Testing the best convection, infrared and oil-filled models for your home

Choosing a portable heater isn’t just about finding the “best” model, it’s also about matching the technology to your lifestyle. What areas need heat, how quickly you need it, where the unit will sit, etc.

I’ve divided portable panel heaters into four categories (there are no models with fans, I’ll cover those in a separate article) and tested each one to give you an idea of how they work. Each has at least some Wi-Fi or app capability and can be placed anywhere in the house.

Basic panel convector

In terms of providing heat, devices don’t get much simpler than a basic electric convector panel. You can usually look at the top and see exactly how it works: a coil of wire is heated electrically, cold air is sucked in from the bottom, and the heated air is allowed to blow out at the top. These can be quite affordable – my test unit from Kogan currently retails for $80 despite the RRP – but they can also be power hogs depending on the room you run them in.

Some convector panels have fans to help with air flow, but this one does not. And it actually doesn’t need to, because the hot air starts coming out immediately. It’s not the prettiest and the white case is crudely put together, but it’s lightweight and has carrying handles. Other than the gentle hum of the element and the hum when the thermostat turns it off and on, it’s quiet, and it’s comforting to stand near it or warm your hands.

Simplicity has some disadvantages. The outer casing of the heater gets very hot and will only heat your room if the hot air is not sucked elsewhere. Its digital thermostat did a fine job in my closed office, dutifully turning the heater off and on to stay within two degrees of my target.

However, in my living room (which is larger, has no doors between the kitchen and hallways, and has higher ceilings) the heat was felt quite close to the unit, and the temperature dropped rapidly when the unit was off. It took a long time to heat an already cold room. These heaters don’t really modulate power, so if you have open spaces or draft you may have to pump out the full 2000W constantly. There’s an Eco mode that limits it to 1250W, but that means slower heating.

It plugs into a pretty basic app but there’s enough to let you automate the heater. You can set your preferred temperature by day of the week on a calendar, run a schedule to get heat at specific times, or set the device to turn on based on outside weather data. You can also connect it to Google or Alexa. The touch panel on the side also works for quick adjustments.

Advanced panel convector

Given the wide variety of panel heaters, I have divided them into two sections. More expensive models often have more accurate digital thermostats, additional power steps for efficient control, and smarter features. They also generally look much nicer. But they essentially use the same technology: Electricity heats an internal coil to draw cool air in and push warm air out the top.

Much easier on the eye than the Kogan, the Breville has a slim design and comes with a built-in mount if you want to attach it to your wall. If not, it comes with legs with removable wheels. It takes a little longer to heat up than the Kogan, using 1500W max, but once it’s going there’s a similarly nice upward heat draw and it’s very quiet.

The unit naturally works better in an enclosed space and will need to run continuously for a while if you are trying to get a room between 8 degrees and 20 degrees. But once it gets up to temperature, it does an excellent job of keeping it without any noticeable oscillations between hot and cold.

This is because it has three different power settings and if you leave it in the default “eco” mode, it will automatically switch between them depending on the ambient temperature. We did have trouble with the open lounge, however, and were starting from a base of about 10 degrees, so it may not provide enough punch for real winter temperatures unless you start it early and close all the interior doors.

I love the front-facing display that shows the room’s temperature at a glance, and I especially like the cute little remote that magnetizes to the front, giving you the option to change settings from your sofa or bed without having to rely on an app. Of course, there’s also an app that lets you use the controls, set a schedule, or connect to Alexa or Google.

Far infrared panel

Although the technology is old, the desire for efficient heating in green housing has led to a recent increase in such panels. Instead of heating the air, they emit radiant energy that is absorbed by whatever it hits (a person, the opposite wall) and then released. When used on a large scale, they can warm people at desired points and provide comfort to the entire house by opening and closing. But in portable form they really only work in front of you.

Herschel produces two models of portable panel heaters and this is the larger one. It comes with legs and cannot be wall mounted, but it looks nice in a minimalist style. This heater is much more expensive than any convector heater but also uses a fraction of the power. If you were trying to keep the air in the entire room warm, this 500W wouldn’t go very far, but if you put it under your desk you might get warmer feet than if you used a 2000W box.

The problem is that far infrared is difficult to sell on this small scale. The roofs of some offices are covered with panels, in some houses the panels are disguised as mirrors or wall murals, but there is a limit to what a single panel can do on its own.

When the unit is on, you will only feel it if there is nothing between you and it. It is like sunlight, it gives a very pleasant warmth when it hits you directly, but it is easily blocked by any solid object. Under the desk is ideal use because I’m there eight hours a day and it would be a waste to burn gas on the whole house heater.

I can also see it being used in front of the couch or at the kitchen table, but not if you really need relief from the cold weather. For some reason, I wasn’t expecting these panels to be warm to the touch, but they are remarkably so; They go up to 90 degrees while working. So they can’t go somewhere where they could accidentally be touched.

The heater’s controls are placed a little awkwardly at the back, near the floor, but once you set it to the power you want, you don’t need to do much tweaking. Can connect to the universal SmartLife automation app via Wi-Fi; This is useful if you want to place it in a remote location and still be able to control it.

oil column

A long-time favorite in bedroom use, the oil column uses electricity to heat the internal oil reservoir, which transfers energy to the metal fins and into the room. They take longer to heat up than convection panels, but they continue to provide heat even when the element is turned off, meaning they can maintain temperatures more efficiently in some situations.

This Delonghi looks like a space age reinvention of the old oil column heater I remember from 30 years ago, but it works pretty much the same way. You turn it on, nothing happens, but after 15 minutes the room turns red. Oil heaters have a nice character because they don’t dry out the air as much, but you also don’t get that instant gratification of blowing out heat. The Dragon range tries to create a happy environment by closing the metal fins and ventilating the top, forcing some hot air up and out; This means it’s not too hot to touch.

This is a heavy heater but it is on wheels which makes it easy to drag around. Of all the heaters tested, it did the best job of keeping a large open lounge area warm, but it also has the most power. It kept the temperature constant in a closed area and did not need to be opened very often once it reached temperature. Considering it’s about $400 more than the Kogan, I think you’ll need to run it for a few winters before its efficiency saves you money. There are other 2400W oil column heaters for half the price, but Delonghi claims its three-step power adjustment makes it more efficient and it has a long warranty.

Touch buttons on the side let you activate an Eco mode or set a timer, while the large touch dial controls the thermostat with fun but unnecessary colored lighting. The app offers a digital version of the same, as well as scheduling features and an interesting geofencing option that turns on the heater when your phone reaches a certain radius of your home. I found the app a bit unreliable, sometimes changes couldn’t be made.

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