Our reporter Sang Xueqi
A cold wave caused the temperature in many parts of the country to drop sharply, but the bitter cold wind heated up the electric heating product market.
Among them, various new types of small household appliances such as plumbing blankets, baseboard heaters, and floor heating pads have attracted much attention.
However, the results of quality spot checks released by the market supervision department and the comparative test results released by consumer organizations show that the quality of electric heating products is not satisfactory.
The reporter of "China Consumer News" found that consumers also have many confusions when purchasing related products.
New products are popular
Since the end of summer, the news that my country's electric blankets are popular in the European market has been reported by the media.
According to the information released by the China Household Electrical Appliances Association, from January to July 2022, the cumulative export value of my country's electric heater products reached 490 million US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 23%; in July this year alone, the 27 EU countries imported 1.29 million electric blankets from my country. , an increase of nearly 150% month-on-month.
This year, the domestic electric heating product market also started early.
According to data from the Jingdong Consumer and Industry Development Research Institute, from October 1 to 10, the turnover of electric heaters and electric blankets on Jingdong’s entire platform increased by 148.74% and 194.28% year-on-year respectively.
According to data from the Suning.com platform, during the National Day holiday, sales of heaters increased by 352% year-on-year.
On platforms such as Douyin and Kuaishou, various "heating artifacts" such as electric heaters, fan heaters, and electric blankets also frequently appear in major live broadcast rooms.
The reporter of "China Consumer News" noticed that some new electric heating products are more concerned by consumers.
"Now there is an electric hand warmer that also has the function of a charging treasure. Almost every girl in my daughter's class has one." Ms. Li, a consumer in Beijing, told the reporter of "China Consumer News". This kind of hand warmer is small and cute in appearance. It has dual functions and is very popular among middle school students.
Ms. Lin, a consumer who lives in Guiyang City, told the reporter of China Consumer News that she regretted not installing floor heating equipment due to budget constraints during the renovation, and regretted it when winter came.
However, there are many new heating products on the market now, such as floor heating pads, baseboard heaters, etc., which are small and light in shape and do not take up space at home.
This year's "Double 11", Ms. Lin equipped two bedrooms at home with baseboard heaters, and also bought floor heating mats for the living room.
Aowei Market Compass data shows that baseboard heaters are currently developing rapidly in the market. In June, July, and September 2022, the market for baseboard heaters will grow significantly, with sales in June reaching 1.6909 million yuan. A year-on-year increase of 30%; sales in July were 808,000 yuan, a year-on-year increase of 31.6%.
In addition, water heating blankets are also a new bed heating product that has been popular with consumers in the past two years.
According to the "Double 12" electrical consumption data released by Suning.com in 2021, since November of that year, the sales of plumbing blankets on the platform have increased by as much as 495.06% year-on-year.
According to data from JD.com, as the cold wave hits in 2022, the turnover of plumbing blanket products on the platform will increase by nearly 100% year-on-year.
quality must be improved
"At present, some heating appliances such as indoor heaters and electric blankets have been included in the scope of national compulsory product certification, and products must obtain 3C compulsory certification before they can be produced and sold." Huang Kaijie said.
However, judging from the random inspection results announced by the market supervision department and the comparative test results released by consumer organizations, the current product quality is still not satisfactory.
According to the results of the "2021 National Supervision and Spot Inspection of Electric Heating Appliance Product Quality Circular" issued by the State Administration for Market Regulation in March 2022, a total of 371 batches of electric heating appliance products produced by 368 companies were randomly inspected, involving electric blankets and indoor heaters. , electric hand warmer and other 3 products, of which 10 batches of products are suspected of counterfeiting and unlicensed production; a total of 369 batches of products produced by 366 companies were inspected, and 112 batches of products were found to be unqualified, and the spot checks were unqualified The unqualified rate was 30.4%, of which 7.3% failed the random inspection of electric blankets, 15.6% failed the random inspection of indoor heaters, and 65.1% failed the random inspection of electric hand warmers.
Previously, in February 2022, the Shanghai Consumer Rights Protection Committee conducted a comparative test on 21 rechargeable hand warmers on the market.
The evaluation results showed that 2 samples lacked 5 items of identification and description content, including product name, model, rated capacity, charging voltage, and instructions for use, which may cause inconvenience to consumers in purchasing and using; 6 products failed to work normally after the drop test , 1 model even had a shell crack; in the heat test, the temperature of 5 products exceeded 58°C, and the highest surface temperature of 1 model could reach 64.7°C.
"In 2021, Shanghai Market Supervision Bureau entrusted Weikai Testing Technology Co., Ltd. to carry out the laboratory evaluation of plumbing and electric blanket products. We found that some products had problems in electrical safety items." Huang Kaijie said that 3 batches of samples Insufficient insulation protection, 3 batches of samples have unreliable grounding protection, and 3 batches of samples have problems with unreliable fixing devices. "The switch will come out with a little prying, and the power cord will be pulled out when you pull it. Consumers use the process There may be a risk of electric shock, short circuit fire or electric leakage." Huang Kaijie added.
Confused about shopping
Although the new product attracts people's attention, the reporter of "China Consumer News" found that consumers still have a lot of confusion when purchasing such products.
"The rechargeable hand warmer I bought for my daughter can be heated, but the charging speed is really like a snail crawling. Not only is the self-charging speed slow, but the charging speed of the mobile phone is also not fast." Ms. Li said in the previous article that after reporting the problem, the merchant A new one was quickly replaced, but the charging speed is still slower than a single power bank.
"I'm afraid that the quality of the product is not up to standard, in case the child is hurt again." Ms. Li said.
"Plumbing blankets claim that the products are comfortable and safe, is it true?" Some consumers asked in the interview.
The reporter inquired about the e-commerce platform and found that the prices of plumbing blankets, plumbing mattresses and other products range from one hundred yuan to two or three thousand yuan, but the functional descriptions are quite similar, including "multiple safety protection" and "not getting angry". Water and electricity separation design, "automatic constant temperature", etc.
Huang Kaijie, person in charge of the personal care product line of Weikai Testing Technology Co., Ltd., told the reporter of "China Consumer News" that heating appliances are divided into room heating and body heating. The former warms the room, while the latter is only for people and not for the room.
Different structures and types of heating appliances use different heating technologies.
"For example, the common plumbing blankets currently on the market are composed of a host, a flexible blanket body and interconnected water pipes. The heating water container is outside the blanket body, and there are no live elements in the blanket body. The water pump in the host machine makes water flow in the heating container and the water pipes in the blanket body. The circulation flow is like a miniature version of the room’s plumbing.” Huang Kaijie explained that because the temperature of the blanket body is uniform and there is no electric heating element inside the blanket, the plumbing blanket feels more comfortable under the same temperature and use time.
Liu Hongtao, senior research manager of the Environmental Appliance Division of Aowei Cloud Network, told the reporter of "China Consumer News" that the baseboard heater has benefited from the light and thin properties of the graphene material, and its volume has been greatly reduced. It can be made into a baseboard heater. The shape reduces the occupancy of the interior space and is easy to move.
Moreover, the product has the advantages of fast heating, natural antibacterial, energy saving and environmental protection, and is not easy to dry, which can provide consumers with a more comfortable experience.
Standard to be completed
Liu Hongtao said that in recent years, the home appliance industry has shown a trend of multi-functional integration, and electric heaters are no exception.
In addition to built-in humidification and clothes hanging functions, new products with functions such as air filtration and dual-purpose heaters are also emerging. Some brands try to add air filters with various functions to baseboard heaters and heaters. The electric heater has functions such as sterilization, aldehyde removal, and haze removal.
"However, the filtering effects of these functions cannot replace air purifiers. Whether they can be recognized by consumers still needs to be verified by the market." Iterate steadily.
Huang Kaijie said that the current safety and performance standard system for indoor heaters and electric blankets is relatively sound.
The electrical safety standards of products can be based on GB 4706.1-2005 "Safety of Household and Similar Electrical Appliances Part 1: General Requirements", GB 4706.8-2008 "Special Specifications for Safety Electric Blankets, Pads and Similar Flexible Heating Appliances for Household and Similar Electrical Appliances" Requirements", GB 4706.23-2007 "Safety of Household and Similar Electrical Appliances Part 2: Special Requirements for Indoor Heaters" and other standards testing; Appliances" standard inspection.
Heat storage electric hand warmer products can be tested according to GB 4706.99-2009 "Special requirements for safe heat storage electric hand warmers for household and similar electrical appliances" and other standards.
However, there is currently no specific standard for power bank electric hand warmer products, and is usually tested according to the standard GB 4706.1-2005 "Safety of Household and Similar Electrical Appliances Part 1: General Requirements".
"Currently, small and medium-sized enterprises in the heating appliance industry account for a relatively large proportion, and there are still many family workshop enterprises. Their products lack core technologies and the market entry threshold is not high, resulting in fierce market competition. However, there are also some well-known enterprises in the heating product industry. At the same time, some well-known home appliance companies are gradually deploying in this field and launching some new products.” Huang Kaijie believes that the participation of well-known companies is conducive to the implementation and improvement of standards.
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When purchasing products, focus on core functions and safety
"Consumers should consider the actual situation before purchasing heating appliances, such as the degree of matching with the home space, whether it can be remotely controlled by mobile phones, and other auxiliary functions. However, consumers should pay more attention to the core functions and safety of the product. "Huang Kaijie, head of the personal care product line of Weikai Testing Technology Co., Ltd., reminded consumers.
In addition, consumers should choose regular shopping mall counters or online platforms officially authorized by the brand to buy regular heating appliances that have passed the test, and do not easily trust and buy products from unknown sources.
If you buy untested products, their safety protection measures cannot be guaranteed, which may cause damage to consumers' personal and property safety during use.
Some heating appliances, such as indoor heaters and electric blankets, are subject to national compulsory product certification, and you should look for the 3C compulsory certification certificate when purchasing.
Plumbing blankets and hand warmers have not yet been included in the national compulsory product certification catalog, and products with voluntary certification marks can be given priority when purchasing.
Pay attention to check whether the appearance of the product is complete, whether the instructions for use are complete, and keep the purchase certificate and invoice.
For new products such as plumbing blankets, you should understand relevant knowledge when purchasing.
For example, because the water heating blanket has an independent host, it will take up more space than ordinary electric blankets.
It is also necessary to consider the location of the host, and try to place it where it will not be kicked or bumped to avoid potential safety hazards.
Since there is a motor inside the host to output circulating warm water, the product will emit some noise when in use. If consumers are sensitive to sound, they need to think more about it before purchasing.
For hand warmers with a power bank function, if the battery capacity and voltage are not marked or the rated energy exceeds 100Wh, they cannot be carried on the plane.
(Sang Xueqi)