What Is the Warmest Type of Space Heater

Most space heaters top out at the same 1500 watts, so the warmest type is the one that puts that heat where you are. If you sit in one spot, get an infrared heater. If you want the whole room warm, get a fan-driven heater sized to the room.

Wattage sets how much heat you get, and the type sets where it lands. Every electric resistance heater is 100% efficient at the point of use, so a 1500 W oil-filled unit and a 1500 W ceramic unit turn the same electricity into the same heat. Radiant heaters warm objects and people in their path at once but heat a room slowly. Oil-filled units warm a room slowly and keep radiating after you switch them off. A fan-driven convection heater warms an area fastest. If you would rather start from one overall pick, see the best space heater.

Pick the branch that matches what you see in your room:

• You sit at a desk or on a couch and only need heat on yourself: get the Dr. Infrared Heater, rated for up to 150 square feet.
• The room is a bedroom or home office of about 200 square feet or less: get the Dreo Solaris Slim, named best overall and rated for 200 square feet.
• You want the whole room warm: get the Vornado heater, the whole-room pick.
• The room is up to 300 square feet and you want an 8-hour shut-off timer: get the Lasko DUO Comfort tower, rated for 300 square feet.
• Furniture, a pet or a child's play area sits close to where the heater will stand: get the Honeywell heater, whose motion sensor turns it off if an object comes too close.

Once you've picked, the rules for placing it are the same for every branch. Plug it straight into a wall outlet, never into an extension cord or power strip. Keep it 3 feet from bedding, drapes and furniture, and turn it off when you leave the room or go to bed.

If your room is drafty or poorly insulated, skip the De'Longhi Dragon heaters. The maker says they suit only well-insulated spaces or occasional use, and the maker's page gives no usable room size. Take the Vornado above instead.