Thanks to its recessed carry handle and relatively light weight, you can easily move this halogen heater around anywhere you go (just not outdoors, where it could be exposed to moisture). Nearly all have some kind of carry handle for moving about and many have a safety cut-out feature, which will switch off the heater if it gets dangerously hot. Gas is a cheaper fuel than standard rate electricity, so if you have gas central heating, it will generally be cheaper to use than an electric heater,” she explains. “If you don’t want to heat the whole home, turn your radiator valves lower in the rooms you’re not heating and higher in the rooms you are. That water is then pumped around to all the radiators. When you turn it off, the radiators remain warm for a while afterwards, too.

We buy all the electric heaters we test. We put the bestselling heaters from popular UK retailers through these tests: Heating speed, evenness, and accuracy The takeaway is this: If you want to get instant heat at a specific spot (your dinner table, armchair, sofa, etc), and you don’t care whether the entire room gets warm, halogen heaters are the way to go. This is what makes them so efficient — they don’t waste energy on empty corners of your room. Where should I use my halogen heater? While these space heaters have safety mechanisms built-in, not every safety measure is 100% perfect. Halogen heaters heat whatever you point them at — so they’re a great option if you need direct heat to keep yourself, your family, or your guests warm. On the other hand, they’re not ideal for warming up an entire room.Adjustable thermostat Using this function, a portable heater will heat the room and when the desired temperature is reached, it will try to maintain the room at that temperature. Most of the cheaper, simpler heaters we tested have a dial thermostat that doesn't let you choose specific temperatures in °C. You'll likely need to buy a more expensive model for that. Our tests also found that they're rarely 100% accurate and will probably think the room is a couple of °C warmer or cooler than it is. What’s more, this halogen heater features a safety tip-over switch and thermal cutoff mechanism, so you and your family can get cosy by the heat without worrying about accidents.

Direct warmth isn’t the only advantage of infrared. As there’s no fan, the Princess heater was extremely quiet, even on its highest setting. Plus, it was the most energy efficient of all the heaters we’ve tested – and by a long way. On its highest setting it used just 13p of electricity over the course of an hour. How the electric heaters are used can also impact their safety, explains Giuseppe Capanna, Product Safety Engineer at the charity Electrical Safety First. “Some simple steps people can take to use their heaters safely are to avoid powering from an extension lead, as this can overload and cause fires, and to ensure they are at least a metre away from combustible materials such as clothes,” he says. Similar in appearance to the radiators you’ll find in your home, these portable versions generally heat and circulate oil instead of water to generate their warmth. Breaking the mould a bit here on our list of the best halogen heaters, we present the Rising Sun Mono from Blumfeldt— a hanging heater. Featuring famous German engineering, this model from Blumfeldt is a highly durable, outdoor infrared heater capable of withstanding the elements with aplomb.Central heating is much more effective at maintaining a stable temperature over a longer period, whereas the heat from an electric heater will soon dissipate if the rest of your home is cold.

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. That said, you can use Beldray’s halogen heater for that extra burst of heat just about anywhere — just select the highest setting, turn off oscillation, and position the device nearby, thus focusing the radiant heat on yourself. Infrared heaters are different to all the other models on our list, as they radiate heat, rather than circulating it. This means they won’t heat a whole room in quite the same way, but if they’re positioned near you, they should make you nice and toasty. This was reinforced when we tested the Princess model; while the overall room temperature was lower than you’d find using a convection heater, it still rose after some use. And our expert found that when sat in front of it, they were suitably warm within just ten minutes, feeling the benefits even from 1.5 meters away.

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On the downside, this type can be quite noisy and they don't have some of the more advanced features you can get with convector heaters. But what about the lifespan of the tubes? Fine Elements estimates that you’ll get around 8,000 hours out of your halogen tubes. That’s like running your heater for 11 hours every day for 2 years (which you probably wouldn’t). Not too shabby. These have exposed heating elements, which heat up cold air as it passes. This often leads to slower, but more even, heating. They tend to be a little slower than fan heaters, but are quieter, and our tests found some are still pretty speedy. What makes this heater safe? Most space heaters get a bad rap for their tendency to fall over. This won’t be an issue with the Warmlite, however, as it’s built with a stable, topple-resistant base.