Safety is a top priority when using heaters and many other home appliances. Wounds Canada reported that thousands of Canadians sustain a burn injury each year. While electric heaters may not necessarily be the cause of these injuries, there’s no denying the dangers they can pose. So, you always want to consider the safest option when going for space heaters, whether portable or large-sized. By the way, we’re way past the days of bulky, dangerous-looking home space heaters. There are many different styles, shapes and sizes of furnaces nowadays. The portable units are our favourites due to their simplicity, safety, and efficiency. Many of these heaters can warm your space to the perfect temperature and do it without any fuss.That said, in an ideal world, all these appliances should be safe to use. Therefore, there should be no need to consider a particular portable space heater to be the safest of all (since they’re all safe, right?) But, the world is not ideal, and now you’re trying to find out which portable heater is the safest. Fortunately, we have the answers to your questions, and below are some of the safest space heaters available.
Lasko Ceramic Heater
The Lasko Ceramic space heater is widely regarded as one of the cheapest, safest and most reliable portable space heaters in the market. It’s the perfect description for a small space heater as it’s only about the size of a loaf of bread. But don’t judge this heater by its size; it’s a beast that’ll bring down the heat at a moment’s notice. It warms up faster than most portable space heaters and can work for hours non-stop.
How it Works
The Lasko ceramic heater works on the same heating principle as every other ceramic heater. It has a heating component comprising a positive temperature coefficient ceramic and aluminium fins. A PTC ceramic is a semi-conductive material that heats up when an electric current passes through it. When the PTC ceramic material heats up, it transfers the heat to the aluminium fins around it. This process creates a heat multiplication effect that raises the heating chamber’s overall temperature. A fan then blows into the chamber and across the fins to heat the air currents. Finally, the air passes out through openings in the heater into the environment and raises the room temperature through the principle of convection.
Features
- Multiple heat settings plus a fan-only mode
- Simple Manual controls
- Adjustable thermostat for maintaining preferred temperature level
- Portable, compact design
- Several safety features such as a self-regulating element, overheat protection and heat-resistant exterior.
Lasko Electric Tower Heater
A ‘tower heater’ doesn’t sound very portable when you think about it. But, the name is due to the shape of the appliance. The Lasko electric tower heater is every bit as portable and as safe as they come. So, we recommend it as one of our top options among the safest portable space heaters available in the market.
How it Works
The Lasko tower heater has specially designed heat channels that blend cool air with thermal waves and deliver hot blasts of air to warm up an area. The heating element in the unit converts electrical energy into thermal energy, which then passes into the heat channels. And the streamlined design of the heater enables it to deliver uniform long-range heat projection. So, it’s suitable for pretty large spaces.
Features
- Easy to control automatic thermostat which regulates the temperature based on predetermined settings
- It has enhanced safety measures, including properly concealed heating elements, safe-to-touch surfaces, automatic shut-off safety switch, and tip-over protection.
- Thermal protection to prevent overheating
- Easy to maintain design
- Specially designed heat channels
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De’Longhi Capsule Compact Ceramic Heater
De’Longhi is one of the more popular brands in the electric heaters industry, so it’s not surprising to find their products on this list. The De’Longhi capsule ceramic heater is not only safe, but it’s also super-efficient and very lightweight (weighs only about 2 kg). Style-wise, the heater has a design befitting a mobile unit. Plus, it also has a clever carrying handle attached to its topside. Overall, the streamlined design of this heater enables it to fit in anywhere easily.
How It works
The De’Longhi capsule heater is not very different from other ceramic heaters in terms of functionality. It features a PTC ceramic heating element and transfers heat to the environment by means of forced air convection. But beyond that, it’s also useful as a plain old fan if you’re looking to cool things down instead of bringing up the heat.
Features
- Compact and lightweight box design suitable for carrying around
- It has multiple heat settings which you can use to regulate the amount of heat the furnace produces.
- It also has enhanced safety additions such as tip-over safety, automatic shut-off switch, and safe-to-touch exteriors.
Vornado VH202 Personal Space Heater
The Vornado VH202 surpasses many other heaters in speed and power. Thus, it’s one of the fastest and safest portable space heaters. It can function with minimum safety risks thanks to its exterior build, which makes it look like a regular portable fan unit. But beyond that, the heater can deliver rapid temperature increases in a small space. It’s the best heater for small spaces.
How it Works
Being a fan unit, the VH202 heats the environment by forced air convection. It uses vortex air circulation to quickly heat the air before ejecting it into the atmosphere. The warm air rises and pushes down the colder air. Then, the unit repeats the process until the entire room is warm enough.
Features
- It has a small structure (just about the size of a pineapple)
- Very quiet performance makes it ideal for office spaces, hospital rooms, working kitchens, personal areas, and even front porches.
- It also has advanced safety additions, including plastic heat-resistant exteriors, tip over-protection, automatic shut-off switch and overheating protection.
Amazon Basics Ceramic Personal Mini Heater
This space heater model from Amazon basics is an efficient unit perfect for personal spaces. So, it’s suitable for use in bedrooms, offices, private libraries and the kitchen. However, the small space heater has no components for regulating the heat output. Then again, that shouldn’t be a problem as you can simply switch it off when it’s getting too warm.
How it Works
The Amazon Basic mini heater comes with efficient ceramic coils that heat up within seconds when electric currents pass through it. A fan at the back of the unit then blows air over the heated coils – a process that heats the air. The warm air dissipates into the environment and rises. The rising of the warm air pushes the heavier cold air down for the heater to warm it. This process continues until you turn off the heater.The best thing about this portable space heater is it’s not only safe, but it’s also affordable. Plus, it’s tranquil. The loudest noise that can come from it will be the whirring sounds of the fan.
Features
- Very portable design
- Enhanced safety measures such as anti-flip protection and automatic turn-off switch which shuts off the furnace in case of danger
- Heat resistant plastic exterior
The Dyson Bladeless Fan and Heater
Many people regard the Dyson hot + cool bladeless heater as the best space heater in the market in 2022. While the subject may be up for debate, it’s not difficult to see why users have such glowing reports of it. First off, it has one of the most impressive designs of all space heaters aesthetically. It also comes with many cool features, making it a super-efficient HVAC unit.While some people may balk at its price, we believe it’s deserving of the price tag. And we also think of it as one of the safest portable room heaters out there. It’s the best, that’s why we saved it for the last.
How it works
The small space heater, which stands at about the height of a small radiator, has a swivelling and tilting base. The base houses a turbine-like mechanism that draws in air and directs it to a ring sitting atop it. The ring compartment heats the air as it passes through and pushes it back into the environment. But the ring doesn’t only warm the air; it also amplifies the airflow by directing the air forward with force to create a blast of heated air.The newer models also have the ‘blowhard’ feature, which enables the unit to heat the environment faster. However, it comes with a disturbing demerit. The unit makes too much noise at full blast on the ‘blowhard’ mode. Although, quite interestingly, the device is often completely noiseless on the normal mode. But, the efficiency of the unit is undeniable either way.
Features
- It comes with an intelligent thermometer feature that takes accurate room temperature readings and controls the unit’s heat output accordingly.
- Has superior air filters which prevent dust from getting to the heating elements
- It has a blowhard feature that increases the unit’s heating efficiency but at the cost of increased noise levels.
- It can also double as a fan, making it equally valuable during the hot summer days.
Safety Tips for Using Space Heaters
Even the safest portable space heater can still cause significant damage under enabling conditions. So, although most space heaters are now safer than they used to be, you still need to exercise caution when using them. But, of course, exercising caution is easier said than done. Therefore, below are safe ways to heat a room without endangering yourself with the heater.
Always Put the Heater on the Floor
Yeah, we understand you’re freezing, and you want the heater blowing right into your face. However, that’s a terrible idea. First off, you don’t want to put the heater anywhere near your face. Second, the heater belongs on the floor and nowhere else. You shouldn’t put it on the shelf, table or countertop. If possible, keep the heater off the rug too. Don’t even consider placing it on your bed or other unstable surfaces where it might tip over and damage things. Instead, put the heater on the flattest, smoothest, lowest surface available.
Keep the Heater Away from Water
It’s common knowledge that electricity and water form a deadly duo. So never place your space heaters close to water sources or outlets. Needless to say, you shouldn’t take your space heater into the bathroom. Your hot water system should provide sufficient heat for you in the bathroom.
Keep Flammable Objects Far from Your Heaters
Okay, this is a point we shouldn’t have to make, but we’re still stating it anyway. FLAMMABLE OBJECTS DON’T BELONG ANYWHERE NEAR A HEAT SOURCE! Avoid placing a space heater within four feet of anything flammable. In other words, keep the heater far away from curtains, furniture, beddings, gas tanks, gas pipes etc.
Plug it in a Wall Outlet
Never plug the space heater in;
- A surge protector
- Extension boxes
- Plug timers
- G.F.C.I outlets and any other place that’s not a wall outlet.
These added electrical connection layers can create additional resistance and overload the circuit. The circuit overload may then cause overheating and fire accidents. So, always plug the space heater into a wall outlet. Fortunately, most portable space heaters nowadays come with enough cord slack to allow you to plug them in a wall outlet and still place them at a convenient distance. So you don’t need to install the space heater near a wall outlet.
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Final Thoughts
The safest portable space heaters may not be the cheapest, and being inexpensive doesn’t make an item safe either. Also, you want to consider the efficiency of a space heater before purchasing it. The purpose of the space heater is to keep you warm. It’s useless if it can’t do that even if it’s ‘safe.’ So, consider a product with a good mix of safety, affordability and efficiency when purchasing an appliance.It’s also worth noting that the installation of your space heaters may influence how safe and efficient they’ll be. As such, you need to ensure professionals correctly install them following best practices. As a top appliance repair company, offers first-class heater repair and installation service for residents in Vaughan and the rest of this GTA.
