Just because they are cheap and easy to hook up doesn't mean they are GOOD for you or me, or the other guy.
I've been around various unvented heaters over the years, and they give me headaches and irritate my sinuses, including a brand-new one a friend installed just last winter. The EPA, OSHA, and the CPSC are all less than in favor of them.
You said you don't want to hear the truth, but why not humor me for a couple of minutes.
The first two paragraphs, taken from one of the linked sites, are VERY telling as to what you breath from them:
"There are no pollution standards for residential indoor air, but the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA), the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (U.S. OSHA), and other agencies have made guidelines for ambient and workplace air. Continuous use of a 40,000 Btu per hour heater, as would be necessary in a cold climate, causes indoor pollutant levels to exceed these government-specified air quality and health standards. Even the best case shows CO and NO2 levels that may be unhealthy for children, pregnant women, the elderly, or individuals with existing health problems, such as heart disease or asthma.
Even benign gases can be a problem if not adequately vented. A shower emits about 300 grams per hour of water into the air and is typically used for less than one hour daily. Building codes require operable windows or installed ventilation fans to remove this vapor. In contrast, about 400 grams of water vapor is produced per 10,000 Btu of fuel consumed. This water, if not removed by ventilation, will condense on cold surfaces such as windows and wall cavities. In moderate and moist climates, the accumulation of moisture leads to mildew and fungal growth. Fungal colonies in building materials cause rot and decay, and produce spores that can cause allergic reactions. Putting all this moisture in the living space, unvented gas heaters would truly seem to be like drainless sinks."
"Ventless gas heaters have seen sales take off over the past few years, buoyed by their low cost, attractive design, and high efficiency. Meanwhile, building scientists working on indoor air quality and building durability have warned that these heaters can produce enough combustion products to make occupants sick, while also degrading building structures. Recently, the controversy has moved to regulatory bodies in New York and California, and to a subcommittee within International Approval Services (IAS), home of the vaunted ANSI (American National Standards Institute) Standards."
"The CPSC recommends that indoor (unvented) heaters not be used while residents are asleep, and produces safety brochures encouraging homeowners to use CO alarms."
"Potential moisture problems are cited by Stuart Brooks, an architect with Energy Design Associates Incorporated of Eagle River, Alaska. In his eight years at the Alaska Energy Programs Office and since then in private practice, he has encountered several unvented heaters. "They do create a large condensation problem for houses here in the Anchorage area, as well as carbon shadowing on walls and ceilings," he says (see "Black Stains in Houses: Soot, Dust, or Ghosts," p. 15). While the Vent-Free Alliance's video Vent-Free IAQ Research states that a humidity level of 60% is desirable, Brooks says that in very cold weather, "more than 40% continuous relative humidity is almost a surefire level of condensation problems. Icing on windows, not just condensation, becomes a problem."
"The safety features are widely proclaimed by the Vent-Free Alliance (VFA), a coalition of members of the Gas Appliance Manufacturers Association. Nice & Warm, a booklet published by the VFA, says that the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) data "show no documented deaths due to emissions associated with the use of an ODS-equipped vent-free gas heating appliance" since 1980.
Sandy Weisner of Medford, Oregon, is not soothed by these assurances. She installed an FMI ventless heater in 1996, and soon after developed symptoms of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning. She installed a CO alarm, which sounded as soon as she used her unvented fireplace. She went to the doctor and found that the levels of carbon monoxide in her blood were 30 times normal concentrations. She has since been lobbying her state's code bodies to ban the heaters.
Many building scientists are harshly critical of the gas industry's safety claims. While every brochure, video, and Web site about unvented heaters relates their safety to the ODS, Greg Traynor, formerly an indoor air quality researcher at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, says there is almost no correlation between oxygen depletion and increased pollutant concentrations. "There's no way you're ever going to get the ODS to go off unless you have a way oversized heater in a tiny room," he says.
In a 1983 Department of Energy study, Traynor and six other researchers, including Mike Apte (author of "Unvented Heaters: Drainless Sinks?" HE, Sept/Oct '96, p. 9) found that the heaters "pose a potential threat to the health of occupants of houses where such appliances are used."
Meanwhile, a new study from the University of Connecticut reports that CO can cause permanent brain damage without any single traumatic poisoning."
"Health Effects of Combustion Products
Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colorless, odorless gas that interferes with oxygen availability throughout the body. Exposed individuals and physicians may not recognize some symptoms as CO poisoning due to their similarity with viral illnesses such as influenza. Individuals with heart disease, chronic respiratory ailments, such as emphysema, and anemia, and also fetuses, infants, and young children have an increased susceptibility to CO poisoning. Low levels of CO can cause fatigue and chest pain in people with chronic heart disease. As CO exposures increase, symptoms progressively worsen through headaches, drowsiness, nausea, vomiting, confusion and disorientation. At very high CO exposures, loss of consciousness and death are possible.
Nitrogen dioxide can irritate the skin and the mucous membranes in the eyes, nose and throat. Depending upon the level and duration of exposure, respiratory effects range from slight irritation to burning and chest pain, coughing, and shortness of breath. In addition, repeated exposure to elevated levels of nitrogen dioxide may contribute to bronchitis. Children who are exposed to low levels of nitrogen dioxide, often show increased susceptibility to respiratory infections. Others who may be especially sensitive to nitrogen dioxide exposure include people with chronic respiratory disease including bronchitis, asthma and emphysema. Reducing Exposure to Combustion Products in Homes
Take special precautions when operating unvented space heaters. Consider potential effects of indoor air pollution when deciding to use unvented kerosene or gas space heaters. Follow the manufacturer’s directions, especially about using the proper fuel and about providing fresh air while the heater is in use. This can be accomplished by keeping doors open to the rest of the house from the room where the heater is being used. In addition, keep the heater properly adjusted. Choose a space heater properly sized for the room you wish to heat and make sure that it is installed correctly. Keep flues and chimneys in good condition. Leaking chimneys and damaged flues can result in the release of harmful or even fatal concentrations of combustion gases, especially carbon monoxide. If operating any combustion type appliance, including space heaters, install a CO alarm. Use alarms that meet the current requirements of UL 2034 or IAS 6-96."
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