The 7 Best Radiant and Convection Space Heaters, Tested and Reviewed

Best Overall, Convection

Honeywell Digital Ceramic Tower Heater

$79 $67 at Amazon $70 $68 at Walmart $130 at Tractor Supply Co.

The Honeywell Digital Ceramic Tower Heater is our top recommendation based on its excellent performance during testing. We found that it delivers rapid heating, doesn’t make too much noise, and includes more safety features than most space heaters.

With a strong fan and a small oscillation effect, it’s a good fit for medium and large rooms, such as living rooms, home offices, and bedrooms. Its low noise output makes it usable just about anywhere, and it’s also light enough (with a built-in handle grip) that we didn’t have any trouble moving it around where we needed it.

When we tested this ceramic heater in the lab, we immediately felt a blast of hot air. We couldn’t feel it as much when not directly in front of the grill, but it does include an oscillation option to help spread the heat around. We wish the oscillation angle were a bit wider—our best for bedrooms pick has a much wider oscillation range—but we felt like it was enough to help spread the warm air around.

Safety is a huge concern with space heaters due to fire hazards, and Honeywell’s attention to that area is one of the big reasons we love this heater. For example, most space heaters have overheat protection to shut down if they get too hot, but this one has two separate and redundant overheat systems to ensure your safety even if one fails.

This heater also has tip-over protection that functioned perfectly during our tests, an automatic shut-off timer, and a cool-touch housing and handle that let you move it around without waiting for it to cool down (just don’t touch the grill, which we noticed does get hot). It even includes a bunch of high-quality internal upgrades you’ll never see, like high-grade silicone-covered wiring and soldered heating element connections with silicone sleeves that increase the overall safety of the heater.

We love the controls and all the options this heater provides, including the option to run it on low heat or high heat or set your desired temperature on the programmable thermostat. However, when using the thermostat, the fan seemed to always default to high, but it let us choose a comfy temperature, and the fan was never loud enough to interrupt conversations or prevent you from watching TV.

It doesn’t include a remote control like our best compact pick and some of our other favorites, but we think the great heat output and excellent safety features are worth that minor inconvenience (especially since the thermostat lets you choose a specific temperature you’re comfortable with anyway).

_{Dimensions: 9 x 7 x 22 inches | Heating Element: Ceramic  | Wattage: 1500W | Weight: 4.41 pounds | Safety Features: Overheat protection, tip-over shutoff, cool touch housing and handle, auto shut-off timer}

Best Overall, Radiant

Duraflame 3D Infrared Electric Fireplace Stove

$300 $230 at Amazon $230 at Wayfair $300 at Target

A fireplace-style space heater adds warmth and ambiance to any room. If that’s what you’re looking for, we highly recommend the Duraflame 3D Infrared Electric Fireplace. Based on six months of testing, this electric space heater offers substantial heat output, quiet operation, and an attractive aesthetic with hidden digital controls.

This Duraflame fireplace heater has an infrared quartz heating element with up to 5,200 BTU and an adjustable thermostat—making it large enough to provide supplemental heat in rooms up to 1,000 square feet. Even when cranking it up high, we appreciated this space heater's quietness. 

Its safety features are somewhat limited, as it only has an overheating shut-off mechanism. During testing, the heater's front grill became noticeably hot to the touch, although the top and sides of the fireplace stayed relatively cool.

We enjoyed using the flame effect without generating heat, which created a cozy atmosphere on warmer evenings. Our guests frequently complimented the heater and enjoyed the welcoming vibe it created.

Despite frequent use, the quality of the heater remained consistent through six months of testing, and we never encountered any issues. This fireplace heater is available in eight different finishes that will complement your decor.

If you're in the market for a fireplace alternative, we highly recommend trying this heater. It's a great way to achieve the same look and feel without the hassle of a traditional fireplace.

_{Dimensions: 24 x 12.9 x 23.4 inches | Heating Element: Infrared quartz | Wattage: 1500W | Weight: 28 pounds | Safety Features: Overheating protection}

Best Compact

Dreo Atom One Space Heater

$50 at Amazon $50 at Walmart View on Dreo.com

The compact Dreo Atom One Space Heater is worth considering if you need a budget-friendly space heater, especially for small spaces like a bedroom or office. We tested this heater in our lab and recorded an increase in temperature within minutes—2.87 percent after 15 minutes and 7.34 percent after 30 minutes.

We then tested this heater at home in our 200-square-foot home office, setting it to eco mode. With the heater about five feet from our office desk, we observed it reach the desired temperature and then shut off. It was quite comfortable at the desk, but we noticed that the far corners of the room remained chilly, so we think this heater is best for rooms smaller than 200 square feet.

This heater is 10 inches tall and small enough to sit on a coffee table or the floor in your chosen location. The ceramic heating element inside has 1,500 watts of power, heats quickly, and operates at high, medium, low, and Eco settings.

Some of the highlights of this budget space heater include its oscillation function, which helps to maximize its small size, and a fan-only mode that makes it functional in all types of weather. It’s worth noting that it has a brushless motor and nine-blade design for quiet, smooth operation while the heater is running. We recorded 51.5 decibels when operating the heater on high and 48 on low.

A remote control adds convenience; we tested it from 4 feet and 8 feet away, and it functioned with no issues. We noticed the remote has a mute button, but it stops the heater from beeping when you change settings.

Regardless of where you use it, safety features like a tip-over shut-off and overheating protection are important safeguards while using this space heater.

_{Dimensions: 10.31 x 6.69 x 15 inches | Heating Element: Ceramic | Wattage: 1500W | Weight: 3.8 pounds | Safety Features: Tip-over shutoff, overheat protection}

Best Efficient

Dr. Infrared Heater Portable Space Heater

$150 $130 at Amazon $151 $150 at Walmart View on Wayfair

We’ve tested the Dr. Infrared Heater Portable Space Heater in the lab and at home, and its performance has earned our approval in both scenarios. We like that it combines infrared radiant heat and convection heating technology to efficiently warm a variety of spaces—even a large primary bedroom.

Two features that stood out during testing were the included remote control and the wheeled cabinet design. At 25 pounds, it's heavier than most other heaters on our list, but the fact that it’s mounted on four caster wheels means you don’t have to pick it up to move it around—unless you’re taking it up or down a flight of stairs. 

The cabinet-like design may not be a fit for every decor style, but it’s functional, and we think it provides an attractive alternative to the plain black plastic housings found on many other space heaters. If you want something more modern, we love the design of the Dreo Solaris 718 (our best for bedrooms pick), with its conical tower layout and sleek grill.

Compared to convection heaters that aim to raise the room's ambient temperature by circulating warm air, a radiant heater like this makes you feel warmer more quickly. “Radiant heaters are typically more energy-efficient, heating objects directly,” says Roberson.

Since infrared heat transfers to people and objects in the heater's path, its efficiency isn’t impacted by drafty windows or doors like it is for convection heaters. This Dr. Infrared model is equipped with both types of heating technology, you’ll feel the heat immediately but also reap the benefits of a warmer room as the heater’s convection element releases warm air.

_{Dimensions: 13 x 12 x 15 inches | Heating Element: Infrared quartz and ceramic | Wattage: 1500W | Weight: 23 pounds | Safety Features: Tip-over shutoff, overheating protection, automatic timer shut-off}

Best for Bedrooms

Dreo The Solaris 718 Space Heater

$130 $117 at Amazon View on Dreo.com

If your bedroom gets chilly at night or even just during the cooler fall and winter months, we think the Solaris 718 Space Heater from Dreo is the perfect solution. This compact tower heater doesn’t take up much floor space, and its wide oscillation angle spreads heat evenly throughout your bedroom. It even has a convenient remote that allows you to turn it on in the morning without leaving the warm refuge of your bed.

Like most of our recommendations, this is a 1500W heater, but it provides more heat and fan options than most. It has five heat levels and three fan-only settings, and you can also select a specific temperature in one-degree increments using the thermostat. The high heat option warmed us up fast in our tests, so we think that’s the perfect setting to activate via the remote on a cold winter morning to take the chill out of the air before you get up.

We found the heat and fan controls a little confusing at first (you can’t select both a heat and a fan level, and attempting to do so results in just the fan blowing with no heat), but everything worked smoothly after we figured it out.

This heater also includes several important safety features, including basics like overheat protection and a very effective automatic shutoff that activated the moment we tipped it over. It also has a cool touch housing (the grill gets hot, but the rest of the heater doesn’t) and a child lock option.

We love this heater's aesthetic design, which stands out from the blocky, boxy competition. Even our overall best convection space heater recommendation, which we think looks great, appears relatively plain next to the striking conical design of this heater, with its attractive grill design and front-facing digital display.

When the space heater was operating, it sounded like white noise in the background, which we didn't mind. While we think it’s best suited to bedrooms, its modern design fits well in almost any room. It even has a carrying handle (which also stores the remote), making it easy to pick up and move around.

_{Dimensions: 7.9 x 7.9 x 29.7 inches | Heating Element: Ceramic | Wattage: 1500W | Weight: 8 pounds | Safety Features: Overheat protection, tip-over shutoff, cool touch housing, child lock}

Best for Large Rooms

Honeywell ThermaWave 6 Space Heater

$91 at Amazon $41 at Walmart $91 at Target

The Honeywell ThermaWave 6 wowed us during lab testing with its heat output, user-friendly controls, and abundant safety features. Based on its performance and ease of use, we recommend this as the best space heater for large rooms like your living room. It won’t look too bulky or conspicuous, either—it has a streamlined, simple appearance and weighs about 10 pounds. 

When we kicked the heater from low to high, we noticed a definite uptick in the warmth produced (there’s also a fan-only setting). It has about the same Btu (5,118 Btus) as the Duraflame 3D Infrared Electric Fireplace Stove, but it offers a different form factor and a lower price than that model.

It’s also equipped with an adjustable louver, which helps focus the heat in a specific direction—although you can’t aim it downward, which would help warm your feet or the floor on a cold day. A digital control panel is intuitive and easy to use, although there is no remote control to change the heater settings from across the room. 

This space heater has a long list of safety features, which makes it a good choice for large rooms that often see high traffic from kids and pets. It has an automatic timer shutoff (adjustable but set to 8 hours by default), overheating protection, a tip-over shut-off, and cool-touch housing.

When we picked up the heater to move it during testing, it promptly shut off. We were pleased to see that the handle on the back of the heater wasn’t hot to the touch. Overall, we think the Honeywell ThermaWave 6 makes a great, affordable choice. 

We also tested the heater's effectiveness in our TV room for a couple of months by setting the heat to level three and putting on the timer for 2 hours at a time. After observation, we found that this space heater did a great job of heating up the immediate area around our seating area. However, we do wish that the fan had blown the heat further.

Also, it's worth noting that the space heater is a bit louder, which can be a distraction. Depending on what we were watching, we found that we had to turn up the TV volume a bit to drown out the noise of the heater. Despite this, we were pleased to find that the heater's quality is still holding up well.

_{Dimensions: 18.5 x 7.75 x 18.1 inches | Heating Element: Ceramic | Wattage: 1500W | Weight: 10.89 pounds | Safety Features: Automatic timer shut-off, overheat protection, tip-over shutoff, and cool-touch housing}

Best Wall Mounted

Heat Storm Phoenix Space Heater

$120 $100 at Amazon $126 $118 at Walmart $107 at Wayfair

During testing, we were impressed by the heating function and quiet operation of the Heat Storm Phoenix. Its slim profile and multiple installation options make it our top choice for a wall-mounted space heater. With its clean, modern design, it won’t be a major eyesore, either.

The digital display panel gives easy access to the heater settings, or you can use the included remote control, although we sometimes found that we had to push the buttons multiple times to get the heater to respond. Overall, however, we were very pleased with the functionality and design of this wall-mounted space heater. We found it to be noticeably quiet during operation, but it put off substantial warmth, especially on its highest setting. 

Thanks to its thin dimensions and included hanging hardware, this infrared space heater can be mounted to the wall. However, it also includes feet to give it a stable base if you’d rather use it as a portable heater.

While we found the quality of the feet to be questionable, we didn’t have any issues with setting up or using this space heater during testing. It’s also worth noting that it has a tip-over shut-off and a front-facing grill that doesn’t become hot to the touch, making it a safe choice for children or pets. 

After also using this space heater in our bedroom, which tends to be chilly, we've noticed a significant improvement in our comfort levels, and our furry friends seem to agree. Thanks to its temperature control feature, the heater is highly efficient in quickly and effectively warming a room to a specified temperature and then keeping it there for optimum comfort.

_{Dimensions: 19 x 5 x 13 inches | Heating Element: Infrared quartz | Wattage: 1500W | Weight: 9 pounds | Safety Features: Tip-over shutoff, overheating protection, child lock, cool-touch housing}