After testing out the Govee Smart Portable Heater recently, I must say that I am extremely impressed & cannot think of anything Govee missed with this product. I travel the country living full-time in my RV working in travel nursing so smart heaters are a game changer for the winter months if I am further north working like I have been the past 2 years.
I have tried several different types of heaters including portable propane, space heaters on 15 Amp smart plugs with schedules set, Heat Lamps on smart plugs with schedules set, & as of 2 years ago started experimenting with smart heaters which are still a pretty new technology. Not too many companies including the usual space heater companies have released a smart version yet like I’m sure most people were expecting, but I assume that is due to safety concerns & being the target of a lawsuit knowing customers of their regular space heaters don’t always follow the safety guidelines.
I know I’ve used plenty of space heaters with extension cords, fallen asleep with space heaters on, & sure using a space heater on a smart plug with a schedule set along with the ability to also manually turn the smart plug on & off from the Alexa, Google Home, or Smart Life App remotely. So knowing their normal space heaters already bring same risks to the table, I can only assume that the usual companies in this industry are wanting to ensure they have thoroughly tested their smart heaters before we see more companies releasing them.
That is if they are even planning to produce & release smart heaters to begin with because a smart heater immediately disregards safety risks that have always been associated with space heaters which is leaving them on when you leave or using them unattended. I mean isn’t that the benefit & reason why most people are buying smart heaters anyways? That has always been my desire for them, although you can turn a normal space heater into a smart heater with a heavy duty 15 or 20 Amp smart plug or outlet & certain types of space heaters as I did before smart heaters came out.
Regardless, yes I do have a propane furnace in my RV as well as an electric fireplace, who knows what propane prices will be this winter, & there are now smart thermostats that are RV compatible now. I wouldn’t have to leave the furnace very high when I went to work with a smart thermostat, but RV smart thermostats are not mass produced by every company like house smart thermostats are so they are still very expensive compared to house models. Having to wire into both of my AC units as well as the furnace makes the install a bit more challenging for my situation as well. So that leaves me with only the option of smart heaters!
With all that in mind, I must have remote access to a heat source when I am at work for a couple major reasons which is the reason I have even experimented with several heat sources over the last couple of years. The main 2 reasons I require remote access to heat is because I have 2 dogs that obviously travel & live with me full-time in my RV as well, & the other reason being I must make sure that my RV has heat circulating throughout the whole thing so that I ensure none of my pipes freeze & bust.
Doing most of my work & travel in the Midwest which is where I go to visit family as well, means that there have been numerous times that while at work a bad snowstorm hits or the temperatures drop quickly. To help, I have had Govee Smart Thermometers for a couple years now, 4 to be exact, 1 in each room of my RV. All of which alert me when the temps are getting too cold for my dogs while I am away so I can remotely turn on heat lights & space heaters. Now with the H7131 Govee Smart Portable Heater having the ability to sync with my Govee thermometers, now my dogs & RV no longer have to wait for me to check my phone & see the low temp. alerts & turn the heaters on because the thermometers will have already engaged my Govee Smart Heater.
I do own another smart heater that is a great remote heat source as well I an overall great heater, but due to the expected price range of the Govee H7131, that heater immediately starts out in 2nd place behind the H7131 when comparing. Below I will finally get to the point of this post & compare the 2 & give my overall thoughts on the Govee H7131.
Govee H7131 vs Heat Storm Phoenix
- Both put out plenty of heat & can be controlled remotely, but the Phoenix retails at $140 which is about double the price of the H7131.
- Although the Phoenix is remotely accessible like the H7131, the H7131 can be synced with Govee Thermometers to regulate the temp. The Phoenix would either have to be left on auto mode, manually turned on with an app after Govee alerts me of the low temp, or a schedule could be get for the Phoenix to turn on & off but that would not be temp. based & the H7131 can do all this plus more for half the price.
- The Phoenix is wall mounted so it doesn’t take up much space, but means it can’t oscillate, & another feature the H7131 has that the Phoenix lacks.
-The Phoenix does come with a remote, but I find it to be easier to just use the app or physical buttons on the heater instead of having to keep track of another physical remote so I would not personally consider this a plus over the H7131 because I prefer to use them both via app or physical buttons on the heaters.
-The Phoenix certainly does not have any lights on it other than the orange display on the screen, whereas the H7131 has lighting around the base. - Both devices are Alexa & Google compatible & easy to setup with.
-The Phoenix being wall-mounted is not an optional feature, it must be wall-mounted & does not came with optional feet like the other Heat Storm normal heaters of the same style & says in the manual it must be mounted I can’t sit on the floor. I see this as a setback & a con for sure.
-The H7131 is plenty portable & takes up very little space & I would prefer the H7131’s oscillating feature over wall-mountable regardless.
Overall they are both great smart heaters that allow me to achieve my overall goals, I think the clear winner here is the H7131 due to being half the price of the Phoenix, being able to sync with the Govee Thermometers, the ability to oscillate, & the portability which all of which the Phoenix lacks. Moving the Phoenix to a new spot requires drilling I new holes in the wall along with finding a spot on the wall with an outlet close enough, on an interior wall I not outer wall due to losing heat on cold, outer walls, & making sure the new location has a stable connection to your network.
I think Govee really produced a 5 star product here & did not forget any features, I the reason why I have no suggestions or features to offer for this device, & I’m sure being a Govee devices, it will last as all Govee products are built with great quality. I would definitely recommend the H7131 Govee Smart Portable Heater.