Heated Mattress Pads vs. Heated Blankets

Heated Mattress Pad

• A heated mattress pad fits under the fitted bed sheet and has elastic bands or pockets to hold it in place. The pad heats the bed from the mattress up and is designed so that sleeping on top of it will not damage the tiny electrical wires it contains.

Heated Blanket

• Heated blankets are laid on top of the flat bed sheet. The blanket heats the bed from the top of the covers down to the mattress. When using a heated blanket on a bed, you cannot lay on top of the blanket or you will damage the electrical wires inside the blanket and risk creating a hot spot or fire.

Heating

• Heated mattress pads generate warmth around the body. The flat sheet and any covers you have on top of you while you're sleeping prevent the heat the pads produce from escaping, which means the pads provide more usable heat to keep the body and bed warm. Conversely, electric blankets are more likely to lose heat. According to The Electric Blanket Institute, blankets lose one-fourth of the heat they generate because heat rises, and unlike with the heated mattress pad, there is less covering to keep the heat within the bedding.

Electricity Use

• According to the U.S. Department of Energy in 2008, heated blankets cost more to use than heated mattress pads do. A heated blanket uses about 0.35 kilowatts per hour when used on high for eight hours. That is a cost of about 4 cents per night. A heated mattress pad uses about 0.2 kilowatts when on for eight hours. That is a cost of about 2-3 cents per night.

Overheating

• Mattress pads are less likely to overheat because the pad stays flat and doesn't ball up when you are sleeping as blankets might. If a heated blanket becomes balled up, there is a risk of damaging the tiny electrical wires inside of the blanket or it can trap the heat within the balled up section, which will cause the blanket to overheat.