Best Space Heaters of 2022
To recommend the best space heaters, we rated more than 50 space heaters across features like heating time, ease of use, and safety
CR has tested (left to right) the Comfort Zone CZ499R, Vornado VMH 600, and Dyson Pure Hot+Cool HP04 space heaters.
By Mary H.J. Farrell
A space heater can provide some extra warmth in a drafty room or chilly office. In Consumer Reports’ space heater tests, we found multiple models that work well and even look good. We also found that you don’t have to pay a premium for top performance—many models we rate highly cost less than $100.
If you’re shopping for a space heater right now, consult our space heaters buying guide for some baseline considerations (a space heater won’t necessarily save you money, for one thing) and our expert tips on finding the right model for you.
And be sure to review our safety tips around operating a space heater at home. Notably, it’s safest to keep space heaters on the floor rather than on a table. That means a remote control can come in handy, especially if the knobs and dials are on the bottom of the unit (less stooping over and squinting at the settings).
Then there’s noise. A machine that makes a racket can be annoying if you’re running it while trying to watch TV (or work).
Most of the space heaters in CR’s ratings earn a Very Good or Excellent score in our noise test, and those that did worse typically had other shortcomings. Here are the quietest space heaters we currently rate.
How CR Tests Space Heaters
We evaluate space heaters for heating a standard-sized room in 15 minutes and directly heating a person—spot heating—in the same amount of time. “Our spot-heating test uses a mannequin wired with sensors,” says test engineer Chris Regan, who oversees our space heater ratings. “We want to know how your body will feel when you’re sitting within 4 feet of the appliance.”
Chris Regan, who leads CR's tests of space heaters, measures how hot a model's surface gets during use.
Photo: John Walsh/Consumer Reports
We also test space heaters for safety as shown above, including how hot the surface gets (so that you don’t burn your fingers) and whether the model gets so hot that it can ignite a piece of fabric (imagine nearby curtains).
Below, grouped alphabetically by task, are ratings and reviews of space heaters that excel at both heating a room and directly heating a person—as well as models that aced either one task or the other. For even more options, see our comprehensive space heater ratings.
Best Space Heaters for Overall Heating
Comfort Zone CZ499R
CR’s take: A small heater that makes a big impression, the low-priced Comfort Zone CZ499R, a CR Best Buy, heats you and a room equally well. It earns an Excellent rating on our fire safety test, meaning that the chance it will ignite nearby materials is low, but it isn’t as cool to the touch as other models in our tests. It weighs 6.4 pounds and comes with a fan, timer, and remote control.
Dyson Pure Hot+Cool (HP04)
CR’s take: The Dyson Pure Hot + Cool HP04 is by far the most expensive space heater in our ratings. For that price you get a stylish lightweight heater that’s packed with bells and whistles, including WiFi connectivity. Dyson claims it heats and cools the air as well as purifies it (we tested it as a space heater). In our space heater tests, it earns Excellent ratings for room and spot heating, and gets top marks in our ease-of-use test, which assesses how simple the controls are to use and how easy the unit is to move. It gets middling scores on both our noise and hot-surface tests, so if those are concerns, you can find a model that heats just as well, costs less, and doesn’t have those shortcomings.
Honeywell HZ-980
CR’s take: The large Honeywell HZ-980 is equally capable of bathing you in direct heat and warming up a room quickly. It aces our fire safety test, which means the potential for igniting nearby fabrics is low. But its score on our hot-surface test is only Good, meaning you’ll want to keep kids and pets at a distance. It weighs a hefty 17 pounds but has wheels, making it easier to move from one room to another. It comes with a remote, so you can adjust the heat from afar.
Lasko AW315 Bladeless Tower (Home Depot)
CR’s take: The Lasko AW315 is adept at both heating a room and directing heat at one person, earning Excellent ratings on both tests. Its slim profile sets it apart from many space heaters, and it has a small footprint, so you can put it almost anywhere. It scores Very Good on our fire safety and hot-surface tests, meaning it’s not likely to ignite nearby fabrics and stays relatively cool to the touch. This model comes with a remote, so you don’t even have to move from the couch to control the heat, but it lacks a tip-over safety switch—a feature the three models above all have.
Best Space Heaters for Heating a Room Quickly
Atomi Smart AT1481
CR’s take: Do you really need to set the temperature of your space heater with a smartphone app? Maybe not, but add the Atomi Smart AT1481 to the number of smart home appliances we’ve tested. As a space heater, it heats a room quickly and evenly and rates Very Good at spot heating, although other heaters do better on that test (see below). While the likelihood that it will ignite nearby fabrics is low, it didn’t fare well on our hot-surface test, scoring a Poor, meaning you can get a serious burn if you touch it when it’s on. It has a tip-over safety switch.
Honeywell HCE311V
CR’s take: The reasonably priced Honeywell HCE311V earns an Excellent rating for heating a room but only a Fair rating for spot heating, so it can’t do the double duty that some space heaters can. And it’s mediocre for noise. But it weighs a scant 3.4 pounds, so it’s easy to move from one room to another. It comes with a fan, timer, and tip-over safety switch.
Honeywell Thermawave 6 HCE870W
CR’s take: You can tuck the unobtrusive Honeywell Thermawave 6 HCE870W away from the main traffic patterns in your room and be assured that it’ll keep you cozy. It’s top-notch at heating a room, earning an Excellent rating, but only so-so at spot heating. It gets a middling rating of Good on our hot-surface test but passes our fire safety test with flying colors. It features a tip-over safety switch.
Lasko Designer Series 6435
CR’s take: A far cry from the basic black box, the eye-catching Lasko Designer Series 6435 resembles an antique urn. This lower-priced model earns a spot on our list of CR Best Buys, and it aces our room-heating test and gets a Very Good rating for spot heating. However, it’s mediocre for noise. It has handy controls on top, weighs just 6.9 pounds, and comes with a fan, timer, and remote control.
Lasko FH500
CR’s take: The Lasko FH500 is a champ at keeping a room warm, but it’s not the best at spot heating. With its tall, slim profile, this space heater fits nicely where boxier models might not. It has a tip-over switch that automatically shuts off the unit if it gets knocked over. However, it earns only a Fair rating on our hot-surface test, which means that touching the area where the heat exhausts can cause a burn. It weighs 13 pounds and comes with a remote control and a timer.
Lasko T22840
CR’s take: The Lasko T22840 might not be as slim or pretty as its brandmates on this list, but when it comes to heating a room quickly it holds its own, earning an Excellent rating on that test. Our engineers found this model to be a cinch to use, and at only 5 pounds, it’s easy to move from room to room. But its score for spot heating is only so-so, and it’s a bit noisy. We found the potential for this heater to ignite nearby flammable materials to be low, though the surface gets hot enough to cause a burn if you touch it.
Best Space Heaters for Direct Heating
Heat Storm Mojave
CR’s take: With a name like Heat Storm you expect a lot, and both the Heat Storm Mojave and the Sahara below hit our spot-heating test out of the park. The Mojave also earns Very Good ratings for room heating, noise, and ease of use. It weighs 9.5 pounds and comes with a fan and a remote control.
Heat Storm Sahara
CR’s take: Like its brandmate above, the Heat Storm Sahara earns an Excellent rating for spot heating and a Very Good rating for room heating. It runs relatively quietly, weighs in slightly less, at 8.8 pounds, and comes with a fan and a remote control. This model lacks a timer, but that’s a small concession considering its above-average performance.
Vornado VH200
CR’s take: Although the Vornado VH200 is super-quiet and garners an Excellent rating for spot heating and a Very Good rating for room heating, it does have some drawbacks. It doesn’t fare well in our hot-surface test, which means it can be hot enough to cause a burn if touched when on the highest setting. On the plus side, the machine has a tip-over switch and, at 4 pounds, is very lightweight, making it easy to move.
Vornado VMH600
CR’s take: The Vornado VMH600 has the best Overall Score of all the space heaters in our tests. It tops our spot-heating test while falling just a bit short in room heating, where it earns a Very Good rating. It’s one of the quieter heaters in our tests, too, and it sports safety features such as a tip-over switch and a timer that allows you to program when the heater turns on and off. It weighs 10 pounds and has a fan and a remote control.
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