The indoor infrared heater was invented about 35 years ago by a Missouri engineer named John Jones. Until Mr. Jones’ death in 1999, virtually all indoor infrared heaters were made in the United States. With the demise of the inventor and the expiration of his patents, many manufacturers began making their own offshore infrared heaters. Today, it’s hard to find an infrared heater that’s partially made in America, but there are still a few to be found.
Why should you care about “made in the USA”?
Some people are quite adamant, for idealistic reasons, about buying as much American as they can. Others don’t care where a product was made as long as it works. Even if you’re okay with Indian T-shirts, Egyptian jeans, and Chinese toys, a heater is something that might be worth buying in the country, for purely practical reasons. Any appliance that draws 1500 watts sustained has the potential to cause serious safety issues in your home, if not manufactured with good quality control. While many factories abroad do a good job of quality control, most people agree that products made by American workers are generally better assembled.
What infrared heaters are made in the United States?
The following infrared heaters are made in the USA, in whole or in part:
Sunheat – Sunheat is one of the oldest manufacturers of indoor infrared heaters. They used to make their heaters offshore, but a few years ago they moved the cabinet operation to their local facility in Nebraska. Surprisingly, they can still offer a price of $299 on their flagship model, a high-quality product with a five-year warranty.
SolarFlare – The SolarFlare infrared heater was designed by the original John Jones plant manager. SolarFlare heaters are made entirely in America, in a Mennonite factory near the birthplace of infrared heating. The SolarFlare is reasonably priced, with the base model coming in at $349 as of this writing.
Summer Breeze: Riccar Vacuum Company in St James, Missouri, manufactures the Summer Breeze line of infrared heaters. Unfortunately, the Summer Breeze retails for around six hundred to eight hundred dollars per unit, putting it substantially above the market and out of reach for many consumers.
Sun Aire – A family business in Arkansas offers the Sun Aire, which, like the SolarFlare Deluxe, is designed to look and function like a coffee table. While this heater is certainly high-quality, it suffers from the same affliction as the Summer Breeze: its price is pretty much off the market.
The above list may not be complete, but it will give the US buyer at least a good starting point.
Edenpure is absent from the list, despite once announcing a US model, because we couldn’t confirm in a call to the company that any of their heaters are still made in America. However, a US factory may be producing some heaters for Edenpure.