Alpha Heater Reviews
Alpha Heater Review: Legit or Scam?
The Alpha Heater is a portable convection space heater whose seller claims can keep you warm while using 30% less energy than traditional space heaters.
The seller makes a lot of impressive claims about the unit’s capabilities and benefits, but does Alpha Heater live up to the hype?
How is Alpha Heater claimed to work?
The Alpha Heater seller claims the heater is small, lightweight and quiet.
The go on to say that, unlike other portable heaters that emit annoying sounds while heating up, it works quietly and still packs a powerful punch while reducing energy consumption.
The seller claims the Alpha Heater has the following features and benefits:
- 650-1200 watts
- energy saving function
- auto shut-off safety function
- innovative PTC Ceramic Technology
- rapid heating and efficient distribution
- reducing energy costs for customers
Perhaps the two most important stated features are the Alpha Heater's energy saving function and its auto shut-off safety function.
The energy saver is intended to help you save money on electricity. However, 650-1200 watts is lower than the wattage of most home space heaters.
The auto shut-off is an important safety feature as portable space heaters present clear risks for house fires.
At first glance, the Alpha Heater sounds very impressive.
Unfortunately, the Alpha Heater is not a high quality product that lives up to the advertised claims.
Is the Alpha Heater Legitimate?
There are currently a number of sellers promoting identical or very similar space heaters using different names.
The Alpha Heater has also been marketed under the name AmperHeat using a nearly identical sales page at the now defunct website GetAmperHeat.com. The Alpha Heater and AmperHeat are just two examples.
The way these companies work is by purchasing cheaply made heaters wholesale from overseas sellers, then rebranding them and reselling them at inflated prices using slick marketing campaigns.
The seller relies on the fact that some customers won't take the time to research these heaters in depth or search for customers reviews.
For example, you can find the unbranded versions of the Alpha Heater selling on the Chinese marketplace Alibaba (or even on Amazon) at a fraction of the price listed on GetAlphaHeater.com.
( Generic unbranded heater identical to the Alpha Heater sold on Alibaba and priced much lower )
Further, it's stated that these units are actually only 350 watt heaters.
The average modern space heater operates at 650 watts for a low temperature setting and at 1,500 watts at a high setting.
Therefore it’s safe to assume that the Alpha Heater is greatly underpowered.
While we cannot recommend this specific product, choosing the right space heater does not have to be difficult if you know the type of heater you're looking for.
Customer Reviews & Complaints
You will find positive customer reviews about Alpha Heater on their website, but that is the only place you’ll find them.
The company has a tiny social media presence, with only a small number of reviews on their Facebook page. Unfortunately, all of these reviews are also negative.
Here, on Reviewopedia.com, every one of these heaters that we’ve written about has a 1 star rating from a large number of customer reviews.
Common customer complaints include:
- Device will not heat an entire room or bathroom
- Device barely heats space within immediate proximity of the unit
- Difficulty canceling order (even if you change your mind immediately after payment)
- Getting charged up to 50% for restocking fee for refunds
- Underpowered fan that doesn't blow air out effectively
- False claim that the Alpha Heater is made in USA
- Some ads falsely claim a connection to Elon Musk
- Deceptive checkout process that encourages bulk ordering
Furthermore, the return address posted on GetAlphaHeater.com belongs to a shipping and distribution center associated with a variety of other poorly rated generic products.
In general, the consensus is that the Alpha Heater is an underpowered, cheaply made heater, that’s sold by a company with poor customer service.
Customers routinely state that the Alpha Heater is a rip-off, a scam, unsafe, and does not work.
Customer Service
GetAlphaHeater.com lists their customer service contact info as:
Phone: 866-895-6759
Email: [email protected]
The return policy states that the company will issue a refund within 90 days of purchase if you are dissatisfied with your heater.
This is a generous return policy, but unfortunately, the lack of information available about Alpha Heater makes it difficult to verify whether they will honor this policy.
The company has neither a BBB or other commercial profile to help us gather information about their customer service.
The only listed address is for returns to their warehouse:
Attn: Alpha Heater Return
2345 Vauxhall Rd,
Union, NJ 07083
Cost & Price Plans
The Alpha Heater sales page states a single unit is normally priced at $99.90, but their 50% off discount brings that price down to $49.95.
The sales page offers discounts for ordering multiple units.
Additionally, the website has repeated pop-ups that offer further discounts (first a 10% discount and then another 5% discount) bringing the final price for a single unit to $42.46.
Popular Alternatives
Some of the leading brands for ceramic heaters include Lasko, Dreo, Honeywell, and Vornado, all of which make more powerful and longer lasting products than the Alpha Heater.
These heaters are also available from major retailers with proven customer satisfaction records.
Vornado Vortex
One great option is the Vornado AVH10 Vortex Heater. It has the latest safety & comfort features and is reasonably priced as well.
This efficient but powerful heater is a New York Times 'Top Pick' and has good customer reviews on Amazon.
Dreo Solaris
The Dreo Solaris Slim H3 is an "Amazon’s Choice" selection and has an impressive 4.5 out of 5 rating from over 8,000 customer reviews.
It only costs a little bit more than the Alpha Heater, but is powerful enough to heat a 200 sq ft room.
It also has multiple safety features, heats up quickly, operates at 40DB for reduced noise, and has an oscillating fan that distributes heat across an entire room.
The Bottom Line
Heating costs account for nearly a third of annual energy bills in the U.S. This means that, on average, American households spend over $800.00 to heat their homes every year.
This makes it understandable why the idea of an energy saving household heater would be so appealing.
However, we believe it isn't a good idea to get one of these cheap generic heaters. Whatever money you may try to save upfront is not worth the potential future hassles.
According to our readers, these units often don't work as advertised, and even when they do function they’re not powerful enough to keep you warm.
Then there's also the poor customer service and the uphill battle of trying to get a refund.
In general, cheap space heaters from unknown companies will likely not be effective, not have a warranty, and could even pose a fire risk if they malfunction.
It's a safer bet to stick with established brands that have been manufacturing these types of products for years.
If you have any experience with the Alpha Heater, please leave your reviews below.
See Also: How to Choose the Right Type of Space Heater
You may also be interested in
Alpha Heater Customer Reviews
-
Sort Reviews By:
durability
Alpha Heater does not wok
rip off
DO NOT BUY
Do your research, don’t be duped!
Ripoff non working so called heaters
Not impressed
This is a total ripoff. They sent me a broken heater. I paid to ship it back to them. The charged a "less than 15% restocking fee. Order was for$63.44. They reimbursed me $42.88. The math doesnt add up.
Another scam
Cheaply made, doesn't heat anything, trying to return this is pathetic. They want to give you a small refund to forget it.
It’s convenient and doesn’t use a whole lot of energy
I love it, it’s perfect for my room heats up slowly not too much heat. My roommate and I love it’s nice and cozy keeps our room without a lot of noise
LIES
Very much a scam and underpowered
How to get my money back?
I got one and it doesn’t work at all.
I have to send it back because it never even came on however I do not know where to return it to.
Can someone advise me where to return it to. It’s the heater that Elon Musk had to do with $49.95.
Heater Keeps Falling Off The Electrical Socket
The Heater works well once it is plugged in, however there's a design flaw. The Heater is bottom heavy and is prone to falling out of the electrical socket, thus you have to constantly plug it back into the electrical socket. Had the plug been placed in the middle of the Heater, the weight would have been evenly distribed and it wouldn't fall out.
Product doesn't work, made in China not the US as advertised
This product is a scam..does nothing as advertised. Also you get robbed twice, first upon purchase and second upon return..I was charged 64.00 dollars at purchase when amazon sells them for 23.00....13.00 in shipping alone..upon return you're charged shipping again and a 15.00 restocking fee..expect to throw away 40.00 or more with nothing to show for it..junk!!
Trash - Don't waste your energy or money
I ordered alpha heater via alphaheater.shop after reviewing many reports of what a wonderful product it was.
The heater worked for almost one day.
The remote never worked. I even bought new batteries.
The website said free shipping but they charged $12.
When I looked at the return policy you have to pay shipping and they charge a restocking fee.
It says owned by an American company. However, the instructions give metric measurements.
Please save your money and just rub two sticks together
AVOID AVOID AVOID
Utter con! Hardly produces any heat. Customer services fobbed me off and then stopped answering emails. I have returned the device and requested a refund. I doubt I will get one. If you want to get one of these devices a reputable vendor such as Amazon offer them at a fraction of the price. You may have a small cupboard you want to warm up! AVOID this firm...
Disappointed
I just bought 3 of these. 1 of them was damaged , the other one doesn't work at all and the third one works . Sounds like a hair dryer and doesn't heat much at all. Then there is only a two prong and no ground. In the manual it says not to sleep while its on or unattended. This is junk. Don't waste your money
Avoid this at all costs
Avoid this - just ordered by mistake and they make it next to impossible to cancel your order. I contacted paypal within an hour of making the payment and they were equally useless at helping. Just avoid, its a a scam.
You can get it on temu for $10, after coupons and if I buy 15 of these can I put them everywhere in my house? My boiler died and I am being quoted $15k for a new one in Chicago. I’d rather spend $150. But what will it do to my outlets and cabling? Thanks
Your electric bill will go sky-high with 15 units. It's not cheaper to heat your house this way.
NOT WORTH IT... SCAMMY
Does take a chill off a room, but does NOT heat it. Also, when called to return it, was told I would have the cost of the return PLUS a 50% restocking fee...
OR, I could accept a 75% refund on the purchase price, sans tax, and, of course, keep the units...
Scam for certain.
I purchased 6 units 11/22. Got them looking like a forklift ran over them. Immediately returned them fully documenting with over 60 photos and a signature required at return point.
4/23 I haven’t seen a dime in credit of any kind. I have spent volumes of time corresponding with the seller.
Me: The Fool! :-(. I doubt I see a dime !
Yeah, I bought these out of desperation in hopes of finding something cheaper than my current heater, so finding Alpha Heater made me pretty excited... It definitely heats up a PORTION of your room, but literally only 3 INCHES from where it hangs out! Also, having it cool down just makes it act like a poor quality portable fan. Not great, and I'm more happy with my "crappy" portable heater than I've been since I first bought it!
Save you money, don't buy
I got 5 of these and everyone of them would have a hard time blowing a lit match out. These are very weak units and no output power from the fan. Weak, weak, weak!!!!