pnichols wrote:
Many of the posts above seem to be ignoring 12V heated mattress pads - an example of which I gave a link to in a post of mine earlier - also other posters above mentioned 12V heated mattress pads and their power consumption advantage over a 120V pad.
If one already owns a MSW inverter and a 120V heated mattress pad that won't play together ... then they have to decide whether to buy a PSW inverter, another 120V heated mattress pad that will work with their existing inverter, or a 12V heated mattress pad.
No, didn't ignore it and I went over the web site until I found info on controls and power consumption and it is on my list. Depends on what I can get hold of when we get north of the border as to which way I go. 12v supply is available in the distribution centre at the foot of our bed so power is no problem other than a bit of messing around installing an outlet.
One thing I have found is that 12V equivalents of many household appliances are not very good value because of limited performance (microwaves, kettles) and usually at least 100% price premium - which applies in this comparison between the two 12v units - your suggestion and the one supplied from the mains. Certainly performance should not be a factor in this case because power levels are low anyway and because as has been pointed out a 60 watt load from 12V will draw 5 amps whereas via an inverter could be 7 amps or even more from a large inverter
