At 3.5 feet tall, it’s also the largest such model we tested, although it’s nice enough in function and appearance that we wouldn’t mind having it stand out in our home. And despite its height, the FH500 has a footprint of only about 13 by 13 inches, which makes it a great lasko tower heater space-saver. Although oil-filled radiators look classic, they are not as effective as ceramic and open-element heaters at distributing heat throughout a room. They’re bigger, more expensive, and slower to heat up, and most of them are bracingly hot to the touch.
The oscillation is a great feature because it spreads the warm air more evenly throughout the room. One of my favorite features is the timer, which allows you to specify the amount of time you want the heater to run. It can be set between one and eight hours (in hour increments). I never had to worry about accidentally leaving it on when I left the house.
It has an oscillation setting that helps to distribute heat throughout an area more effectively than models lacking this feature. This Lasko has a digital thermostat and remote control, which are straightforward to use. The symbols that indicate the function of the buttons on the remote — and the heater itself — are intuitive and easy to understand. The first way to prevent a fire is to never leave a space heater running in a room unattended. Instructions often mention not to sleep with one on overnight. Even if you don’t leave the house for several days, you shouldn’t let your space heater run the whole time, as the electrical current can build up and cause serious problems.
The buttons are clearly marked, matching the controls on the tower itself, including the digital temperature display, the timer, and the Auto Eco setting. The TRD40615T has manual controls that are intuitive to use, as well as a 24-hour programmable timer, which comes in handy. The electric heater has three heat options and a thermostat dial that ranges from 1 to 6. This model is also easy to move, since you can roll it around on four retractable wheels. He also learned the hard way that plugging a space heater and a half-stack Marshall guitar amp into the same power strip can cause some pyrotechnics (and not the cool, rock ’n’ roll kind). His work on space heaters builds on previous research and writing by Sabrina Imbler, who wrote the 2018 update; Tyler Wells Lynch, who wrote the 2017 update; and Séamus Bellamy, who wrote this guide from 2011 through 2016.
We found that it was pretty easy to set up and integrate into our phone and Alexa Routines, and it performed pretty well as a heater in our tests, raising the temperature of the room by 8 degrees over the course of the first hour. That heat was fairly evenly distributed, with just a few degrees between our two temperature sensors, thanks to its oscillation. As with our Dreo picks, you can set this Atomi model to run more generally at a high or low setting or use the “eco” mode to dial in a specific temperature. Overall, it’s a decent tower heater, but you can get a similar (and slightly better) experience for much less money with one of our picks.
Lasko Products is a Philadelphia-based company with over 100 years of experience making and selling home comfort products such as Lasko space heaters, fans, and humidifiers. Lasko heaters run the gamut from an $18 personal space heater designed to keep your feet warm underneath a desk, to $120 space heaters with 1,500 watts of heating power. Many space heaters have a tip-over switch, a safety feature which automatically shuts off the heater if it’s knocked over. Another popular feature is overheat protection, which uses a temperature sensor to automatically shut off the heater if its internal components grow too hot. Last but absolutely not least, the Lasko CD08200 and the Dreo DR-HSH004A are unique among our picks in that they’re each equipped with an ALCI plug.
Even the most perfect, lablike conditions can’t reveal what it’s like to operate the knobs on a heater, how its heat feels, or what it would be like to live with a particular heater over the winter. The Atomi Smart Tower Heater is the first space heater we’ve tested with built-in smart-home capabilities. Unfortunately, those don’t really add anything to the user experience that you can’t get just as easily by pairing the Vornado VH200 with one of our smart plug picks.
It is not intended for a large room, but it can heat a portion of the area. I’d often move it next to my armchair while I was reading or alongside the couch as I watched TV to warm me up. The bladeless design is hardly audible in its operation—even on the highest setting. A. Although modern heaters are extremely safe, it still isn’t a good idea to leave them on all night, just in case. However, you can use the timer function to keep you warm while you fall asleep, safe in the knowledge your heater will turn itself off after a set period. Some Lasko heaters have cool-touch casings that don’t get hot even when running for long periods, which is great if you have kids or pets.
The Vornado VH200 has every safety feature we look for in a space heater, including overheat protection, a tip-over switch, and UL certification. Other electric heater models, such as the De’Longhi TCH7915ER, have tip-over switches that activate only when they are perfectly horizontal, which means they could possibly fall or lean over and continue running. Some less expensive heaters, including our budget pick, the Lasko , don’t have a tip-over switch at all. Every model we’ve tested has overheat protection built in, but some, like the Vornado Glide and the Vornado MVH, were too aggressive in this regard during our tests, shutting down for hours on end when they reached temperatures in the mid-80s. The VH200’s plastic casing also remained relatively cool, measuring around 95 degrees Fahrenheit, with the grille over the heating element topping out at around 140 degrees; it’s one of the coolest models we’ve tested.
Indicates heaters that have more than one fan speed for better control of the heat distribution. Space heaters and fireplaces are best for whole rooms indoors. Patio heaters, both gas and infrared, are designed to be used in smaller outdoor spaces. Industrial heaters are intended for very large, well-ventilated spaces, lasko tower heater usually but not always outdoors. Radiant heaters pass electricity through a conductive wire, emitting infrared heat that is absorbed directly into skin and clothing, without heating the surrounding air. Infrared heaters are great outdoors because the heat they provide isn’t affected by wind or cold drafts.