Best infrared heater 2023

The best infrared heater is an amazing way to heat a home in a more energy-efficient and kid-friendly way.

Instead of heating up the air like more traditional space heaters, infrared devices work by directly warming up objects within the room. This ensures they convert almost all of the electricity they consume into heat energy, which typically makes some of the best energy-efficient heaters around.

The most important area to consider when buying an infrared appliance is how much power it can produce, as this will directly relate to the size of the area it can heat up. Most of the options on our list are 1,500W, which should be ideal for heating small, medium, and even large room.

So, as you can see, there are plenty of reasons to choose an infrared heater to ensure you stay nice and warm during the winter months. Fortunately, we've selected the best infrared heaters based specs, general reviews, price, and any other features that make these heaters stand out from the crowd to kick off your search in the best way possible.

Best infrared heaters

1. Duraflame Electric Infrared Quartz Fireplace Stove
2. Heat Storm HS-1500-ILODB
3. Dr Infrared Heater Portable Space Heater
4. Heat Storm HS-1500-PHX-WIFI
5. BLACK+DECKER Indoor Space Heater

Credit: Duraflame

1. Duraflame Electric Infrared Quartz Fireplace Stove

Best infrared heater overall

This Duraflame Electric Infrared heater looks to be a great all-round choice to go for.

Firstly, its appearance stands out as completely unique with it being designed to look like a real fireplace thanks to 3D flame effect technology that mimics flames, complete with glowing logs and an ember bed.

The flame effect can even be operated when the heater isn't turned on, for purely aesthetic purposes. In our opinion, this makes it look really stylish and easier to fit in with your home decor.

In terms of efficiency, the brand claims the 5,200 BTU should be able to heat up an extremely large area of around 1,000 square feet...that's pretty impressive considering its relatively small size.

It also comes with an adjustable thermostat operated via remote control, so you can easily decide what temperature you want your room to be at depending on how cold you get.

On top of that, the manufacturer claims the product should also be fairly easy to assemble... simply attach the legs and plug it in and it should be ready to use!

Overall, this sophisticated-looking infrared heater seems to be a brilliant choice for your living room or bedroom.

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Credit: Heat Storm

2. Heat Storm HS-1500-ILODB

Best energy-efficient infrared heater

On the surface, the Heat Storm HS-1500-ILODB looks to be one of the most energy-efficient infrared heaters on the market.

The reason for this is that it comes with a specific 'energy-efficient' mode, which reduces the wattage from 1,500 to 750 whenever possible. So, if it detects that the room is already very hot, for example, it should automatically lower the power level, therefore consuming less electricity.

As mentioned, though, its standard power level is 1,500W, which means it should be able to heat up pretty much any room size you have in your home.

It also comes with a remote control so you can change the temperature from the comfort of your sofa, and an LED display that helpfully shows you what the ambient temperature is in the room.

With a patented heat exchanger that uses HMS technology, this heater should also combine with the humidity in the room to produce a soft and safe form of heat that won't reduce humidity or oxygen levels.

Another added bonus is how portable this heater appears to be as it comes with optional casters that you can attach to the bottom to move it around more freely.

All in all, we'd say this heater seems like a great energy-efficient option to consider.

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Credit: Dr Infrared

3. Dr Infrared Heater Portable Space Heater

Best portable infrared heater

If you're on the hunt for one of the best portable electric heaters though, then this Dr Infrared heater could be the best option for you.

It should be pretty easy to move from room to room as it comes with caster wheels already attached, meaning there's no need to use your strength to lift it.

As with most of the products on this list, it has a power level of 1,500W. According to the manufacturer, this should allow you to heat a large room, as well as small and medium-sized areas.

Operated by remote control, you can change the temperature to anywhere between 50 and 85 degrees, giving you a decent range of options to choose from depending on how cold you're feeling on any given day.

Dr Infrared has clearly taken safety features into consideration with this heater too, as it comes with both tip-over protection and overheat protection.

What this means is that, if the heater falls over or overheats, the power should automatically cut out, which can potentially prevent a dangerous electrical fire from happening.

In our opinion, if you want a portable infrared heater that's capable of heating a large room, then this device from Dr Infrared is definitely worth checking out.

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Credit: Heat Storm

4. Heat Storm HS-1500-PHX-WIFI

Best wall-mounted infrared heater

Are you searching for a wall-mountable infrared heater? Well, our second pick from Heat Storm certainly seems like a good option to invest in. Wall-mounting your heater is ideal if, for instance, you already have a lot of furniture and don't want to lose any more floor space.

This looks to be a particularly good option for a medium-sized room as it comes with 1,500W of power, meaning it should be able to heat any area that measures around 150 square feet.

Perhaps the best feature of this heater though is the fact it comes with a dedicated app that you can connect to through your Wi-Fi.

This should usefully enable you to turn the appliance on or off and control the temperature from your phone no matter where you are in the house.

It should also allow you to schedule heat intervals, so the heating automatically turns on and off throughout the day whenever you want it to, and you can turn the child lock on so your kids can't accidentally tamper with the settings.

Another added bonus with this product is that, once you've installed the heater on your wall, you can hide the power cord inside of it, so it looks neat and tidy without any wires hanging down.

We'd say this heater definitely looks like a good wall-mountable option to consider, especially given it comes with app control.

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Credit: BLACK+DECKER

5. BLACK+DECKER Indoor Space Heater

Best budget infrared heater

If it's a budget infrared heater you're after, this BLACK+DECKER Indoor Space Heater looks like a great pick for you.

This heater may be on the small side, but that doesn't mean it's not just as powerful as most of the other options on our list... on its 'high' setting, it can provide 1,500W of power, which should be enough to heat up a large room. Meanwhile, the low setting of 1,000W will likely be ideal for small to medium-sized rooms, giving you plenty of options when it comes to placement.

It also has five different temperature settings ranging from 60 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit, plus an E-save mode that should reduce the wattage and save energy whenever it can.

Given its size, it appears to be very easy to move from room to room, so you can easily take it between your living room, bedroom, or bathroom depending on which room you need it in throughout the day.

It has Overheat Protection too, meaning it will automatically turn itself off if it ever happens to overheat in order to avoid any potential electrical fires.

Overall, we'd say this device is a great option if you want an inexpensive infrared heater.

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Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

To make sure you know everything you need to know about infrared heaters, we've answered some of the most frequently asked questions about them below.

Is an infrared heater worth it?

Yes, we’d say infrared heaters are worth the investment, mainly thanks to the fact they tend to be extremely energy-efficient compared to other heating methods, so can potentially save you some money on your energy bills.

The reason they’re more cost-effective is that they are said to convert almost 100% of the electricity they consume into heat and they actually warm up objects - including people -  rather than the air itself, meaning the heat generated by them ends up being more effective and evenly distributed than, for instance, a ceramic fan heater.

Heating up objects directly also makes the heat less likely to escape through any unsealed doors or windows.

This sort of efficiency means you shouldn’t have to leave infrared heaters turned on for so long, as they should warm you up pretty quickly.

How many square feet will a 1,500-watt infrared heater heat?

As mentioned, a 1,500-watt infrared heater should be able to effectively heat up a room of around 150 square feet. This is because, as a general rule of thumb, you need a power of 10 watts for every square foot you want to heat.

However, despite infrared heaters not using air circulation to heat your room, if the area is extremely poorly insulated and you have lots of unsealed gaps in your windows or doors, the heat is still likely to escape a little.

So, to compensate for this, you might need to take away around 10% or 20% of the number of square feet mentioned above to get a more realistic figure regarding how many square feet a 1,500-watt heater can heat.