Lasko's MyHeat personal heater series provides concentrated personal heat that's ideal for your desktop or by your favorite easy chair. Provides safe ceramic warmth while only using budget-friendly 200 watts of power.
Most space heaters, including this Lasko model, are 1,500 watts. If you run a space heater for eight hours a day, it may cost you about $2 per day, depending on your local rates. We've broken it down even further in our guide on how much electricity a space heater uses.
Ceramic heaters are energy efficient and require much less energy to produce heat. When switched on, a ceramic core heater will heat up quickly and will maintain and radiate this heat, meaning you won't need to leave the radiator on for as long.
Example (you can use an electric heater running cost calculator below for different wattages/kWh prices): If we assume the price of electricity is $0.1319 per kWh, a 1,500-watt electric space heater will cost; $0.20 to run per hour. $4.80 to run per 24 hours (day). $11.20 to run per week (8h/day).
Modern models use ceramic elements, which get more resistant as they get hotter (they have a “positive thermal coefficient”). This means they produce heat more quickly and retain it better, making them cheaper to run than fan heaters used to be – as long as you use the thermostat wisely.
Cons: Higher initial cost, bulkier design, hot external surfaces, and slower heat-up time.
The Russell Hobbs ceramic heater cost just 19p an hour to run at its highest setting based on a rate of 27p per kWh, while the Beldray fan heater cost 54p per hour on the highest setting and 27p on the lowest setting.
At Night: If you choose to use your space heater overnight, it's best to limit its operation to 4 to 6 hours on a lower setting.
1500 watts will heat spaces up to about 150 square feet and can help you stay warm and toasty in a medium-sized room, office, kitchen, or modest-sized living room.
You Should Not Leave Space Heaters on Unattended
If a space heater falls over or becomes too hot from running for too long of a period of time, that can lead to a fast-moving fire that occurs while you are asleep and cannot act fast enough.
Our pick for the best ceramic heater is the Dreo Solaris Slim H3 Space Heater, because it offers effective and adjustable heating power, quiet operation, and important safety features—such as overheating and tip-over auto-shutoffs—in an attractive package.
Infrared heaters, being nearly 100% efficient and having no moving parts, direct all of the consumed power to generate heat. Ceramic heaters, in contrast, need power for both the heating element and the fan, and only provide heat indirectly, increasing energy consumption and potentially raising electricity bills.
'Generally, it is not recommended to leave a space heater on while you sleep,' explains Josh Mitchell, HVAC technician and the owner of Air Conditioner Lab. 'The primary concerns are safety risks such as fire hazards, potential overheating, and carbon monoxide poisoning (in the case of fuel-burning space heaters).
A Lasko heater can be ran for any amount of time that you need it to. Keep in mind that a space heater should only be used as a supplemental heating source and should not be used as a primary heating source.
Hazard: The heater's cord can overheat where it enters the base of the unit, which could pose a fire hazard to consumers.
To calculate the cost of running a 1500-watt heater for 24 hours in the US, you need to know the electricity cost per kilowatt-hour (kWh). If the average cost is about 16 cents per kWh (as of early 2023), the heater uses 1.5 kW x 24 hours = 36 kWh. Therefore, the cost would be 36 kWh x 16 cents = 5,76.
Oil-filled heaters can be very energy efficient, especially for long-term use. Once the oil is heated, these heaters can continue to provide warmth even after being turned off, using less electricity overall.
Ceramic heaters are the most efficient radiators because the way they're designed means they waste almost no electricity. Ceramic heats up more quickly, but it also retains heat really well, so it cools down more slowly.
Since the heating elements in a ceramic heater are completely surrounded by the ceramic parts, this heater is safer than some other types that can produce sparks or other safety hazards if the heating elements fail.
Using a space heater can be a good way to boost the temperature in a small, drafty room—and it could be less expensive than cranking up your central heating system. But a space heater is economical only if you use it judiciously.
What is the safest heater to leave on overnight? While it's not recommended to leave any space heater on if you're not monitoring it, oil-filled, radiant space heaters are considered safer than ceramic convection (hot air) types, according to Roberson. Both of these options are safer than open-coil heaters.
On average, space heaters use 1,500 watts of electricity.
Using a space heater 8 hours per day will use about 84 kilowatt-hours of electricity per week. It costs an average of $51.65 to run a space heater for a month and $258.26 to run for a year. The best way to save on electricity is to install solar panels.
Ceramic heaters are cheaper to run because they heat up quickly, saving electricity. They do not require fuel storage like oil-filled heaters and their compact size makes them portable. However, their small size makes them unsuitable for heating large spaces.