Efficient Heater For A Great Price

When my son was an infant, I purchased my first DeLonghi oil filled radiator heater. That heater still works great fourteen years later. With propane prices at $3.89 a gallon here in Vermont, my husband and I decided to purchase two more DeLonghi radiator heaters for the other bedrooms. The DeLonghi TRH0715 Oil Filled Radiator Heaters have been amazing!

This winter, we made the decision to cut the furnace thermostat to 58 degrees day and night. This is enough to keep pipes from freezing, but low enough that the furnace rarely runs. Instead, we have heaters in our living room, upstairs two bedrooms, and my son's bedroom. Our first fear was that our electricity bill would skyrocket. The good news has been that between November and December, our electricity bill running the three oil filled radiator heaters has only gone up by $12. Not bad considering the average temperature in early December rarely went over 20F. While we do keep the heaters turned off in the day, the living room heater has run from 6am to 10pm consistently while I work from home.

The DeLonghi TRH0715 is a sealed oil radiator heater with three power settings - 600 watts, 900 watts, or both switches can be flipped for a maximum 1,500 watts. I've never tried my heaters at the two higher settings, and I've never felt as though I need to. I keep all three radiator heaters, including the original one, on the 600 watt setting with the temperature gauge turned half way up. This has been keeping our rooms at 64F.

Our house is 1,100 square feet total. The open living room, kitchen, and eat-in dining room area are a total of 300 square feet, so the heater has no problem with that area. My son doesn't turn his heater on for long. His bedroom is the smallest at 100 square feet, and after an hour of operating on this setting for one hour with his bedroom door closed, the room reaches 68F.

Upstairs the two bedrooms total 450 square feet. The one heater is situated in the hallway between the two rooms and it keeps them at 62. I sleep better in a cooler room, so the cooler rooms hasn't bothered us. I am impressed with the fact that the three units have been keeping the house consistently above 60 without costing a fortune in electricity.

The units have heating elements that heat the oil within the sealed radiator. As the oil heats up to temperature, the unit clicks off and cycles as needed which helps keep electricity usage to a minimum. Be warned that the units do get hot to the touch. They do not get to the point where carpeting heats up, but if you touch the units for an extended period of time, you can get a minor burn. Those with small children should keep the unit away from where children are playing just as a precaution.

There are few downfalls to the models we own. Each weighs about 25 pounds and are on wheels. The wheels do not always spin freely so they can be cumbersome to move if you really lack body strength. I don't have a lot of difficulty with this, but my elderly father does with his model, so this may be a consideration for those who are older.

If my two new units last as long as my older model, I know that I will never stray from Delonghi heaters. The oil never leaks, does not need refilling, and no odors come from the unit at any point. I'm totally satisfied with all three heaters!