Electric Appliance Review: Lakewood Space Heater
This style of Lakewood space heater has a white exterior, two grey wheels on the back, a stand near the front of the bottom, and controls on the front, near the top. There are five fins behind the front panel. It heats a type of oil sealed inside it, allowing it to produce some residual heat and be somewhat more efficient. This design appears to be safer than some other space heater types. It does not have a heat-blowing fan; this causes heat to move less quickly but reduces power consumption and noise.
It has two switches which can be turned on or off to set its power consumption at 600, 900, or 1500 (both switches on) watts, each step providing greater heat output. There is also a thermostat-style knob which can be set so that the heater turns itself on and off depending upon the room temperature. While the ability to specifically set the wattage, the oil-based heating technique, and the lack of a fan make it more efficient than some space heater models, the power consumption can become quite expensive if it is used for many hours. For example, at $0.15/kW (total power supply & delivery cost in central Maine), the high-power setting costs about $0.23/hour. If the heater is run on high for twelve hours/day for thirty days, this would add about $81 to your monthly electric bill for producing heat in a single room. Using multiple electric heaters could bring the additional cost to several hundred dollars per month. On the other hand, if it is used three hours/day for a month at the low setting, it would only add about $8 to the electric bill ($12 at medium, $20 at high).
The Lakewood space heater uses a built-in standard 120V AC power cord with two polarized prongs (no third prong), so your electrical outlet must have one hole larger than the other. A warning label on the unit’s side warns against putting furnishings, electric cords, or drapery within three feet of the front of the unit (it also says to keep them away from the sides and rear but doesn’t specify how far), and states that the heater shouldn’t be used without its stand and wheels. During several months of use, the unit has not had any mechanical problems and continues to function as it did when purchased.
Overall, this Lakewood space heater is safe, requires little maintenance, is fairly inexpensive to initially purchase, and is not very difficult to move from room to room. However, like any electric heater, the amount of area it heats for the cost compares poorly with oil or wood, and electricity costs can become very high if you aren’t careful.
The electric heater unit used in this review was purchased at a Wal-Mart store. Lakewood heaters are also available on eBay.com auctions. They generally cost about $30-50 each. Lakewood Engineering, which also makes fans and humidifiers, has a website located at lakewoodeng.com.
