Electric Space Heaters Price Comparison 2026
Compare 268 electric space heaters from De'Longhi, Dimplex & more. Find the best price across top UK retailers — updated daily.
Oil-filled radiators, fan heaters, convectors — the electric space heater market is one of the most fragmented in home appliances, with prices spanning from 29 £ for a basic plug-in unit to 257 £ for a premium smart radiator. We've tracked 268 models across dozens of UK retailers, and the spread tells an interesting story: the majority of the catalogue sits between 52 £ and 105 £, which is where the real competition happens.
De'Longhi dominates the listings by sheer volume, and for good reason — their fan heaters and oil-filled radiators consistently hit the sweet spot between build quality and price. Dimplex, however, commands a noticeably higher average price and earns it with better thermostatic control and longer warranties. If you're shopping on a tighter budget, Warmlite and Black & Decker offer surprisingly capable models that regularly appear at Argos and Amazon.co.uk without the premium markup.
The technology choice matters more than most buyers realise. A fan heater will warm a cold room in minutes but generates operational noise — fine for a hallway, less ideal for a bedroom. An oil-filled radiator takes longer to reach temperature but retains heat after switching off, making it far more economical for rooms you occupy for hours at a stretch. For continuous background heating, a convector heater with a proper electronic thermostat is often the most cost-effective option, since it cycles on and off to maintain temperature rather than running flat out. You can also explore liquid fuel heaters if you need portable heating without a mains connection.
Running costs are the elephant in the room. A 2000W heater running for four hours a day adds up fast on a UK energy tariff — which is precisely why thermostatic control and a programmable timer aren't optional extras but genuine money-savers. Models with WiFi scheduling, like the Igenix IG9515WIFI or the Princess Smart Tower, let you pre-heat rooms before you arrive rather than leaving the heater on all day. If air quality is also a concern alongside warmth, our air purifiers section and humidity control category are worth a look — dry winter air from constant heating is a common complaint.
One thing we flag consistently: don't skip the safety checklist. Tip-over auto-shutoff and overheat protection aren't marketing bullet points — they're the difference between a heater you can leave unattended and one you can't. Homes with young children or pets should treat these as non-negotiable, not nice-to-haves.
How to Choose the Right Electric Space Heater
With 268 models on the market ranging from 29 £ to 257 £, picking the wrong heater is an easy mistake — and an expensive one once you factor in running costs. The right choice depends on three things above all: the size of the room, how long you'll be heating it, and whether silence matters. Get those right and everything else falls into place.
Wattage matched to room size
This is the single most common mistake: buying a heater that's underpowered for the space. As a practical rule, you need roughly 100W per square metre in a well-insulated room — so a 10m² bedroom calls for at least 1000W, while a 20m² open-plan living room needs 2000W or more. The 3000W Igenix IG9301 in our catalogue is industrial-grade and overkill for domestic use; conversely, a 700W mini radiator like the Dimplex Eco Chico is only suited to a small study or bathroom. Oversizing wastes money on purchase price; undersizing wastes money on electricity as the heater runs continuously without ever reaching the target temperature.
Heating technology for your usage pattern
Fan heaters are the sprinters — they hit working temperature in under a minute and suit rooms you need warm quickly (hallways, home offices you enter cold). The trade-off is noise (typically 40–50dB) and the fact that heat dissipates fast once switched off. Oil-filled radiators are the marathon runners — slow to heat up (15–20 minutes), but they retain warmth for a good while after shutdown, making them genuinely economical for living rooms or bedrooms where you're settled for the evening. Convector heaters sit in between: silent, relatively quick, and well-suited to continuous background heating when paired with a thermostat. If you're heating a bedroom, oil or convector is almost always the right call.
Thermostat quality and smart controls
A basic manual dial thermostat is better than nothing, but an electronic thermostat is noticeably more accurate and will cycle the heater on and off to maintain your target temperature rather than letting the room swing between too hot and too cold. WiFi-enabled models (the Igenix IG9515WIFI is a good example at a reasonable price) go further — you can schedule heating from your phone and avoid the classic mistake of leaving the heater running all day. For most buyers, an electronic thermostat with a 24-hour timer is the sweet spot; full smart-home integration is worth paying for only if you already use a connected ecosystem.
Safety features — non-negotiable for families
Every heater in this catalogue should have tip-over auto-shutoff and overheat protection as a baseline. If a model doesn't list these explicitly, treat it as a red flag. For homes with children or pets, a cool-touch exterior is also worth seeking out — oil radiators tend to get hot on the surface, while many modern fan heaters and convectors keep their casings at a safe temperature. Don't place any heater within a metre of curtains, sofas, or bedding regardless of the safety spec — clearance distance is the first line of defence, not the thermostat.
Noise tolerance for the intended room
Fan heaters generate operational noise — typically 40–50dB, roughly equivalent to a quiet conversation. That's perfectly acceptable in a kitchen or workshop, but genuinely disruptive in a bedroom or nursery. Oil-filled radiators and convectors operate in near-silence (under 30dB), which is why they dominate the bedroom heater market. If you're buying for a shared office or a room where someone is sleeping, rule out fan heaters entirely unless the spec sheet explicitly states a noise level below 35dB.
Running costs and energy efficiency
All electric heaters are, in theory, 100% efficient at converting electricity to heat — but that doesn't mean they all cost the same to run. A 2000W heater costs twice as much per hour as a 1000W model. The real efficiency gain comes from thermostatic cycling: a well-calibrated thermostat means the heater runs at full power only when needed, potentially halving actual energy consumption compared to a heater running continuously. Look for models with an energy-saving mode or eco setting. At current UK electricity rates, even a modest improvement in duty cycle translates to meaningful savings over a winter season.
- Entry-level picks (From 29 £ to 52 £) : Basic fan heaters and simple oil radiators from Warmlite, Russell Hobbs, and Black & Decker. Expect manual dial thermostats, no timers, and limited safety certifications. Fine for occasional use in a garage or spare room, but we'd hesitate to recommend these as primary heaters for daily use — build quality is variable and running costs can be higher due to the lack of thermostatic cycling.
- The sweet spot (From 52 £ to 77 £) : This is where the best value lives. De'Longhi fan heaters, Dimplex oil-free radiators, and Igenix convectors all appear in this band. You get electronic thermostats, tip-over protection, and often a basic timer. The Dimplex ECR15 and Igenix IG9515WIFI are strong examples — reliable, safe, and genuinely practical for everyday home heating.
- For the more demanding buyer (From 77 £ to 105 £) : Mid-range models with better build quality, smarter controls, and more heating power. De'Longhi's oil-filled radiators and Princess smart towers sit here. Expect programmable 24-hour timers, digital displays, and in some cases WiFi connectivity. Worth the step up if you're heating a main living space daily — the energy savings from better thermostatic control often offset the higher purchase price within a season.
- Premium and specialist (Over 105 £) : Dimplex's higher-end models and the Stiebel Eltron CK 20 Premium occupy this territory. German-engineered fan heaters with whisper-quiet operation, precision thermostats, and long warranties. Also where you'll find De'Longhi's top oil radiators. Justified for a home office or bedroom where you need reliable, quiet, efficient heating every single day — overkill for a room you use twice a week.
Top products
- Dimplex ECR20Tie Indoor White 2000 W Oil-free radiator (Dimplex) : The standout choice for daily home use — Dimplex's oil-free technology heats faster than a traditional oil radiator while remaining silent. At 2000W with a proper electronic thermostat, it's well-suited to medium-sized living rooms. The price reflects genuine quality; this isn't a model to haggle down to the cheapest offer without checking the retailer's warranty terms.
- Igenix IG9515WIFI Indoor White 1500 W Convector electric space heater (Igenix) : The best value smart heater in the catalogue. WiFi scheduling at this price point is genuinely rare, and the convector technology means silent operation — ideal for a bedroom or home office. The 1500W output limits it to smaller rooms (up to about 15m²), so don't expect it to tackle a large open-plan space.
- De'Longhi HFS30C24.DG Indoor Black 2400 W Fan electric space heater (De'Longhi) : De'Longhi's most competitive fan heater in terms of price-to-power ratio. At 2400W it heats large rooms quickly, and the build quality is a clear step above budget alternatives. That said, it's a fan heater — expect noise, and don't buy it for a bedroom. Best suited to a kitchen, workshop, or living room where fast heat matters more than silence.
- STIEBEL ELTRON CK 20 Premium Indoor White 2000 W Fan electric space heater (STIEBEL ELTRON) : The premium outlier in this category — German-engineered, whisper-quiet for a fan heater, and built to last well beyond the typical 2–3 year lifespan of cheaper models. The price is significantly above the category median and it's hard to justify unless you're heating a home office or bedroom daily and want something that will still be running reliably in five years. For occasional use, it's overkill.
- Princess 01.348700.02.001 Smart Heating and Cooling Tower (Princess) : The only genuine year-round option in the top 15 — it heats in winter and cools in summer, which makes the price easier to justify. Smart app control works well in practice. The tower format distributes air effectively across a room. Worth considering if you're buying for a room that gets both cold in January and stuffy in July, but don't buy it purely as a heater — cheaper dedicated models will do that job for less.
Related categories
Frequently Asked Questions
How many watts do I need to heat my room?
As a reliable rule of thumb, allow 100W per square metre for a well-insulated room with standard ceiling height. A 12m² bedroom needs around 1200W; a 25m² open-plan kitchen-diner needs at least 2500W. If your home is older with poor insulation or high ceilings, add 20–25% to that figure. Undersizing is the most common mistake — a heater that's too small will run continuously at full power, costing more to run and never quite warming the room properly.
Are oil-filled radiators cheaper to run than fan heaters?
Not inherently — both consume the same electricity per watt — but oil-filled radiators tend to be cheaper to run in practice because they retain heat after switching off, reducing the time they need to run at full power. A fan heater loses its warmth almost immediately when turned off, so it runs more continuously. For rooms you occupy for two hours or more at a stretch, an oil radiator with a good thermostat will typically cost less to operate over a full evening than an equivalent fan heater.
What safety features should I insist on?
Tip-over auto-shutoff and overheat protection are the two absolute minimums — don't buy a heater that doesn't list both. Beyond that, a cool-touch exterior matters if you have children or pets, and a thermal cutout provides a secondary failsafe if the primary overheat protection fails. Always maintain at least one metre of clearance from curtains, furniture, and bedding, regardless of the heater's safety rating — no safety feature substitutes for sensible placement.
Is it worth paying extra for a WiFi-enabled heater in 2026?
Yes, if you heat rooms on a variable schedule — and most people do. WiFi control lets you pre-heat a room before you arrive and switch off remotely if you forget, which genuinely reduces wasted energy. The Igenix IG9515WIFI offers this at a price well below 77 £, making it one of the more sensible upgrades in this category. If your schedule is completely fixed, a basic 24-hour programmable timer achieves much the same result at a lower cost.
Should I avoid cheap fan heaters under 52 £?
Not necessarily avoid, but scrutinise carefully. The main risks with very cheap fan heaters are inconsistent thermostats (meaning they run more than needed), flimsy tip-over switches, and short lifespans. For occasional use — a garage, a guest room used a few times a year — a budget model is perfectly reasonable. For a room you heat daily, the slightly higher running costs and earlier replacement cycle of a cheap heater often make a mid-range model the better financial decision over a full winter season.
Can I use an electric space heater in a bathroom?
Only if the model carries an appropriate IP rating for wet environments — specifically IP44 or higher, which indicates protection against water splashes from any direction. Standard domestic heaters (typically IP20) are not safe for bathroom use and should never be placed near a bath, shower, or sink. Always check the product specification and, in the UK, ensure the heater is installed in compliance with BS 7671 wiring regulations if it's a fixed unit. Portable heaters with a standard 3-pin plug should not be used in bathrooms at all.
What's the difference between a convector heater and a fan heater?
A convector heater warms air by passing it over a heated element using natural convection — warm air rises, cool air falls, and the room gradually warms without any mechanical assistance. The result is silent operation and relatively even heat distribution. A fan heater uses a motorised fan to force air over the element, heating the room much faster but generating operational noise (typically 40–50dB) and creating a more directional airflow. Convectors suit bedrooms and quiet spaces; fan heaters suit rooms you need warm quickly.