EEVblog #1186 - Solus Graphene Heater Kickstarter BUSTED!

Busting the SOLUS Kickstarter - "The Most Efficient Radiator In The World" based on "completely new, eco-friendly and graphene-based technology"
"Save over 80% on your next heating utility bill"!

TLDR; It's a crazy expensive 200W - 300W glass panel heater with magic woo-woo graphene paste that does not produce any more heat than any other equivalent wattage panel radiator heater.

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#Kickstarter #Scam #Graphene

[OleBrinch]

I teach (amongst other things) physics for a living. There are so many claims in that campaign that conflicts with everything I teach. I therefore took the liberty to report the campaign to Kickstarter, as I can only see it as a scam. It is quite obvious to me that ether Kickstarter wants their cut of the money no matter what or they have not looked into all the comments that hammers their claims. I still call Bulls**t.

Here is their reply:

Hi there,
Thank you for bringing this project to our attention:
Project: SOLUS — The Most Efficient Radiator In The World
Report date: March 2, 2019, 8:17 AM EST
Report content:


The product creator’s delivers a lot of very nice claims og their panel being much better than other conventional panels. I call bullshit. I teach physics for a living and it is very clear to me, tha...


We’ve investigated and determined that it doesn’t violate our rules or community guidelines. If you believe there is an issue that’s not covered by our rules or guidelines, please contact us with more details.
If you haven’t already, you can also communicate directly with the project creator.
While we won’t be taking action on this project at this time, we value your input. We rely on reports like yours to ensure the safety and integrity of Kickstarter for everyone.
Thanks again for looking out for the Kickstarter community.


Best,
Kickstarter Trust & Safety

[kasplatz]

I hate inefficient heaters that lose all their electricity to... heat.

[EEVblog]

NOTE: I plan to do a proper tutorial and explain space (room) heating in detail and the different types and effects of heat transfer and losses. Hoping to do this on Monday.


UPDATE: They claim in the KS comments that they have been already producing 2000 units a month, and they have admitted in the comments and updates that they are *only now* doing actual room tests!

[EEVblog]

I didn't even notice they said "190W per hour"
Can't even get their units right! LOL!

[spodule]

My current heater is lion-repellent. Since installing it, I haven't found any lions at all, not even hiding behind the sofa. Missed opportunity, by SOLUS, I'm surprised they didn't include this feature.

[Spirit]

Technology Connections also has a really nice video about space heater bullshit. A good watch after this one!

[highvis_supply]

Project was suspended by Kickstarter

Edit: Coming from Geneva Switzerland and knowing a lot about the companies in the region (as I lived in the industrial zone), this company is not registered in Geneva at all. Company is registered in some tiny village with a total population of around 1300 people in the canton of Vaud which is near Geneva but simply isn't. Looking into the founder, he specializes in marketing within the aviation industry mostly (lounges and what-not) and seems to be on of those 'cousin of a cousin' type of person who is not at all qualified to do X or Y but will get the contract through connections (this is literally killing the Swiss economy btw because competent companies go bankrupt)

[philpearce]

Years ago I think it was back in the late 1960's A BBC program "Tomorrows World" in the UK demonstrated a system to heat your house using a special chemical that was painted on 2 opposite walls and for decrative purposes could be wallpapered or painted over. The unit was powered from a 12 volt car battery and used so little power to run that the battery would last all year without needing to be re-charged. The technology that made this possible was described as being based on an electrolytic capacitor, and rather than heating the volume of air in the room it produced a heat field around the occupants or items within the electric field. They were swamped with enquiries recieved from interested potential customers who hadn't realised that the program was broadcast on 1st April. Maybe this could feature as the latest Kickstarter scam next month!!!

[KDLRG]

The only way this would save you 90 percent is to plug it into your neighbor's house :)

[kapioskapiopoylos]

weller's unfused soldering station=best heater

[gotj]

*GENIUSES, THEY'VE REINVENTED THE REAR WINDOW DEFOGGER*

[Regiemite]

$15 for 1500W heater.. $300 for 300W heater ..100% more efficient for them

[markcummings]

My 60” plasma tv makes a better heater... with graphics thrown in for free!

[pdrg]

"Graphene paste" - isn't the whole point of graphene to be an atom thick? That's just soot paste - it's a shit carbon film power resistor

[xjet]

Dave is 100% correct that *all* resistive heaters are 100% efficient -- but it seems he's a little confused between radiation and convection. The correct type of glass will have little effect on radiant heat transfer but will be quite a good insulator to impede the flow of convective heat transfer. This device is definitely a snake-oil heater though.

[JohnnieHougaardNielsen]

I've already got a very cheap 100% efficient radiant heater in my kitchen. It works nicely at a distance when there's no toast to block the IR heat radiation.

[electrodacus]

:) that is a large 3D printer heated bed. A bit sad people are not more educated. And how they got over the Kickstarter review (I guess they only care about money not that uneducated people getting scammed).

[inhabitedbadge]

The cheap radiator have two lights on it, and the light can travel outside the home, and lose the energi. The Solus have no lights, so technically its more efficient.

[Clell]

What if we connect it to a Solar Roadway? Could the planet survive the combination?

[Infinion]

Funding suspended by Kickstarter just in the nick of time!