Tips for choosing an electric sheet

Not so long ago, most Russians saw an electric blanket only in the cartoon “Brave little toaster”. Since then, much has changed, and nowadays bedding with electric heating elements have become widely represented on the Russian market. In order for such a purchase to meet your expectations, it is worth considering the features, varieties and tips on choosing an electric sheet.

The electric sheet, in fact, is a hybrid of bed linen and an electric heater designed to warm people sleeping on it. Structurally, the electric sheet is a set of small heating elements, upholstered with fabric. At the same time, the dimensions of the heaters are so small that a person sleeping in such a bed will not feel their presence.

The safety of a sleeping person is provided by a combination of protective elements (at least two fuses) in the design, electrical insulation and a specially selected upholstery material that does not catch fire when heated. Of course, these materials also do not give poisonous fumes when heated.

In Russian conditions, a heated bed will be relevant not only for summer residents.staying for the night in an unheated house in cold and wet autumn weather, but also for urban residents in houses where there are interruptions in the operation of the heating system. Another option for using the product is in homes with independent heating, where the presence of a warm bed will make it possible to reduce the heating of the whole dwelling for the night, saving considerably on energy carriers.

The price range of these products ranges from one to ten thousand Russian rubles.

The simplest electric sheet has only one mode of operation - it heats the bed while it is switched on. Of course, its use can hardly be called comfortable (sooner or later it will be necessary to manually unplug it from the outlet), but such products are relatively inexpensive.

More advanced options have electronic heating sensors, a control panel and several temperature modes - from two (direct heating and temperature maintenance) to ten. Many products are also equipped with timers, allowing you to set the time after which the heat will be turned off. Some elite models allow you to additionally control the local heating of individual sections of the product. Such a function is implemented, for example, in the model range of the Beurer brand.

The electrical power of all products on the Russian market is in the range from 40 to 140 watts. It is clear that the sheets with less power heat up more slowly, and their maximum temperature is much lower. Conversely, the most powerful sheets allow you to warm the bed to noticeable temperatures almost instantly - at the cost of very high energy consumption.

In addition to these characteristics, products vary in size, arrangement of heating elements (on both sides or on one), design, additional functions, and also the material from which they are made.

The most important advantage of the electric sheet is the ability to heat the bed directly without spending energy on heating the entire room.In this warm sheet with electric heating wins even the fan heaters and electric radiators that have become commonplace. Energy efficiency of electric beds is at the level of directional infrared emitters (for example, UFO).

In addition to direct heating, these products also have some therapeutic effect. So, sleeping on such a bed will help relieve tension after physical exertion and improve blood supply to the skin and muscles. Well, for people suffering from osteochondrosis or rheumatism, such a warm bed can be a real panacea, greatly alleviating their suffering.

Along with the obvious advantages, have electric sheets and a number of disadvantages. Such products are contraindicated:

• people suffering from various skin diseases (especially malignant tumors);
• persons suffering from acute infectious diseases (improving the blood supply to the affected tissues may worsen the patient's condition);
• men with prostate adenoma;

• persons with elevated body temperature (additional heat will significantly worsen the state of health);
• pregnant women (overheating can lead to hypertonia of the uterus, which is fraught with miscarriage);
• children less than three years old (due to a different mechanism of thermoregulation, they overheat faster).

When choosing a product, special attention should be paid to the material of its upholstery. The best show themselves sheets, the surface of which is made of cotton - because this material is both environmentally friendly, hypoallergenic and pleasant to the touch. The disadvantage of cotton sheets is their rapid contamination and wear. From this material made most of the range of the company Pekatherm.

Electrical posts made of polycotton, fleece and other synthetic materials have proved more resistant to external influences. Not much inferior to natural materials in tactile qualities, such sheets are much stronger and much easier to clean.

When choosing a fleece product, special attention should be paid to the quality of the material. - goods from low-quality fleece quickly lose their original shape and color. Synthetic sheets - the basis of the range of the company Montiss.To protect the electric sheet from contamination, you can use a regular sheet, lay on top of it. In general, it is worthwhile to carefully study the recommended mode of care for the product - if some sheets allow machine wash, others are shown only dry cleaning. Consider this moment when choosing, so that the care for the purchase does not turn into flour for you.

Another important factor in choosing a nuance is the size of the product being purchased. It will be better if the bed sheet will fit your bed or even slightly larger - otherwise it will be less comfortable to sleep on it. For a standard single bed, products of size 130 x 70 cm are best suited, for the “loft” - 150 by 80 cm, and for a classic double bed you should buy a sheet with dimensions of 200 by 170 cm.

It only makes sense to buy a large-capacity product for a double bed in a very cold house. For most cases, sheets up to 80 watts will suffice.

In addition to the electric sheets discussed in the article, heated blankets are also on the market. This product can be used as a sheet, or to hide it during sleep, or even to wrap in it, as in a blanket. In this case, all the characteristics of these products, including power, price and materials used are similar to electric sheets - the main difference lies in the functionality. Electric blankets are usually more flexible than sheets, but more massive and less comfortable when used as bedding.

When choosing between two options for electric beds, you should think about how exactly you plan to use the product. If multifunctionality is important to you - stop your choice on a blanket. And if you are only interested in heating the bed - then you are more suitable option sheets.

Most owners of electric beds say their comfort, safety, efficiency and ease of use. For several years of operation, none of the users has ever encountered cases of fire or electric shock.But the reliability of some products, especially inexpensive electric sheets produced by firms from China, causes many users complaints - some models become useless after a year of operation. The situation is aggravated by the fact that the guarantee of most manufacturers covers only cases when the product is operated in a dry room.

Detailed view of the heated electric sheets - in the video below