Space Heaters

When the temperature outside starts to drop, it’s nice to have an electric space heater ready to boost warmth in some rooms. For older homes that weren’t built with central air or efficient heating systems, heating & cooling appliances are essential.

It may not be necessary to install full central air conditioning in some parts of the country, but instead rely on freestanding or window air conditioners to beat a spike in temperature.  

But just as some areas may have temperature spikes, others may have unexpected low temperatures, making it smart to invest in a portable heater no matter where you live. They are especially useful in basements or attics where it isn’t possible to install central air systems. You can be sure to find the safest space heater for your home or office with features like auto shut-off, a tip-over safety switch and cool-touch outer materials to avoid accidental injury.

Once you’ve found the best space heater for your needs, you can take advantage of all the things that can make the latest electric heaters so great, like a programmable thermostat, timer, oscillating design, sleep mode, remote control, or smartphone control. Warming the air in your home can cause it to lose humidity, creating dry air issues like eye, nose and throat irritation, dehydrated skin and respiratory conditions. Using a humidifier along with your heating unit helps retain healthy levels of moisture in the air during colder months. If you decided on a portable heater, take it along with you for the weekend at a cabin or in a camper to extend weekend trips longer into the winter. If you’re fortunate enough to have outdoor living space to enjoy with friends and family, think about adding a patio heater to your outdoor home appliances so you can spend as much time outside as possible.

When you’re considering which electric space heater to buy, assess the size of the area you want it to cover, then look at the heater’s wattage rating, which is found in the specifications section of each product’s page. Rule-of-thumb suggested guidelines are 10 watts of heating power for each square foot of space, so 1,500 watts will heat an average room of 150 square feet. Next, think about where you’ll be using your appliance. Do you need a whole room heater or one that’s optimized for small spaces? Many people get chilly at the office, so they bring along a small space heater to warm up their personal workspace. A personal space heater is also convenient to use at home when only one person is cold and you want to conserve energy by keeping the thermostat low. If multiple people are cold in a particular room, a portable electric heater can make everyone happy. If you want to heat up an entire room quickly, choose a ceramic heater that creates ambient heat though a convection process and tends to be more energy efficient than other methods. If you’re prone to allergies, consider a space heater with a HEPA filter or get an air purifier to combat air impurities that come with the change in seasons.