9 best electric heaters to keep you toasty without racking up a huge bill

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Feeling the chill but don’t want to turn on your central heating? Us too! Electric heaters can help by warming just one room, and many are now very energy efficient, making them ideal during the cost of living crisis.

Electric heaters actually cover quite a spectrum of different appliances. There are fan heaters and electric radiators, tower fans and convector heaters. And the latest type to enter the melee is infrared heaters. We’ve gone through the whole range in this round-up, so you’re sure to find one that suits you.

When selecting a fan heat, go for one that’s going to heat the space you need. If you’re sitting at a desk and don’t move much during the day, a desk heater is going to do the job just fine and you don’t have to worry about heating the rest of the room inefficiently. If you’re heating a whole room, a panel heater might be more suitable, as this type has the capability of heating larger spaces.

Efficiency is the order of the day at the moment. Fan heaters have historically been renowned for racking up energy bills. But that doesn’t have to be the case. We’ve been careful to highlight in this piece just how much juice each heater uses. If you’re looking for the best energy efficiency, infrared panels are the latest things, offering fantastic radiant heat without clocking up the dial on your electricity meter.

When choosing an electric heater, think about what’s useful to you. Some heaters offer loads of flexibility with timers, schedules and temperature settings. Often, these ones can be controlled remotely using an app. This is great if you don’t want to get up and down all the time, or want to control your heaters remotely. Other heaters just have a dial and buttons, which make them relatively simple to use – and often more budget-friendly, too.

How we tested

We tested nine electric heaters during a very cold snap in January. To test thoroughly, we used the heaters in the same space, seeing how quickly they heated it. We switched off our central heating to test them, to be sure we were being totally fair. What we wanted was silent, warm air that didn’t dry the air out, or make us feel like we were being blasted.

Versatility of functions and programmable features, as well as ease of use were also high on our list of priorities. And, of course, energy efficiency is something we watched like a hawk. With that in mind, we included the average cost per hour of using each heater, based on its highest setting. We used the UK energy price guarantee from 2022 to work out the cost.

The best portable heaters for 2023 are:

• Best electric heater overall – Princess smart infrared panel heater: £164.99, Toolstation.com
• Best wall-mounted electric heater – Duux edge 1500 convector heater: £149, Duux.co.uk
• Best smart electric heater – Dimplex FutuRad digital portable smart radiator: £277.58, Amazon.co.uk
• Best compact electric heater – De’Longhi capsule desk fan heater: £40, Argos.co.uk
• Best focal-point electric heater – VonHaus large stove 1,850W heater: £179.99, Vonhaus.com
• Best tower electric heater – Russell Hobbs retro tower heater: £54.99, Robertdyas.co.uk
• Best multifunction electric heater – Salter thermo dome four-in-one air circulator: £89.99, Argos.co.uk
• Best floor fan electric heater – De’Longhi capsule fit fan heater: £60, Amazon.co.uk
• Best high-spec electric heater – Dyson purifier hot + cool formaldehyde purifying fan heater: £549.99, Johnlewis.com