroom is usable in January now"
Our sunroom sat closed every winter. With Power Heat Pro on the wall, it's warm in 20 minutes. We eat breakfast out there again.
Carla M.
Carla M.
Pennsylvania Β· Review on official site
β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…
"My son's room is finally warm at bedtime"
His room is at the end of the hall and always ran cold. I set Low Heat and a 2-hour timer when he goes to bed. It shuts off on its own and he sleeps through the night.
Gary P.
Gary P.
Wisconsin Β· Review on official site
β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…
"Stopped cranking the furnace for one room"
We were heating the whole house so my wife's craft room felt normal. Now the furnace stays at 67 and Power Heat Pro handles that room. Our next bill was noticeably lower.
RP
Rachel P.
Review on official site
β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…
The furnace never reached our back bedroom. Now I leave it turned down and switch this on from bed with the remote.
MW
Marcus W.
Review on official site
β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…
We keep the thermostat lower now and run this in the family room at night. Our winter bill came in under last year's, and nobody's complaining about the cold.
KT
Karen T.
Review on official site
β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…
With a toddler and a dog, a floor heater was never an option. Having this up on the wall means the playroom stays warm and I'm not hovering over it.

Individual results vary with room size, insulation, outdoor temperature and energy prices.

What It Costs

For comparison, here's what the usual ways of fixing one cold room cost:

OptionCostSetupThe catch
Contractor wall unit with outdoor box$8,600+Contractor, new wiringWeeks of waiting
Cranking the furnace all winter$120+ / monthNoneHot house, still a cold room
Oil-filled radiator$80 – $100Sits on the floorAbout an hour to warm up
Coil space heater$30 – $50Sits on the floorLoud, in the way
Power Heat Pro ⭐$136.06Wall bracket + standard outletHeats one room, not the whole house

Typical cost ranges as presented on the official Power Heat Pro website.

The official site lists a single Power Heat Pro at $136.06, 55% off its listed $302.36 price, and up to 64% off per heater when you order a multi-unit package.

Run the numbers the way Ray's customer did. The contractor quoted $8,600 for a wall unit. A Power Heat Pro is $136.06. With her furnace back down at 62 and the heater warming her office, she says her next gas bill came in at $226 instead of $412. Your results will depend on your home, your climate and your energy prices.

What's Included With Every Power Heat Pro:

Before You Order

Order from the official website. There are plenty of look-alike wall heaters online. The official site is where the package prices above and the 30-day money-back guarantee apply.

Check the price today. The official site says its sale prices can change at any time. We can't tell you when that will happen, so if one room in your house is cold right now, it's worth checking before the next cold snap.

Snowstorm outside, warm reading chair inside.

Snow outside, warm inside. (Illustration.)

30-DAY
MONEY
BACK

30-Day Money-Back Guarantee

From the official site: if it isn't right for you, "just return the package within 30 days for a refund, no questions asked!"

β€” The Consumer Reviews Guide Team

P.S. If one room in your house is always cold, Ray's advice is simple: don't heat the whole house to fix it. Turn the thermostat down, put the heat on the wall where you sit, and keep the 30-day money-back guarantee as your safety net.