Programmable timer Useful for setting a heater to turn on just before you get home or wake up, so there's no waiting around for the heater to warm up. These can still be bought, but they aren't as popular or widely available as fan or convector heaters. Read our full story on illegal and dangerous plug-in mini heaters for sale on online marketplaces to see those we identified as having serious safety risks. Some modern options also have smart features so you can program them via companion apps and smart speakers.

They tend to be cheap to run, but some can be really slow to heat up. Most oil-filled heaters are also fairly heavy and cumbersome, so look out for models that come with wheels. Due to the long list of factors that come into play to calculate your central heating costs, the only way you can confidently compare a heater to your central heating is to install a smart meter. You then divide your weekly heating cost by the number of hours you have it switched on and compare that figure to the cost of running your heater. It’s important to be conscious about our energy usage – it helps us look after both the planet and our bills.Electric heaters (or space heaters) are a great way to heat individual rooms in your home. This means you don’t always have to fire up the central heating if you’re feeling chilly, which often ends up wasting energy by heating up rooms that you’re not using! The average wattage on an oil-filled radiator can vary quite a lot, which therefore means how costly they are can vary. However, many oil-filled radiators will come equipped with a built-in thermostatic control, which therefore allows you to control the power and heat output of the radiator. For this reason, they can be considered one of the most energy efficient types of heaters.

These have exposed heating elements, which heat up cold air as it passes. This often leads to slower, but more even, heating. They tend to be a little slower than fan heaters, but are quieter, and our tests found some are still pretty speedy. Some portable heaters have useful extras, such as an LCD screen that displays the current temperature or a remote control for turning the heater on from across the room. These features may come in handy:Central heating is much more effective at maintaining a stable temperature over a longer period, whereas the heat from an electric heater will soon dissipate if the rest of your home is cold.