Electric Blankets To Buy !EXCLUSIVE!
With its herringbone detailing, this electric throw will look the part whether it's draped over you or your sofa. We found it was a great size to snuggle under, providing ample coverage, while its thick, velvety finish was soft against skin.
electric blankets to buy
Combine chilly temperatures with a drafty house, and you could end up with high utility bills. But using electric bedding to heat your bed costs just pennies a night. We think most people will be happiest with a heated mattress pad, which traps heat a bit better. The Sunbeam Zoned Heated Mattress Pad allows you to adjust the heat of three different areas along the pad (six if you get the queen or king size), and it also adds plush comfort to your bed, with less noticeable wiring than other models. If heated mattress pads are sold out, or you want the ease of a blanket, we recommend the Sunbeam Velvet Plush Heated Blanket.
This process led us to seven mattress pads and eight electric blankets to test. In 2022, we tested one additional mattress pad, our current pick, since our previous mattress pad pick was experiencing prolonged stock issues.
All of the electric blankets we tried had problems, ranging from unpleasant-feeling fabric to particularly noticeable wires. In our test group, the Sunbeam Velvet Plush Heated Blanket was the best, since its overall combination of softness, performance, controls, and safety features helped it edge out the competition.
In our tests, the Velvet Plush got hot and toasty within 20 minutes, similar to the other blankets we tried. The version we received for testing had a manually adjustable dial with 10 heat settings (and no preheat option). The type of controller may vary depending on where you order the blanket.
We think the wires in this blanket might shift more over time than those in other blankets (like the Biddeford blankets we tried). The channels sewn into the Sunbeam design are wider, which can allow the wires to shift from side to side, possibly producing hot and cold spots.
Heated bedding is low on the list of common causes of household fires, said John Drengenberg, the consumer safety director at UL. According to a 2019 home electrical fires report from the National Fire Protection Association (which compiles data from fire departments around the US), mattresses or bedding caused 3% of all home electrical fires from 2012 through 2016, about 270 fires per year.
In that article, the MoneySavingExpert breaks down the cost of using electric blankets to stay warm. At the calculated 1.47 a week, based on seven hours of use a day, these cosy designs are significantly more affordable than turning on the heating, which would set households back almost 76 a week.
Fur is what our ancestors would have pulled on to ward off the cold. Today, we might go for something more ethical, but faux fur blankets can be just as warming, especially when they contain an efficient heating element.
Beyond the practical benefits, it is an efficient and easy-to-use electric blanket that kept us warm at night during testing. Yes, it might have only three heat settings and one control, but this is a real bargain. Plus, it is well made from a soft fleece material, will cost you about 1p a night to run and comes with a three-year guarantee. There is so much to like about this blanket.
The six temperature settings are more than enough to keep you comfortable at night, and the dual controls make this blanket ideal for couples. We especially liked that this electric blanket is designed with a deep elasticated skirt, much like a fitted sheet, which made it super easy to fit on the mattress and kept it securely in place over several nights of sleep.
We loved how quickly it warmed up, and the six settings were perfect for achieving the ideal temperature. The single and double electric mattress protector come with a single control pad for warming the entire bed, but there is the option of two controllers for adjusting each side of the bed independently with the dual double, king and super king versions.
"Electric blankets are safe to use at home," Floyd tells The Spruce, "but an electric blanket is an electrical appliance." For this reason, he urges you to always read the manual before using one, as it will explain how to identify damage and prevent potential hazards.
Additionally, Floyd advises against buying a used electric blanket. "You do not know how the blanket has been cared for, and there may be hidden damage. An old blanket may not include the latest safety features required by current product safety standards."
Additionally, Majano states that electric blankets are safe as long as they are used properly. "Do not allow anything on top of a heating pad or electric blanket when it is in use. When covered by anything, including other blankets or pets, electric blankets may overheat. Do not plug electric blankets into an extension cord or power strip as they could overheat and cause a fire. Any devices that generate heat, like electric blankets or space heaters, should be plugged directly into an outlet," he says.
He also warns against folding electric blankets when in use. Most unsafe electric blankets are more than 10 years old, he shares. "Be sure to properly maintain the blanket and its electrical cord. Look for dark, charred, or frayed spots or one where the electric cord is cracked or frayed. Replace any worn or old heating pad or electric blanket," he recommends.
Generally speaking, electric blankets don't use up very much energy. They tend to consume about 100 watts on average, which would run you somewhere around $0.011 in electrical costs per hour of use. Lots of folks use heated blankets during the winter months as a way to stay warm and keep their energy bill at a minimum. Majano shares that the wattage will usually be shared on the packaging of your electric blanket.
Electric overblankets, on the other hand, are designs you cuddle up underneath. You can use these underneath your duvet. Most designs are safe to be used inside the duvet cover, but always double check to make sure this is the case.
When temperatures drop, thoughts turn to hot drinks, woollen socks and an electric blanket to ready your bed for a cosy night's sleep. Depending on the amount you want to spend, you can get a simple electric blanket from major chain stores, but there are also options with a few more bells and whistles.
Based on our measurements, you shouldn't expect to pay more than $20 per season to run a single bed electric blanket, which includes pre-heating and leaving it on overnight, every night, for three months.
A large number of electric blanket recalls have been issued over the years, typically having problems with controller durability in recent years with a number of electric blanket fires occurring. This has lead to CHOICE placing a greater emphasis on testing for durability and electrical safety. Our tests have shown modern electric blankets are safe, but where electricity is involved there's always a small risk, and accidents can happen.
To test an electric blanket, lay it flat on top of the bed and switch it on for five minutes. Visually inspect and feel the wires; make sure they're operating correctly and are undamaged. We've listed some other tips below to make sure you use the blanket safely.
For more specific product information, have a look at our reviews of the Cosi Home electric blanket and the Silentnight Comfort Control electric blanket. But from our testing, these are the specific features to look out for:
How it fastens to your bed: Some electric blankets have a strap you need to feed right under the mattress to secure, others have elastic corner straps. The latter make it much easier to attach and remove for washing.
We should caution you here that your electric blanket should not hang over the side of your bed: it needs to lie flat or the wires inside may be damaged. But if you measure the size of your mattress and the size of the blanket you want, you may find you can safely size up.
An average electric blanket costs about 3p an hour to run. An average plug-in heater costs around 51p an hour to run. And your gas central heating will cost from 1.36 per hour to 4.41 per hour, depending on whether your home is a smaller flat or a larger house.
British home appliances store Lakeland said it has sold nearly 13 times the amount of its electric heated blankets in the year to date compared with the amount sold in 2021. Some lines have already sold out, a spokesperson for the retailer told Insider.
Sales of portable electric heaters from Swiss retailers Microspot and Interdiscount are up 300% this year compared with 2021, a spokesperson told Swiss newspaper Tagesanzeige. The companies sold the most of the heaters in July, the spokesperson told Tagesanzeige.
Why not take that $1.5 billion and purchase a Ford, a Plymouth, or a Chevrolet for every leader in the Kremlin, and buy an electric blanket for every Russian? They will love us, and the companies will make ``mega-bucks,'' we will come out with a smaller budget, and the administration will have started a whole new method of negotiation. Ralph Parvin, Pastor Holly, Mich.
An electric blanket that is damaged or not used properly can easily become an ignition source for a fire. Ting regularly sees and identifies faulty electric blankets. Hazards found in faulty heating pads/blankets are not insignificant; upon inspection, the arcing activity is normally due either to poor component quality (even in newer blankets) or to general wear and age.
*Fire safety and healthcare professionals generally do not recommend using a heating pad or electric blanket overnight for several reasons. To warm your bed, a best practice is to turn your blanket on shortly before going to bed and turn it off after you get into bed. As with any electric heating device it is always better to unplug your blanket or heating pad when it is not in use; however, if this is not practical due to physical limitations, at the very least check to make sure the controller is not left in a spot where it could be turned on by accident (especially during sleep), and always check that the plug is snug in the outlet before using it. 041b061a72