GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT WARMING PADS AND BLANKETS
On this page, you will find information about:
· The reasons people use electric bedding
· The number of heated blankets and mattress pads sold annually in the USA and Worldwide
· What you can expect to pay for automatic blankets and mattress pads
· Advantages of electric mattress pads vs. electric blankets
· The features of most electric bedding sold in the USA
· How automatic mattress pads and blankets work
REASONS FOR USING ELECTRIC BEDDING:
There are many good reasons people give for using warming bedding such as:
1) To pre-warm the bed thus avoiding getting into a cold bed.
2) To save energy and fuel costs.
3) To keep warm in a cool room without the weight of heavy blankets or comforters on top of them.
4) To reduce the pains associated with sore muscles, arthritis or fibromyalgia.
5) To manage the individual comfort of two people in one bed.
6) To stay warm in bed yet cool off their bedroom ambient so that they can sleep better.
NUMBER SOLD EACH YEAR
UNITED STATES
Whatever the reason, the use of electric blankets and especially electric mattress pads is now growing again in the United States. Approximately 4 ½ million of these products are sold each year in the USA alone.
WORLDWIDE
Europeans also purchase around 4 million pieces of warming bedding with the UK, Italy and Germany leading the way at around 800,000 pieces each. Australians and New Zealanders purchase around 50,000 pieces each year. Japanese and Korean sales numbers are harder to come by.
China’s numbers are impossible to find since so many are made and sold in “garage shops” there but conceivably as many as 30 million are sold in China each year. The vast majority of these are very small (more the size of our throws) and poorly constructed. We have purchased electric blankets from “department stores” in China for as little as US$7, so anyone can imagine the product quality associated with that price.
COST OF ELECTRIC BLANKETS AND MATTRESS PADS
Cheap or Low end electric blankets normally retail for $35 to around $120 depending upon size, features, fabric used, comfort and quality.
The best performing or Premium electric blankets normally retail for $70 to over $200 depending upon size, features, fabric used, comfort and quality.
Cheap or Low end electric mattress pads normally retail for $30 to around $90 depending upon size, features, fabric used, comfort and quality.
The best performing or Premium electric mattress pads normally retail for $60 to around $200 depending upon size, features, fabric used, comfort and quality.
Click on Reviews and Buying and then on Economy Brands or Deluxe Brands navigation tabs on the left side of this article for more specific information (individual brand reviews and where to buy).
Sometimes at the end of the season you can find closeouts or clearances of electric blankets, mattress pads and throws. Sometimes even “seconds” or blemished products can be found at discount stores. Note that these can be defective in fabric appearance only but must be Class A in electrical quality.
ADVANTAGES – ELECTRIC MATTRESS PADS VS. ELECTRIC BLANKETS
Although the choice of electric mattress pad (mattress cover) or electric blanket is mostly a matter of user preference, electric mattress pads do have some inherent advantages over electric blankets. The major ones are:
a) The heat generated by an electric mattress pad is contained around the body by the mattress itself on the bottom side and by the top sheet and top blanket on the top side whereas approximately ½ of the heat generated by an electric blanket will radiate upward towards the bedroom ceiling. This means you will use less electricity with the warming mattress pad.
b) Electric mattress pads are inherently safer from overheating since the pad is held down flat to the mattress (i.e. fitted) and generally cannot be balled up as a blanket may become. (When a blanket is balled up, there is no place for the heat in the middle of the ball to escape, the cause of many electric blanket fires or scorches.)
c) If you use a heated mattress pad, you are then free to use whatever form of blanket, comforter, duvet, spread, etc. you prefer on top.
Interestingly enough, around 85% of the warming bedding products sold in the USA are blankets and not mattress pads whereas in Europe, the reverse is true. (In most of Europe what is called a mattress pad in the USA is referred to as an “underblanket”.) Within the past few years the percentage of pads sold in the United States seems to be increasing somewhat.
FEATURES OF MOST WARMING BEDDING SOLD IN THE UNITED STATES
Most electric blankets or electric mattress pads sold in the US today include at least the following features:
· 10 hour auto-shutoff (in case you forget to turn it off in the morning).
· Silent controls (the old bi-metal switches that clicked on and off all night are long gone).
· Some form of manual or automatic pre-warming so that your bed will warm up quickly before you get into it.
· Some form of overheat protection for preventing fires.
· At least partial machine washing and drying.
· A lighted numbered dial on the controller.
· UL (Underwriters Laboratories) listing.
· A three to five year manufacturer’s warranty against manufacturing or design defects.
· Your choice of size depending upon your mattress: Warming Blankets almost always come in Twin, Full (Double), Queen and King sizes. Electric mattress covers are usually available in Twin, Full (Double), Queen, King and California King sizes.
· Twin and Full automatic blankets or automatic mattress pads almost always have only one control whereas Queen, King and California King sizes almost always come with two (or Dual) controls. (Tip: If you have a Full or Double size bed, you too can have this dual control feature simply by purchasing a Queen Size automatic blanket (NOT a fitted mattress pad) which will be slightly oversize but should present no problem as long as you are careful not to bunch up the excess.)
HOW AUTOMATIC PADS AND AUTOMATIC BLANKETS WORK
The basic principle of warming blankets or warming mattress pads is that passing an electrical current through a resistive wire generates heat. Automatic bedding contains a long length of heating element fastened in a serpentine pattern throughout the blanket (or in the case of Dual Control models, throughout each half of the blanket).
Of course, for the blanket or pad to be safe, comfortable, long lasting and convenient to care for, a whole lot more technology is required. Manufacturers accomplish their various features (e.g. overheat protection, variable heat output, auto-shutoff, etc.) in different ways but you can be assured your blanket or pad is safe if it is marked as complying with UL 964 (the Underwriters Laboratories’ safety standard for these devices – click the Safety tab on the left side of this site) and it is used properly (see the General Safety Instructions listed on the Safety tab and also the particular instructions that come with all UL conforming automatic bedding sold in this country).