Some brands are synonymous with quality. If quality is your focus, avoid budget brands that don’t specialise in good products. The more deluxe ranges offered by household brands are usually a reliable place to put your money, but results can vary from model to model. So the final step for us was to look specifically at products that are made by Russell Hobbs but are also only fitting in the Heating and cooling category. Russell Hobbs branded Heating and cooling

There were also a total of 84 products that were more expensive from Russell Hobbs and 35 that were cheaper. Price of Russell Hobbs products in the Heating and cooling category As you might expect, interest in electric heaters reaches its peak in the winter months. Over the last few years they've flown off the shelves as the nights have drawn in, even after having their prices hiked up rather than cut. It doesn’t matter if it’s a microwave or measuring scales, researching the right electronic device for your needs will save you a lot of headache down the line. Convector heaters are usually taller than fan heaters, but thin and light – making them larger, but still relatively easy to move between rooms.Programmable timer Useful for setting a heater to turn on just before you get home or wake up, so there's no waiting around for the heater to warm up. 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. Not necessarily. Heaters are highly efficient at turning electricity into heat regardless of their price. You don't necessarily need an expensive heater to get 'more' out of the electricity you draw. Under the current Energy Price Guarantee, electricity costs 27.35p per kilowatt hour for domestic customers on a standard variable tariff.

If you have your heart set on a particular brand or even a selection of brands then we’d suggest you spend a bit of time writing up a list of the brands that you would happily buy. This can really help you in narrowing down the selection when it comes to choosing a product. For example, over at Currys PC World you can filter products by brand, so you could filter just to show the brands on your list. This is especially useful knowing that there are 41 Heating and cooling to choose from at Currys PC World. However, many of the 2kW electric heaters we've tested tipped above and below that power output over the course of an hour's use in our tests, resulting in costs from 9p - 83p. They tend to be cheap to run, but some can be really slow to heat up. Most oil-filled heaters are also fairly heavy and cumbersome, so look out for models that come with wheels. Adjustable thermostat Using this function, a portable heater will heat the room and when the desired temperature is reached, it will try to maintain the room at that temperature. Most of the cheaper, simpler heaters we tested have a dial thermostat that doesn't let you choose specific temperatures in °C. You'll likely need to buy a more expensive model for that. Our tests also found that they're rarely 100% accurate and will probably think the room is a couple of °C warmer or cooler than it is.Although the comparison might make your electric heater look cheaper to run, bear in mind that it will only be heating a much smaller area, whereas your central heating will be aiming to heat your whole home.

Frost protection The heater can be set to heat automatically when the temperature drops below 5°C, but you'll need to have it on standby for it to run, so this can limit its usefulness.This story was first published on 7 October 2021 and is updated regularly to reflect new heaters we've tested as well as changing prices and availability of heaters. We're not able to show every retailer and cheaper prices may be available. Prices and availability last updated 26 October 2023. Tagged as:

PRODUCT FEATURES – Variable thermostat, frost protection, overheat protection, integrated handles and 1.45m power cord for your convenience

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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 The overall quality of any product is important, but it’s especially important when you’re considering Heating and cooling. You’re making an important investment in this product so you want to be sure that it’s going to be durable and serve its purpose for a decent length of time.