Plugging in a portable electric heater is a quick and easy way to take the chill out of a cold room. A portable heater also makes a good emergency option if your usual heating system's on the blink.
Cheap electric heaters can be surprisingly hard to come by during winter, though, with many going out of stock, so you might find it hard to track down a particular heater that you're after if you wait until the coldest spell to buy.
We've found some of the cheapest heaters available right now and shared some tips on what makes a heater truly good value.
Just want to know which electric heaters are Best Buys? To find one that scored well in our rigorous lab tests, head over to our reviews of Best Buy electric heaters.
How much do portable electric heaters cost?
The priciest portable electric heaters will set you back around £150. Some are more expensive because they have extra features, such as air purification claims and Wi-Fi connectivity.
You still don't want to spend more than you need to, though, and many cost as little as £20 or £30 to buy.
Electric heater running costs
The cost of a cheap heater can soon mount up once you factor in the running costs.
- On average, most electric heaters run at a maximum output of 2kW. In other words: if you run your 2kW electric heater at full blast for one hour, you'll be paying 68p. For just half an hour, it'll cost you 34p.
- Under the current Energy Price Guarantee, electricity costs 34p per kilowatt hour for domestic customers on a standard variable tariff.
The cheapest electric heaters we've tested all have thermostats that detect the ambient temperature and adjust the heater's output according to your preferred setting. They usually have adjustable energy settings and timers so you can turn the heat down if you want to, or limit your heater's running time.
This means that an electric heater doesn't run constantly once its thermostatic setting has been met. It will toggle on and off sporadically after about half an hour of run-time.
Cheap heaters usually have fewer features
Cheaper electric heaters do tend to have fewer features than more expensive ones. Compared with more expensive ones, a cheap heater is less likely to have:
- A fan that oscillates to increase the distribution of heat around the room.
- Smart functionality. Though if you prefer manual controls anyway then this is no loss.
- A fashionable design, such as a tower shape or a glass panel.
- A wide range of heat settings: some only offer a couple of heat settings and rudimentary thermostatic control.
- Dehumidification or, as in the case of some Dyson electric heaters, claimed air purification functions. The best heaters aren't necessarily top at these additional jobs, so check out our Best Buy air purifiers and Best Buy dehumidifiers if you're primarily after those features.
How important these features are is down to personal preference. If all you want is something to keep you warm when there's a nip in the air, and you don't care about how it looks or require the ability to control it at a distance, a decent budget electric heater should be perfectly adequate.
The electric heaters we've featured here all cost £100 or less. If you're prepared to pay a bit more, head to our electric heater reviews to see more expensive ones too.
Cheap fan heaters
Fan heaters generate heat and blow it around the room. They get going much more quickly than other types of heater. We've found that convector heaters and oil radiators can take half an hour to raise a room's temperature significantly, but a good fan heater can do this in half the time. Some are less efficient than others though, so check our reviews to avoid buying a poor performer.
Don't buy a fan heater if you need something quiet - their internal fans can make a racket.
The cheapest electric heaters tend to be fan models with a small horizontal grille. They sit on a desk or sideboard and push air out of a small outlet that gets very hot.
Most cheap fan heaters don't oscillate, so you'll need to point your heater in your general direction. This makes them worse at distributing heat throughout the room, which we reflect in our scoring.
Dimplex DXUC2B, £39
This 2kW fan heater stands stationary on an elevated surface and blows hot air in whichever direction you face it.
It's useful year-round because of its cold-air setting, where the fan operates without the appliance generating any heat.
Just be mindful that this is a loud heater. It's not a great companion for an evening watching the TV, but it's perfectly fine for a short burst of heat at times when it wouldn't be too distracting.
- Buy it now from AO (limited availability).
- Read our expert review of the Dimplex DXUC2B to see if it's better or worse than the other heaters featured in this article.
DeLonghi HTF3033, £39
The DeLonghi HTF3033 is a pretty basic heater (similar to many other cheap heaters, it only has two heat settings) with a horizontal grille.
However, the joy of this model is its simplicity. It weighs just 1.6kg and is operated by a couple of dials protruding from the top. You can plonk it down and let it get to work with minimal fuss.
Just watch out: at its highest setting it runs at 2.5kW. That's a lot of energy for a little heater. Your wallet will feel the burn if you use it for more than short bursts.
It's been on sale for a decade now, but it's so popular that we retested it last year to see how it stood up against more modern alternatives.
- Shop for the DeLonghi HTF3033 at Amazon and JC Campbell Electrics.
- Find out how it fared in our tests by reading our DeLonghi HTF3033 review.
Pro Breeze PB-H01-UK, £45
This is a small fan heater, but unlike the two cheap heaters above, it oscillates. This means that it turns up to 60 degrees to blow air around the room, rather than just pointing in one direction.
This helps it to distribute heat more widely, though at a 60-degree rotation it won't project heat in every direction, so you'll still need to choose where to place it in your room.
- Buy it now from Amazon.
- Read our Pro Breeze PB-H01-UK review to see how this fan heater compares to others.
Convector and radiator heaters for less than £100
Convector and radiator heaters heat up the air in your room in a different way to fan heaters.
Convector heaters have an exposed heating element which warms up cold air that passes through.
Radiator heaters warm with a mix of air convection and thermal radiation: the latter means they heat objects and people directly, as well as warming up the air in the room.
They're not quite as cheap generally as fan heaters - the average convector heater and radiator-type costs between £50 and £100 - but they tend to be more thorough, managing to heat rooms evenly from corner to corner, floor to ceiling. They can be slower to get going, though.
Many fan heaters have a maximum output of 3kW, while most convectors have a maximum output of 2kW or lower. Convector heaters and radiators are better suited for use over several hours compared with fan heaters, especially if they're set to use fewer watts.
Currys Essentials C20CHW21, £30
Currys' own convector heater is at the very bottom price range of convector heaters. EcoDesign regulations means it doesn't shirk on important energy efficiency measures such as a thermostatic dial and variable heating settings.
Its heating output settings range between 1.7kW and 2kW, a small difference. This convector's a good fit for heating a room gradually over a 30-60 minute period.
- Buy it now from Currys.
- Read our expert review of the Currys Essentials C20CHW21
Russell Hobbs RHCVH4002, £45
This heater bucks the trend of convector heaters as its typically pricier than fan heaters. It's consistently been one of the cheapest heaters you can buy, though it's also frequently out of stock.
It doesn't have a digital display or any hallmarks of an expensive heater. But it does have three heat settings available via the manual control panel on its side, alongside its timer and thermostat.
For slightly slower, quieter, more comfortable heating, it's got the edge over fan heaters.
- Buy it now from Amazon (limited availability).
- Read our Russell Hobbs RHCVH400" review to see if it's the one for you.
Tristar 2000W (KA-5816BS), £54
This white convector heater can run at 1.2kW or 2kW, but you're best off setting its thermostat and letting it select the right output itself for the ambient temperature.
It doesn't have a digital display, but it has a prominent timer on its front, as well as two control dials on its side - one for manually setting the temperature and one for setting its thermostat.
- Buy it now from B&Q.
- Read our review of the Tristar 2000W white convector heater (KA-5816BS).
Live more sustainably - get our free Sustainability newsletter to make changes for you and the planet.
Are cheap electric heaters less effective than expensive ones?
Not necessarily. Heaters are highly efficient at turning electricity into heat regardless of their price. You don't necessarily need an expensive heater to get 'more' out of the electricity you draw. We've tested several Best Buy electric heaters costing less than £50.
That said, plenty of cheap electric heaters are quite poor at doing the basic job of keeping you warm. Three of our Don't Buy heaters cost less than £40 when they flunked our tests. If you want a heater that's good value (rather than just cheap), check our electric heater reviews first. You're much more likely to buy a dreadful heater if you buy a cheap model without doing your research.
Paying more doesn't guarantee good quality either, though; one of our Don't Buy heaters costs £100.
Choose the right heater for your needs, regardless of price
Regardless of price or type, portable electric heaters aren't designed to be used to heat your entire home. Trying to do so will be an exercise in frustration and high costs. Use an electric heater selectively, as a top-up or a fallback option. Here are some things to consider.
- Is a portable heater the right heating solution? They will rarely be as cost-effective in the long run as, for example, a storage heater that uses off-peak electricity rates, or a gas boiler that's connected to a central heating system and costs a fraction of the price per hour.
- Do you want short bursts of heat, or something to keep you warm over several hours? Some of the cheapest fan heaters run at 3kW, so are good for short, intense bursts. More expensive and much slower oil radiators won't get the heat going as fast, but they'll be better over long periods - not least because they typically run at 1.5kW. So, even though they're pricier upfront, the running costs per hour are much lower.
- Does the thermostat work effectively? Thermostats vary in quality - some work terribly, leaving a heater unable to adjust itself to the ambient temperature and spewing heat out endlessly, with a big impact on your energy bills. Others are sensitive and adaptive, adjusting the heater's output and bringing its heat generation down if the air temperature is high. The quality of a heater's thermostat is one of the key things we test for.
If you're relying on your portable heater because your boiler isn't doing its job, find out how to go about buying a new boiler or whether you're eligible for a free boiler or a boiler grant.
You can also read our guide to the best heating for your home to find a whole-home solution for your heating needs.
Save money on your central heating
If you have a combi boiler, you can make money savings right now by running it more efficiently. Boilers are able to run as low temperature systems, but many are set up to run at full tilt, costing you extra money.
Read our guide on the one simple way to adjust your boiler to lower your heating bill to see how you can save money by lowering the temperature of the water supplying your radiators.
A central heating system running efficiently and proportionate to your heating need is the best way to heat your home and keep your bills down.
Prices and product availability correct as of 3 November 2022. This story was first published on 7 October 2021 and is updated regularly to reflect new heaters we've tested as well as changing prices and availability of heaters.
source https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/cheap-electric-heaters-for-2022-apTMt6P91fwW