A portable indoor heater can be an essential appliance in keeping the home warm throughout the year. Infrared heaters offer even more benefits in warming large rooms and maintaining a controlled temperature. The Honeywell My Energy Smart technology can even save considerably on electricity with temperature presets and timers for greater control.

 

While these heaters can bring added comfort to the home they can also potentially cause problems if not used correctly or maintained. Through our research, we found that such misuse even led to fires and damage and in the worst cases becoming fatal.  

 

We found three major areas for improvement; 1) Prevent the ability to store objects on top. 2) Create better access and visibility to the controls and settings. 3) Provide easy access to clean a reusable filer. 

 

In our design, we address each one of these issues. With an angled top surface, we could discourage users from placing objects on the machine and thus prevent fires. Additionally, by relocating the User interface to the top of the device the information and interaction become more accessible and efficient for users. By designing a removable door with a wire mesh filter users could easily wash clean and reinstall. In turn, this would help keep air quality clean, prevent internal clogging from dust and debris, and further reduce the risk of fire. Additionally, we want to add other useful features not found on competitor products including electric cord management and storage, a useful lifting handle, and caster wheels for quick repositioning.