I saw a commercial on TV this afternoon for the Heat Surge fireplace which was also advertised in the newspaper last year. The space aged heater claims to be an energy saver with a stylish design. The outside of the Heat Surge is made of oak or rosewood made by the Amish and housing the heating unit itself. But as with any so called ‘ energy saver’, it always makes one think if it is a scam or not.

So I did a Google I read an article about the units was actually asking for consumer input into what they thought of the units. But it was this one comment that caught my eye:

I worked at an electric company for 25 year answering questions about “new” “miracle” electric heaters. they all say they are the most efficient electric heaters in the world. well they are. that’s because every electric heater in the world converts a kilo-watt hour of electricity into 3413 BTUs. period. can’t do better or worse. a 1500 watt heater is a 1500 watt heater. you can buy them for $12 or wrap a mantel around them, call them a miracle, install cool looking fake flames and charge $400. 1500 watts= 1.5 kilo-watts. 1.5 x 3413= 5119 BTU produced by a 1500 watt heater. all 1500 watt heaters. the cost depends on your local rate of electricity, not a national average. If you pay 10 cents per kwh, then a 1500 watt heater will cost you 15 cents per hour. period.

This seemed to answer the question the best. I thought I would pass this on o my readers since it may just help you save a few bucks in case you see these fireplaces advertised. You can check out the entire story at the link below.

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