Electric heaters

Type of room — Suited to small and/or well insulated rooms, like bathrooms or small bedrooms and studies. 

Warm up time — Can take a long time to heat up a cold room because of their relatively low heat output. 

Type of heat — Panel heaters have a low surface temperature and produce less heat than most other electric heaters. 

Controls — Often don’t have a thermostat. 

Safety — Usually don't get hot enough for children or pets to burn themselves, but covering them with towels or clothes still poses a fire risk. 

Things to consider — Flat-panel heaters are often promoted as ‘eco’ or cheap to run. However, leaving the heater on when you’re not there will result in unnecessarily high power bills. 

Type of room — Good for heating bedrooms overnight, quietly on a thermostat. They struggle to heat rooms with high ceilings evenly and effectively. 

Warm up time — Can take a long time to heat up a cold room because the heated air rises and collects beneath the ceiling, only reaching the lower parts of the room slowly. A fan or fan heater can be used to mix the heated air more effectively during the warm-up period. 

Type of heat — Convection and oil column heaters mostly heat air rather than surfaces. In a convection heater there are heating elements surrounded by a metal case, with vents at top and bottom. In an oil column heater, the heating element is surrounded by oil, which is permanently sealed in the heater. In both types, the hot air rises and then slowly circulates around the room, providing background warmth. 

Controls — Usually have a thermostat making them good for quiet background heating. They may have a built-in fan to mix the air more effectively. Built-in fans are often small and not as effective as some fan heaters. 

Safety — Surface temperatures of convection and oil-column heaters are lower than micathermic and radiant heaters, so they’re safer — but still get hot enough to burn skin. 

Things to consider — Convection heaters can easily be tipped over and the weight and sharp fins of oil column heaters can be dangerous to children. They shouldn’t be covered with clothes or towels. Some heaters can be fixed to a wall. 

Type of room — Depending on the size, they can be good choice for living areas where you want fast, even heat.  

Warm up time — They heat up quickly. 

Type of heat — A micathermic heater is a slim, lightweight heater that heats your space quickly and quietly. It combines 2 types of heating:

• Radiant heat (like the warmth you feel from the sun or a fireplace) 

Controls — Usually have a thermostat. 

Safety —Their exterior can get quite hot which can be a hazard for children. 

Things to consider — They provide more radiant heat than convection and oil columns heaters. They are also lightweight and easy to move around. 

Type of room — Good if you only want to heat one area of a very large space, which can help to reduce running costs. Infrared heaters do not emit visible light, making them a suitable option for bedrooms. They are good for rooms with high ceilings as radiant heat delivers a more even air temperature from floor to ceiling. 

Warm up time — Many have a low heating capacity (wattage), so multiple heaters may be needed to heat a room well. 

Type of heat — Infrared heaters are a variation of radiant heaters and mainly heat objects and people rather than air in a room. 

Controls — Most don’t have a thermostat, but you can get an electrician to install a room thermostat that works with an infrared heater, or use a plug-in thermostat. 

Safety — High-wall or ceiling mounted models can be installed out of children’s reach and away from furniture and flammable materials. 

Things to consider — They are available as either free-standing, wall or ceiling mounted heating panels that can be made of a variety of materials, including glass and mirrors. They are more expensive to buy than most other electric heater types of similar heating capacity. 

Type of room — Small rooms where you need quick warmth, for example the kitchen or bathroom in the morning, where you need heating for very short periods of time. High-wall mounted models are good for bathrooms, especially ones that are too small for installing a high-wall mounted radiant heater. 

Warm up time — They provide quick warmth in smaller rooms. The bigger the fan, the better the heated air will mix around the room. 

Type of heat — Fan heaters (or ceramic heaters) can be noisy, but distribute heated air around your room rather than letting it form a layer of hot air below the ceiling. 

Controls — Most don't have a thermostat. 

Things to consider — Fan heaters can boost convection heaters, providing additional heat and distributing the heated air more evenly, so your room feels warm quicker.