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With both gas and electric power getting evermore expensive, efficient heat sources are in great demand. We have already seen an indoor bed-tent from Room in Room, and now Italian designer Marco Zagaria has created the Egloo — a candle-powered heater that is both cheap and ecologically friendly.

The Egloo consists of a base, a grill and two terracotta domes. Candles can be placed on the base, and will warm up the domes when they are lit. The grill supports the domes and makes a space in which the candles can combust. The inner dome is thinner and stores a high rate of heat, while the outer dome takes in cooler air from its surroundings — this results in thermal exchange, pushing the warm air out into the room. After 30 minutes the Egloo will begin to heat the room, increasing the temperature by 2-3 degrees for up to five hours with only four tea candles.

The Egloo was successfully crowdfunded on Indiegogo in December, raising over USD 260,000 — almost five times its initial goal. The device is now on sale in various colors from USD 50. Could a larger model be used as a safe, eco-friendly alternative on a mass scale?