With the price of energy soaring, with the uncertainty about this winter and how we will be able to stay warm, I finally bought an Egloo!

What is an Egloo, you may wonder?

An Igloo is a beautiful and ingenious terracotta double dome which enable you to heat up a room with candles!

It almost sounds too good to be true but after a few colder evening, I can certify that it works wonders.

Not only it will warm up your home, but it also works as a humidifying devise and if you wish an oil diffuser. Using essential oils is not required but a nice addition.

How does it work?

The concept of the Egloo is not new at all and uses the heat retention capacity of terracotta. The candle heats up the inside dome which in turns heats up the air in between the 2 domes which is gradually released into the surrounding area. Ok maybe not the most scientific or accurate explanation but basically it works.

The concept is so ancient, that you can find plenty of tutorials on how to make a ‘Egloo’ yourself, using terracotta pots instead. And I can confirm it works because I had tried it a couple years back when I was frizzing while working from home.

The difference with a real Egloo are 2 fold though: First the looks! Obviously! The Egloo has been redesigned and plenty of different versions are available. The real Egloo looks much nicer on my coffee table, than the one I had made from pots. It was so ugly that I had to keep it in my office!

The other major difference is that the Egloo now comes with specially designed smoke free candle and wood wicks (it wasn’t always the case, see below). These have been specifically engineered to maximise the effect of the Egloo while keeping the air pollution free.

The pros and the cons of the Egloo

There are mostly pros I think. For once, the Egloo is pretty even when not in use. I got a black one and it remains very discrete in our interior. Yet, I’m sure it would indeed be a conversation starter if we had guests.

The Egloo works well which is important! We use it in our living room which is much bigger than the 20sqm room size recommended. Still, we can really feel the difference quickly once on. Not in the distant corner of the room, but it makes our evenings much more comfortable.

The seller website states that it isn’t a substitute for domestic heating and yet, it’s mid November at the time of writing these words and we haven’t turned on the central heating yet. Admittedly I’ve been away a lot, and the weather hasn’t been extremely cold. Nowadays, we are barely flirting with freezing temperatures at night, so even if winter is coming, it hasn’t arrived yet! Plus, I should also emphasis the fact that our new apartment is apparently pretty well insulated and the CMV seems to do its job.

Any cons?

Well, I see one con at the moment and it will hopefully go away… this is linked to the candle.

You see the candle used is actually wax in granule form and it takes a bit of practice to use it properly I think. Maybe I’m just not talented!

All goes well when using new wicks and a full tray of wax. It doesn’t necessarily goes as well when I blew the wicks off and I’m trying to light them again. Sometimes they don’t properly light up and sometimes they pretend to light up, only for the flame to die a minute after.

I think it’s just a matter of practice and understanding what is the right quantity of wax so I’m not too worried. I will eventually manage!

How it started?

Egloo started on a crowdfunding platform and at the time used Ikea tea candles. Since then, they developed their own wax and now do not recommend using tea candles anymore. It just wasn’t ideal in size I think. Maybe too close to the dome? Not sure but I wouldn’t try it.

Will the Egloo reduce our utility bill?

This is a question that will unfortunately remain unanswered. My partner and I moved 9 months ago, into our new apartment, so we do not have a reference for what our energy consumption is, especially in winter.

As mentioned above, we have not yet turned on the heat. It is mid November. Since we have the Egloo, I’ve been turning it on in the evening, sometimes in the afternoon if I’m working from home and it has kept us comfortable. This is already a nice effect.

It is also extremely reassuring to have it. If we were to suffer some power outage later this winter, at least we know we will be able to have a bit of warmth thanks to our Egloo. It might not be enough but it will be something.

So… should you buy one?

I am certainly super happy with my purchase. No regrets here! Would I recommend you to buy one? Maybe, maybe not.

If you live in the US, I wouldn’t for a start. The Egloo is produced in Italy and I don’t think importing something like this from so far away (including the candle wax refills) make sense. It certainly isn’t eco friendly to do so.

The Egloo uses candles and like all candles, precautions must apply. It is best to not leave unattended for example. If you do not feel like you can stay in the same room to enjoy the heat (bathroom breaks allowed!), if you have misbehaving children or pets… this is probably not for you.

If you live in a mansion with double height ceiling, it probably won’t be of much use.

And I must add that I wanted to get one for my dad but after the first use, I realised that he would not use it. The wax in granulate form, the water in the tray, the little wicks to put in the wicks holders… This isn’t something he can manage with his sometimes shaky hands. He would most likely spill water in the wax for example!

I’m not saying it takes specific skills to use, but you still need to handle with care and follow the instructions. My dad would not bother, I just know him.

In short…

You understood by now: I am super happy to have one! Our Egloo is already making a significant difference to our evenings and to my afternoon when working from home.

Yes, an Egloo is a bit of a pricey investment but I have no regrets.

Now it’s up to you to decide if it’s something that would work in your home or not. The seller website is https://eglooinfo.it

This is not an affiliated piece and there are no affiliated link here. Just something I wanted to talk about.