We evaluate space heaters on how well they heat a standard-sized room in 15 minutes and how good they are at heating a person directly—our “spot-heating” score—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 4.5 feet of the appliance.”
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 (like nearby curtains, for example). If you have young children or pets in your home, pay close attention to the hot-surface score in our ratings. Models that scored poorly on that test are not included in this article.
“While a heater is supposed to provide adequate heat to warm your space, and in turn you, you don’t want to pick a heater that could potentially burn someone who doesn’t understand that they shouldn’t touch it—even if they accidentally bump into it,” says Regan.
