SoftHeat - King Heated Mattress Pad

I waited 2 years after purchasing to write this review. (I think far too many reviews are written too soon after purchase) First off, here are my sleeping conditions: King bed Approximate temp in my bedroom from mid December through March is 55F. The average temp outside at 3 a.m. in January is 18F. My thermostat is set to go down to 62 at night but the bedroom is around 55. I do have a thermometer in the bedroom to confirm this. We've always used a dual electric blanket in the past and it seems like we bought a new one every 2-3 years. On top of us we've got the sheet, a regular blanket, and a comfortor on the top of that. I wear only shorts and an undershirt (no socks), and my wife always wears pj's and socks. I know, pretty detailed, but these are the kinds of things I wanted to read when I was reading these reviews before I bought it. Lol. I wanted to make sure I was reading reviews by people who actually lived in cold climates!!! This thing is plenty warm. The HIGHEST I set my side is LOW!! In January I sometimes set it to 1 but very very rarely go above the lowest setting. My wife sets her side to the 3-4 range. When we were using electric blankets, hers was always on the highest setting. You WILL notice a difference with the type of heat it puts out. It's deceiving. It doesn't really feel that warm when you hop in bed. It doesn't give you that "warm bed" feeling like an electric blanket does. (Both my wife and I agree on that). However, you're warm very quickly and far more comfortable using this under you rather than an electric blanket on top of you. The heat is even, so when you move around there won't be any cold spots. It will be a bit cooler though in that area, but not a shock to your system. I've read some of the one star reviews and that may have been their experience, but it certainly wasn't mine. If I get another year out of this and have to buy another one, I'll be thrilled. I will never go back to using an electric blanket. I do love the low voltage aspect of this thing. You know how it goes. It's your bedroom so you've got many things plugged into the same outlet. At my house, I've got the heated mattress pad, alarm clock, phone charger, a book light, and a bedside lamp all plugged into the same outlet. I've never tripped the breaker like I sometimes did with the electric blanket. Obviously, this is not the only outlet on that circuit. I have things plugged into other outlets on the same breaker. (TV, dish network receiver, DVD player, and other stuff that you've typically got at your house too.). So you don't need to worry about a fire hazard like you do with an electric blanket. Give it a try. If you have an experience other than mine, I'm sure it's faulty so return it for a replacement. ***UPDATE*** Furnace went out for three days. The nighttime low was -6 outside. No space heater in the bedroom. Bedroom temperature was 40 degrees. I still could only handle a setting of 2!