Infrared heaters keep rooms warm by converting electricity into heat. The type of heat created by infrared heaters is radiant, which is why they heat rooms faster than convection heaters and fan-based heaters. While infrared heaters are effective in many situations, different heating needs require specialized products. For this reason, we’re going to take you through a handful of the best infrared heaters.
While our favorite choice is the Dr Infrared DR-978 Space Heater, every option below has its uses. Therefore, we’re also going to take you through everything you need to know about infrared heaters to help you narrow down your options. Now, let’s get into it.
Quick Facts:
- Wattage: 1,200W, 1,500W
- Heating Range: 1,000 square feet
- Temperature: 60-85° Fahrenheit
- Certified by Underwriters Laboratories
- Comes with overheating protection
- Comes with tip-over protection
- Eco-friendly settings and variable wattage
- Portable and stylish
- Not suitable for outdoor use
- Not the most advanced interface
4 Best Infrared Heaters
Below we have 4 of the best infrared heaters around.
1. Top Pick: Dr Infrared DR-978 Space Heater
Quick Facts:
- Wattage: 1,200W, 1,500W
- Heating Range: 1,000 square feet
- Temperature: 60-85° Fahrenheit
- Certified by Underwriters Laboratories
- Comes with overheating protection
- Comes with tip-over protection
- Eco-friendly settings and variable wattage
- Portable and stylish
- Not suitable for outdoor use
- Not the most advanced interface
Why We Like It: We love the Dr Infrared DR-978 Space Heater because it combines positive temperature coefficient (PTC) heating with infrared heating. It’s also one of the few indoor space heaters that has variable wattage capabilities.
Quick Facts:
- Wattage: 1,200W, 1,500W
- Heating Range: 1,000 square feet
- Temperature: 60-85° Fahrenheit
The Dr Infrared Heater DR-978 Infrared Space Heater is a one-size-fits-all solution for many single-room heating problems. It’s designed to be energy-efficient, warm, fast, and stylish. The design helps it fit and warm most rooms within a few seconds (within 1,000 square feet). The Dr Infrared Heater DR-978 Infrared Space Heater also comes with built-in safety features to prevent animals and small children from interacting with the interface. You can also create a timer and control the unit from the comfort of your couch with a simple remote. There are a handful of heating options and a wide temperature range to keep things warm but not too hot. The Dr Infrared Heater DR-978 Infrared Space Heater also comes with tip-over protection, overheating protection, and certifications from Underwriters Laboratories.
What Sets It Apart
The Dr Infrared Heater DR-978 Infrared Space Heater is unique because of its advanced features. While most infrared heaters only use radiant heat to warm rooms, the Dr Infrared Heater DR-978 Infrared Space Heater also uses PTC heating. Therefore, it has dual-heating capabilities that heat rooms more efficiently and it doesn’t use as much energy as other infrared space heaters. That said, the low cost also makes this product unique. It comes with some of the best infrared heating technology but it’s budget-friendly.
Things to Consider
The Dr Infrared Heater DR-978 Infrared Space Heater is perfect for almost any situation. That said, it doesn’t work for 100% of people. This is because it doesn’t work outdoors and comes up short in garages and basements. These rooms and areas give the heater problems because it’s not water-resistant and struggles to heat large areas. If you’re looking for an outdoor alternative, the Briza Infrared Patio Heater is a great choice.
Who It’s For
The Dr Infrared Heater DR-978 Infrared Space Heater is a great choice for most shoppers. It’s one of the most affordable infrared space heaters around and it comes with the features needed to satisfy most shoppers. You can move it around as needed, it can heat small and medium-sized rooms, and even comes with safety features like overheating protection. Overall, you can’t go wrong with the Dr Infrared Heater DR-978 Infrared Space Heater and it’s a great place to start if you’ve never used a space heater or infrared heater before.
Pros
- Certified by Underwriters Laboratories
- Comes with overheating protection
- Comes with tip-over protection
- Eco-friendly settings and variable wattage
- Portable and stylish
Cons
- Not suitable for outdoor use
- Not the most advanced interface
2. Upgrade Pick: Briza Infrared Patio Heater
Quick Facts:
- Wattage: 900W, 1,200W, 1,500W
- Heating Range: 750 square feet
- Temperature: 50-80° Fahrenheit
- Multiple mounting options
- Overheating protection
- Comes with a stand
- Great for outdoor use
- Variable wattage
- Not suitable for long-term indoor use
- Lacks advanced features like WiFi
Why We Like It: The Briza Infrared Patio Heater is one of our favorite products because of its outdoor capabilities. It can be used on patio walls or even used on a stand.
Quick Facts:
- Wattage: 900W, 1,200W, 1,500W
- Heating Range: 750 square feet
- Temperature: 50-80° Fahrenheit
The Briza Infrared Patio Heater is a great outdoor heater. It’s a patio heater that can be mounted on outdoor walls, indoor walls, and even used on a stand. The Briza Infrared Patio Heater is also one of the few products that have wattage variations. This means that you can tune the product to your needs without wasting extra power. These infrared heaters also come with remote control options so you can change the temperature from a distance. While the heating range is harder to notice outdoors, you can also use it indoors because it has overheating protection.
What Sets It Apart
The Briza Infrared Patio Heater is unique because of its flexibility. While it doesn’t have some of the advanced features that other infrared heaters have, it does come with features that allow you to get more use out of it. For example, you can use it outdoors and bring it inside when you’re done. It can also be used in multiple ways because of the stand it comes with and the mounting options.
Things to Consider
The Briza Infrared Patio Heater is a well-rounded product but it comes up short in areas where indoor-specific infrared heaters thrive. While it can be mounted on a wall it doesn’t have an attractive design for rooms and the stand takes up extra space. It serves its purpose as an outdoor infrared heater but it comes up short in most indoor locations aside from garages. If you’re looking for an indoor-specific product the Dr Infrared DR-978 Space Heater is a great alternative.
Who It’s For
If you’re looking for an outdoor infrared space heater, the Briza Infrared Patio Heater is your best option. It comes with all of the mounting options needed for outdoor patio heating and it can be brought inside if needed. Overall, it’s a well-rounded and budget-friendly infrared heater for shoppers who need an outdoor-specific product. It’s not perfect but it holds its own with some indoor-specific products because of the wattage variations.
Pros
- Multiple mounting options
- Overheating protection
- Comes with a stand
- Great for outdoor use
- Variable wattage
Cons
- Not suitable for long-term indoor use
- Lacks advanced features like WiFi
3. Budget Pick: Amazon Basics Portable Eco-Smart Space Heater
Quick Facts:
- Wattage: 750W, 1,500W
- Heating Range: 1,000 square feet
- Temperature: 65-85° Fahrenheit
- Portable
- Low price
- 1-year limited warranty
- Elegant wood finish
- Overheating protection
- Lacks quality materials
- Too small for bigger rooms
Why We Like It: We love the Amazon Basics Portable Eco-Smart Space Heater because of its portability and elegant design. It’s one of our top choices because of its low price.
Quick Facts:
- Wattage: 750W, 1,500W
- Heating Range: 1,000 square feet
- Temperature: 65-85° Fahrenheit
The Amazon Basics Portable Eco-Smart Space Heater looks great and performs well for its size. It has a beautiful wood finish that helps it blend into most rooms and produces a generous amount of heat for its size. It’s also lightweight, which makes it one of the few portable space heating options available. The Amazon Basics Portable Eco-Smart Space Heater also comes with several high-end features like remote-controlled temperature control, overheating protection, and variable wattage. It’s also backed by Amazon’s 1-year limited warranty.
What Sets It Apart
The Amazon Basics Portable Eco-Smart Space Heater is unique because of its portability. Not many space heaters with an elegant finish are portable, which gives this infrared heater an edge over the competition. It also looks great and produces a generous amount of heat for its size and weight. It’s one of the few infrared heaters you can take with you on the go or move around rooms quickly.
Things to Consider
The Amazon Basics Portable Eco-Smart Space Heater is a great choice but no product comes without flaws. First and foremost, its small size causes the heat to fill rooms slowly. Moreover, the quality of materials isn’t as great as materials found in products like the Dr Infrared DR-978 Space Heater. The company opted for lighter parts to enhance portability but this sacrificed durability.
Who It’s For
The Amazon Basics Portable Eco-Smart Space Heater is a great choice for people who need to move a heater around often. People who travel frequently or plan on using it in multiple rooms benefit from the product’s small size and lightweight design. That said, the Amazon Basics Portable Eco-Smart Space Heater is also great for shoppers who need an all-purpose infrared heater because of its flexibility, elegant looks, and variable power.
Pros
- Portable
- Low price
- 1-year limited warranty
- Elegant wood finish
- Overheating protection
Cons
- Lacks quality materials
- Too small for bigger rooms
4. Also Great: Heat Storm HS
Quick Facts:
- Wattage: 1,500W
- Heating Range: 750 square feet
- Temperature: 76° Fahrenheit
- ETL safety certified
- Low price
- Great for garages
- WiFi capabilities
- Timer
- Needs to be mounted on a wall
- Less powerful than top-of-the-line models
Why We Like It: We love the Heat Storm HS-1500-PHX WiFi Infrared Heater because of its budget-friendly price and wall-mounted design. While it’s one of the most affordable infrared heaters, it doesn’t sacrifice quality to maintain the low cost.
Quick Facts:
- Wattage: 1,500W
- Heating Range: 750 square feet
- Temperature: 76° Fahrenheit
The Heat Storm HS-1500-PHX WiFi Infrared Heater is a simple space heater that mounts to a wall. While it mounts to a wall, it can also be used in garages and some outdoor areas. Moreover, the wall mount can be customized to work on ceilings. The Heat Storm HS-1500-PHX WiFi Infrared Heater also comes with a handful of great features, which is impressive for its price. It features a timer that can be activated and even connects to WiFi. The Heat Storm HS-1500-PHX WiFi Infrared Heater also has built-in heat overheating protection and it’s safe to the touch.
What Sets It Apart
The Heat Storm HS-1500-PHX WiFi Infrared Heater is unique because of how customizable it is for the price. While it’s cheaper than other infrared heaters, the cost is much lower. Plus, it comes with unique features like washable filters and WiFi capabilities. This gives it the best value compared to similar infrared heaters in its price range and even higher than its price range.
Things to Consider
The Heat Storm HS-1500-PHX WiFi Infrared Heater is a solid product for its price. That said, it comes with a few problems. The biggest issue is that it needs to be mounted on a wall. This makes the wire running from the heater to the power outlet hard to hide, which adds clutter to a room. Plus, it can’t be used as a traditional space heater because it needs to be mounted. If you’re looking for a more traditional design with similar capabilities, the Dr Infrared DR-978 Space Heater is a great choice.
Who It’s For
The Heat Storm HS-1500-PHX WiFi Infrared Heater is a great choice if you’re shopping on a budget. While the wall-mounted design has its flaws, it’s a great choice for garages and other rooms where people don’t mind having a space heater on the wall. The low cost and great features also make it a great choice for people who are new to infrared heaters.
Pros
- ETL safety certified
- Low price
- Great for garages
- WiFi capabilities
- Timer
Cons
- Needs to be mounted on a wall
- Less powerful than top-of-the-line models
Read Also: Best 120v Electric Garage Heaters
Everything You Need to Know About Infrared Heaters
Taking a look at the best infrared heaters is a great place to start. That said, narrowing down your options is challenging if you don’t know which unit fits your needs the best. For this reason, we’re going to take you through some things you need to know before selecting an infrared heater. We’ll also take you through several factors to consider when choosing an infrared heater.
Infrared Heaters Explained
Infrared heaters create heat by using infrared rotation. This type of radiation doesn’t damage the body but it creates heat in a similar way as the sun does. In fact, infrared heaters use a type of light that you can’t see to heat rooms. This method of heating is energy efficient and faster than traditional heating methods like convection. That said, the drawback is that infrared heaters have less range than traditional heaters.
There are also a few types of infrared heaters. Some units work by generating heat and dispersing it with a fan, while other products rely solely on heating elements like copper. Both methods are effective, so it comes down to price and preference when choosing between the two. Some infrared heaters also use ceramic, which is one of the best materials for conducting infrared heat. Many infrared heaters are also safe because they come with overheating protection, timers, and other safety features. The average temperature range of an infrared heater is between 50° Fahrenheit and 85° Fahrenheit.
Indoor Vs. Outdoor Infrared Heaters
Infrared heaters can be used indoors and outdoors. Some infrared heaters can also be used indoors and outdoors, depending on your needs. Still, there are key differences that separate indoor infrared heaters from outdoor infrared heaters.
First and foremost, indoor infrared heaters like the Dr Infrared DR-978 Space Heater are typically compact, square, and easy to move around. These products can’t handle outdoor conditions but heat small rooms well. Moreover, many indoor infrared heaters have wood finishes that help them blend into rooms. Their square shape also provides more room for advanced hardware that allows WiFi control and advanced timers.
On the other hand, outdoor infrared heaters like the Briza Infrared Patio Heater come with weather ratings that make them resistant to water, moisture, and small debris. These heaters can also be mounted on walls, ceilings, and even placed on a stand. While they don’t look as good or work as well indoors, they’re perfect for outdoor patios, porches, and decks. Outdoor-focused infrared heaters are also more suitable for garages because of the mounting options and ability to resist high humidity levels.
Download this cheat sheet to hack your monthly electric bill.
Things To Consider When Shopping for Infrared Heaters
When Shopping for infrared heaters there are many things you need to consider before choosing a product. You’ll want to learn about your wattage needs, how much square space it heats, and how warm it keeps its heating areas. We’re going to take you through these factors and provide some product recommendations to help you narrow down your choices.
Wattage
First and foremost, we’ll begin with wattage. The wattage output of an infrared heater determines how warm it can heat a room, how fast it heats a room, and how much power it uses. The average wattage range for infrared heaters is between 500 watts and 1,750 watts. Products with higher wattage cost more to operate but provide more heat than lower wattage models. On the other hand, products with less wattage heat smaller areas but cost less to operate.
If you’re concerned about the wattage of an infrared heater, we recommend going with a product that has variable wattage capabilities. One example is the Amazon Basics Portable Eco-Smart Space Heater. It has a low and high wattage setting so you can control how much power it uses. That said, if the wattage is not a concern and you want the most power, the Heat Storm HS is a great choice.
Square Feet
Next, we’ll focus on square feet. Square feet are important because it shows you how much space a heater can heat. This is why it’s important to measure the room you plan on heating before choosing an infrared heater. You can measure the square feet of a room by measuring its length and width. In most cases, infrared heaters can heat a room that’s between 750 and 1,000 square feet.
If you’re looking for the best heating range, the Dr Infrared DR-978 Space Heater is the best choice. It can heat rooms that are up to 1,000 square feet. Moreover, it can heat these areas to its maximum heat setting, which is an impressive 85° Fahrenheit. If you have a smaller room, you can always go with a less powerful heater.
Temperature Ranges
The last thing to consider is the temperature range of an infrared heater. Temperature range is important because it shows you how warm it can make an area. Keep in mind, temperature ranges aren’t always perfect. For example, if you’re heating a room that’s 1,000 square feet at 85° Fahrenheit, the room might only maintain a temperature between 75-80° Fahrenheit. This typically occurs when infrared heaters are heating rooms that are larger than their effective coverage. An example would be a heater with a range of 750 square heat attempting to heat a room that’s 1,500 square feet.
To avoid this issue, we recommend choosing an infrared heater that can handle the range you need and maintain its hotter temperature. Not many products can pull this off but the Dr Infrared DR-978 Space Heater is one of the few heaters that can. It can keep rooms that are just under 1,000 square feet as warm as 85° Fahrenheit with minimal assistance from other heating sources.
Infrared Heaters FAQ
If you have questions about infrared heaters, we have answers to some of the most common questions below.
What Infrared Heater is the Best?
The best infrared heater is the one that solves the heating problem you’re trying to address. That said, some infrared heaters are better than others at accomplishing this. For this reason, the best overall infrared heater for most situations is the Dr Infrared DR-978 Space Heater. It can heat rooms to up to 1,000 square feet in size and reach temperatures as high as 85° Fahrenheit.
Are Infrared Heaters Worth It?
Yes, infrared heaters are worth it. In fact, many infrared heaters are more affordable than convection-based products and other traditional heaters. Infrared heaters also heat rooms quickly without using too much electricity, which makes them cost-effective to run for many hours.
What Are the Disadvantages of Infrared Heaters?
Infrared heaters have a few disadvantages that are worth noting. First and foremost, they run on electricity. While they’re energy-efficient, they still use more power than an oil-based heater. Another disadvantage is that the air doesn’t warm up, so the heat isn’t always felt by everyone. Another disadvantage is that infrared heaters can be obstructed by objects.
Can I Leave an Infrared Heater on All of the Time?
Yes, infrared heaters typically come with overheating protection that allows you to leave them on all of the time. For people who need overnight space heating, infrared heaters are the best choice. That said, leaving them on all day and all night can reduce the lifespan of the heating element and other components.
Will an Infrared Heater Heat a Garage?
Yes, infrared heaters can heat a garage. That said, some heaters perform better than others in garages. When it comes to heating a garage with an infrared heater, you’ll want to choose a product that can handle higher levels of moisture and debris. Therefore, we recommend outdoor-focused infrared heaters for garages.
Stay Warm and Keep it Toasty!
Infrared heaters are a valuable asset for many people. With an infrared heater, you can raise the temperature of rooms in your home, basements, garages, and even outdoor areas like patios and porches. infrared heaters are also cheap and energy-efficient, so you don’t have to worry about a massive change to your electric bill.
Still, you’ll never learn about the benefits of an infrared heater just by reading about them. If you want the full experience and to know for sure if an infrared heater is right for you, give one of the best infrared heaters a try!
Download this cheat sheet to hack your monthly electric bill.
