No matter where you live in Canada, we’ve all reached the point in the fall season when heating has become an issue. While some will heat their home with natural gas furnaces and others will use electric baseboard heaters, the one thing we all have in common is that there are always, always cold spots in our homes. Thankfully, there’s a really simple way to heat up even the iciest spots in our houses: the UFO UK-15 Electric Infrared Heater.
What is infrared heating?
Imagine you’re standing outside in the sunshine, but a cloud moves over and blocks the light. You get chilly, because the sun was warming your skin and that direct warmth disappeared. That’s how infrared heating works. It emits a cozy red glow that heats you directly. When you turn that red glow off, you’re cold again.
Unlike space heaters that blow hot air, the UFO UK-15 Electric Infrared Heater won’t waste any of that wonderful warmth on the area surrounding you. It will just heat you and whomever is sitting with you.
Appearance and features of the UFO UK-15 Electric Infrared Heater
- 1500 watt electric infrared heater
- 110 volt unit with filament life of over 12,000 Hours (filament is replaceable)
- 8 foot electrical cord
- Energy efficient heat because nearly all of the energy is converted to heat
- Low operating costs
- Remote control allows you to turn it on and off, adjust the heat level, and create custom settings for your space
- Infrared heat won’t dry the air or consume oxygen
- Odourless heat, so you won’t smell anything burning when you’re warming up
- Heats up approximately 190 square feet inside and approximately 129 square feet outside
- You can use it indoors or outdoors and it is weather proof
Installing the UFO UK-15 Electric Infrared Heater
I had to get my son to help me install the UFO, so for install I recommend you have two people. For safety, you need someone to hold it up on the wall while the other person attaches the brackets.
The wall mount brackets attach to your wall, and there is included hardware to place it. Once you’ve mounted your wall brackets, you attach the heater via bolts. The wall brackets are adjustable, so if you attach it one way and you don’t find you’re getting heat pointed at you, you can reposition it.
This unit must be used up on the wall or ceiling. You can’t just place it on a desk or use it as a baseboard heater. The elements are exposed with only a wire grid covering it, so you don’t want little fingers or anything else coming in contact with it.
Using the UFO UK-15 Electric Infrared Heater
The UFO UK-15 provides almost instant heat
The UFO UK-15 runs quietly and doesn’t smell
UFO UK-15 Electric Infrared Heater is easy to use
Thanks to the included remote control you can turn your heat on from across the room or turn it off, all without ever touching the device. You can set a schedule so it turns on and off at the same time every day, or use the ‘Everyday’ setting and it will automatically turn on with your favourite temperature setting.
To turn the heat up and down you just tap the arrows. I really like that you don’t have to ever touch the device to turn it off and on, especially considering I wouldn’t want to have this within reach of kids. All you have to do is grab your remote and you’re warm.
You can use this unit outdoors too
I didn’t test the UFO UK-15 outdoors, but you can place it in a covered area outside too.
Overall thoughts on the UFO UK-15 Electric Infrared Heater
This heater works very well for warming you up in a hurry. I would walk by it when I went to turn my coffee maker on in the morning, tap to turn it on, and by the time I got to my desk it was all cozy and warm.
There are a few things you’ll want to keep in mind when using the this electric infrared heater.
Cost of heating
I haven’t seen a heating bill for using it yet, but according to some research I did online, electric infrared heaters are lower in cost to operate. Because they covert 94% of energy used into heat, they warm you up faster and more efficiently than a standard space heater. Just keep in mind that any space heater will run more expensively than your natural gas furnace and whole home electric heat.
Power surges
This heater is 1500 watts, so plugging it in and using it may cause your power to surge. It happened to me, but we live on a farm so we have our own electricity line brought in from the road. I noticed my lights were dimming slightly when I turned it on, and at H3 levels they would dim quite a bit. The dimming didn’t last though, and by the time the unit was running at full power, there was no sound or dimming at all.
I’d advise you to choose an outlet to plug into that doesn’t share power with another outlet. Ideally that outlet should be on its own breaker, and you probably won’t see any power surges.
Being cold really stops me from being productive, but rather than dreading getting out of bed in the morning to sit at an icy desk, this heater has helped me look forward to chilly mornings. I turn on the heater, brew up a cup of coffee, and work in nice pod of warmth. I love it.
You can find the UFO UK-15 Electric Infrared Heater on Best Buy right now. Whether you use it outside or inside, you’re guaranteed to be warm this winter.
