If you’re in the market for a saviour against the cold that’s easy to store away when not in use, then this dinky unit is most definitely worth the small outlay. When it comes to air purification, this Dyson can filter down to 0.1 microns, which includes pollen, pet dander, bacteria, smoke, benzene, nitrogen dioxide and, in the case of this specific model, formaldehyde – a poisonous gas emitted by cigarette smoke, many household products and wooden flooring. In other words, this model doesn’t just heat – or cool – the air in your room, it cleans it too at a rate of up to 290 litres per second. We set up each heater in the centre of our test room and run it on the maximum settings, with the room starting at a cool temperature. We monitor how much the room temperature changed over the course of an hour using temperature probes. We found the most drastic changes happen in the first half an hour and increases in temperature become more incremental after that. Frost protection The heater can be set to heat automatically when the temperature drops below 5°C, but you'll need to have it on standby for it to run, so this can limit its usefulness. Portable electric heaters use electricity, which costs 28.62p/kWh under the current energy price cap. Depending on how effective the heater is, they can take anything from 30 minutes to an hour to notably raise the temperature of a medium-sized room, so if you're only planning on using it until the room gets up to temperature, it will likely cost you between 28 and 57p.

They tend to be cheap to run, but some can be really slow to heat up. Most oil-filled heaters are also fairly heavy and cumbersome, so look out for models that come with wheels. We use a force meter to record how much is needed to topple each heater over and a decibel meter to measure how much noise each one makes while running. Despite the lower-quality build, we were impressed by this heater’s performance. It’s very keenly priced, too.

You have reached a page you are not allowed to view.​

Deliveries are only done between 09h00 and 17h00 from Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays). For such a small and keenly priced unit, the Russell Hobbs comes with a variable temperature thermostat and two heat settings – 750W and 1,500W. Granted, the thermostat control is a simple dial, so it isn’t possible to set an actual room temperature, but that’s par for the course with a heater at this price. Read our full story on illegal and dangerous plug-in mini heaters for sale on online marketplaces to see those we identified as having serious safety risks. We assess how easily each electric heater can be set up and how easily understandable the controls and settings are. We used any handles to lift the heater and move it around. While some heaters can be used straight out of the box, others have complicated program and timer settings.

Pinning down an exact comparison of how much central heating and electric heaters cost to run is nigh-on impossible, as the factors below are just some of the variables that play a part: Build quality is excellent, it looks attractive and its compact size (it’s just 28.5cm wide and 16cm in height) means it won’t get in the way. It’s just the job for heating up a space without fuss. This model comes with a basic remote control that allows you to adjust oscillation, power settings and room temperature and set an eight-hour timer. You can also control its most basic settings using the large digital display. The VonHaus comes with two power outputs (1kW and 2kW), a single fan speed and a digitally controlled room temperature thermostat for accurate operation. This model looks wonderfully retro with its Scandinavian wood-effect details and old-fashioned FM radio-style shell. In fact, it looks better in the flesh than it does in photos.Safety features include overheat and tip-over protection. You’ll become aware of the latter the minute you take the heater out the box, because it feels like something is loose inside. Don’t panic, it’s part of the design. Using Dyson’s unique Air Multiplier technology combined with variable oscillation up to an impressive 350 degrees, the Hot+Cool delivers a good wallop of warmth. According to the company, this heater will provide full coverage in rooms up to 81m³. As well as a built-in thermostat, air flow can be altered using the included magnetic remote control or, if you prefer, via Dyson’s excellent app. You don’t get many onboard controls on this sleek cylindrical ceramic heater; but, then again, it’s designed to work via an Apple or Android app, which lets you set your preferred room temperature and even set a schedule to turn it on and off over the course of a week.