Hi, I'm Jenny. This is where my home-testing notes live.

I've always been the person in the family who reads every review before buying anything for the house. Not because I love shopping — I don't — but because I hate returning things. If I'm going to add another gadget to a room, I want to know it will earn its space.

For years those notes lived on my phone and in half-finished Google Docs shared with my sister and a few friends. In 2026 I finally moved them here, so anyone else asking the same questions has one place to look.

What Vitherma covers

Real, hands-on testing of things I actually use in my own home — the small stuff that ends up making daily life a bit easier. It started with portable heaters and coolers because that's what I was buying first; it's grown to kitchen and cleaning gadgets since, and it'll keep growing to whatever earns a spot next. Nothing about central HVAC installs, nothing about DIY plumbing, nothing I haven't personally tried.

I stay away from anything I can't test myself. If I've never used a product, it isn't on the site. If a category is too specialized — commercial-grade equipment, anything that needs a licensed installer — I skip it. Better to be useful about a small thing than vague about a big one.

What Vitherma is not

I'm not an engineer, an electrician, a certified building inspector or a medical professional. I don't have HVAC credentials. Everything on this site is written from the point of view of someone who lives in her home, cares about how it feels, and does the research before buying. When a piece touches on safety — fire risk, electrical loads, sleep — I stick to what the fire departments and manufacturer manuals already say, and I link to those sources.

If you need certified professional advice for a specific installation, please hire a licensed electrician or HVAC technician. Nothing here replaces that.

How the testing works

Each product I write about lives in my house for at least two weeks before I publish anything. During that time I usually run:

• A plug-in wattmeter to check real power draw versus the label.
• A phone-based decibel meter on the pillow (for anything I'd sleep next to).
• An indoor thermometer at three points in the room, morning and night.
• The manufacturer's manual, read cover to cover once — because most of the "problems" people report online are just installation mistakes.

How Vitherma makes money

Some links on the site are affiliate links. If you buy through them, I may earn a small commission. It never changes what I recommend or what you pay. When I write "this is the one I actually use," it's the one I actually use — that's the whole point of the site.

I don't accept free products in exchange for reviews, and I don't have manufacturer sponsorships. If that ever changes, it will say so clearly on the piece it affects.

Where to start reading

New here? Start with the pillar guide: The Complete Guide to Home Comfort. It's the framework I use for every decision, and it links to the deep-dive on each specific question.