There are purely-VFR pilots, and IMHO most of those don't fly if the weather is less than pretty nice, so they won't worry about the pitot heat.
True, but if one has a night rating it is pretty foolish to depart into the dark skies without a working pitot heater, even if you do not intend to enter IMC conditions, as inadvertent penetration is easier at night than day.
So depending on the time of the flight, as a VMC limited pilot, I may take a different view about the pitot heater, as I would want a full panel available to get out of IMC safely with my limited instrument skills.