The next step after looking at products in the same category, was to look at products from the same brand, Challenge. In our tests, we set every heater to run at full blast so you can see the maximum amount it cost to heat our medium-sized test room. If you have the thermostat of your heater set to a desired temperature, the heater will toggle on and off once it reaches that temperature – depending on what's needed to maintain it. The heater won't operate continuously, so won't cost you as much to run. Are electric heaters cheaper to use than central heating?

It's worth also bearing in mind that calculating the cheapest way to heat a room again depends on a number of variables, such as the size of your home and how energy-efficient it is, your heating requirements, and your energy provider. What are the disadvantages of a fan heater? 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. 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. Fan heaters can consume a lot of electricity in a short space of time, and are therefore best used in smaller and well insulated rooms. We use a force meter to record how much is needed to topple each heater over and a decibel meter to measure how much noise each one makes while running.

Find Challenge 2kW Ceramic Fan Heater reviews

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.

The actual price of the product that you choose is of course one of the most vital aspects of choosing the right product, we will go into that in more detail in just a moment.Some portable heaters have useful extras, such as an LCD screen that displays the current temperature or a remote control for turning the heater on from across the room. These features may come in handy: If you were to try replacing the use of your central heating by putting an electric heater in each room, it will definitely end up costing much more. If you do then find that Challenge 2kW Ceramic Fan Heater isn’t exactly as you thought it would be, you can easily return it. If the brand you buy is important to you, our best advice is to spend some time writing up your own list of ideal brands. That way when you come to the point where you’re comparing product options you can filter to only show the products from brands in your list.

Keen to optimise home heating? See our advice on boiler controls and thermostats , smart meters , and loft insulation 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 Quality is another important element when shopping for a new product, particularly if you’re looking for products like Heaters and radiators. However it’s really worth setting your expectations and needs right up-front so that you’re not expecting the world’s best quality products from the cheapest products in the range.In terms of how much it would cost your fan heater to heat a room, this would depend on a variety of factors. These are: 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. Under current energy prices, a run-of-the-mill plug-in electric heater can cost approximately 40p to 65p per hour to run on full blast. 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.