Things that Work--"Electro-Bed-Warmth" Bed Warmers Windy Dankoff On the coldest nights of winter, our favorite electrical appliance is the electric bed warmer. Conventional wisdom dictates that "space heating" on PV, wind or small hydro-electric is not feasible, but here is one exception. Major comfort is provided by a small input of energy, when applied directly to the surface of your mattress--for a double bed using a thick quilt or comforter, only a few amp-hours (50 watt-hours or less) is all it takes to warm the bed IF your bedroom is COLD like 50 degrees or so. This is the typical energy output of a single 40 watt (1 x 4' $300) photovoltaic module on a half-cloudy day in winter! The bed warmer allows you to keep a bedroom relatively cold, and still get a very good night's sleep while saving LOTS of heating fuel. A few years ago, Anne and I lived in a converted bus on 100% PV power. We would come home sometimes at night to a 40 degree inside. All we had to do was turn on our 55 watt (4.6 amp) 12 volt warmer for about 20 minutes and we had a nice warm bed to crawl into. After that, we usually turned it off completely. The coldest nights are the clear ones, usually corresponding to the SUNNIEST days of winter, so we never found it to be an excessive energy drain. A Bed Warmer pins directly to your mattress -- a much more efficient way to apply heat than the usual electric blanket. "Electro-Warmth" is a top-of-the-line bed warmer, produced since 1938. Among the many sizes and models is a line of 12 Volt warmers, made for recreational vehicles (RVs) and sleeper cabs in trucks. Paul Wilkins (Editor, PV Network News) has been using one in his camper van for over 10 years. We've been using them for 5 years. They are rugged, safe and reliable, and made primarily of cotton. One customer of ours had a failure long after the 1 year warranty period, and it cost him just a few $ to have it factory repaired. Electro-Warmth bed warmers are a long-term investment. Bed warmers are perhaps the only electric heating device that can greatly reduce your home or RV heating costs! Next to a good mate (or underneath one) the "Electro-Warmth" Bed Warmer can be your best companion on a cold winter night. Prices range from $45 to $60, from Home Power advertisers: FLOWLIGHT SOLAR POWER and ALTERNATIVE ENERGY ENGINEERING. Windy Dankoff is the owner Flowlight Solar Power, a mail-order supplier of home PV systems and manufacturer of PV powered well pumps. Windy's shop and home are solar-powered. He may be reached at POB 548, Santa Cruz, NM 87567 or call 505-753-9699.