Best Bathroom Heaters Buying Guide
As the name suggests, a bathroom heater has been designed to heat up your bathroom while remaining safe to use in what can be a wet and steamy environment. The bathroom can become a cold room, especially during the winter months so with a bathroom heater, you can ensure you can keep it warm and cosy, as well as keep its heating energy and cost efficient.
There are many benefits to adding a specific bathroom heater to your bathroom:
- A heater can help to remove moisture from the room, which can turn a bit whiffy as well as develop into mildew or mould if left to build up over time
- Choosing a heater with a fan can also help prevent mirrors fogging up with moisture
- They provide sufficient and targeted heat in your bathroom to keep it cosy and welcoming, however long you like to luxuriate in your bath!
- Sufficient warmth in your bathroom can also help to dry up excess moisture on the floor, reducing the risk of a slip hazard
- They are cost effective and energy efficient, potentially saving you money on your heating bills
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When choosing the right bathroom heater for your space, it's worth considering the following:
Heat Output - the output should be sufficient for the size of your bathroom so that it is adequate for your heating needs. Check the heating output of the unit as if your bathroom is on the larger side, you will need a greater wattage. Most bathroom heaters will indicate the maximum square feet of space it will adequately heat.
Style –the heater also needs to work with the style of your bathroom, so take into consideration it’s shape, size and colour as well as the materials it's made from.
Portable or wall-mounted – bathroom heaters come either portable or wall-mounted. A portable bathroom heater is the most convenient as you can move it around your home as well as use in your bathroom, but they will take up floor space so can also make your bathroom more cluttered. A wall heater, which includes the panel heater style, saves space and can be incorporated into the overall design of your bathroom.
Energy efficiency – most of today’s bathroom heaters are energy efficient, and can help reduce your energy bills, ultimately save you money. To ensure its energy efficiency, look for a thermostat with an auto shut off, so it stops heating the room when it reaches your desired temperature. A timer is also a handy function, especially if you have a habit of forgetting to switch the heater off once you have left the bathroom. And some models also include a feature called open window detection, which can detect a drop of room temperature due to an open door or window and so switches off to save energy and to prevent over heating.
Safety – with the wet environment of a bathroom, safety features in your new bathroom heater are essential. If it's a portable heater, ensure it has a tip over protection feature so it shuts off should it be knocked over. Also check that the heater is waterproof as well as splash proof and has an overheat protection.
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To help you choose, the main types of bathroom heaters are:
Fan heaters – these heaters work by warming up the surrounding air by using a fan to pass it over its heat source and then push the warmed air back out into the room. Fan heaters a great choice for smaller or enclosed spaces as they heat up the room pretty fast. But as there is a fan at work, they can create some noise.
Convection heaters – these heaters use the process of convection, where electricity is passed through a resistor and turned into heat, distributing its warmth faster than most other types of bathroom heaters. As the warm air cools, it's reheated in a cycle for a stream of lovely heat. With no real moving parts, convection heaters are also low maintenance.
Infrared heaters – these bathroom heaters use infrared heat, generated via electromagnetic radiation which doesn’t just heat the surrounding air but also objects, including the walls, in your bathroom. This makes them more efficient than convection heaters as well as potentially cheaper to run. They are also silent and don’t create draughts.
Ceramic heaters – these heaters are usually portable and generate heat through a ceramic heating element, making them a good choice for a smaller bathroom or if you need to move them around your home.
Our review's best bathroom heater - the good value Stiebel Eltron Quartz Heater - is a neat wall-mounted heater that pushes out plenty of instant heat that is ideal for small bathrooms or concentrated areas in the room. With its splash proof casing, quick pull operation and three heat levels, you get a total of 1.2KW heat output to keep the chill away from your bath times.
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