Challenge 2KW Electric Convector Heater with Timer & 3 Heat Settings (A Grade)

Product Information

Next up is material. Read through the product description for Challenge 2kW Convector Heater to get an understanding of the materials the product is made from. Some materials will obviously be known for delivering better quality item than others. You might also have decided that you’ll only accept a product made from a particular material. We assess how easily each electric heater can be set up and how easily understandable the controls and settings are. We used any handles to lift the heater and move it around. While some heaters can be used straight out of the box, others have complicated program and timer settings.

Frost protection The heater can be set to heat automatically when the temperature drops below 5°C, but you'll need to have it on standby for it to run, so this can limit its usefulness. These can still be bought, but they aren't as popular or widely available as fan or convector heaters. You can also work out the cost of running a convector heater by using the KW rating directly and a simple maths equation.

We use a force meter to record how much is needed to topple each heater over and a decibel meter to measure how much noise each one makes while running.

Some modern options also have smart features so you can program them via companion apps and smart speakers. We've noticed that prices tend to edge up the closer to colder weather we get - we've seen some price increases over the last few weeks. So if you want to get a cheap electric heater, our advice would be not to hang around. The cheapest electric heaters we've tested all have thermostats that detect the ambient temperature and adjust the heater's output according to your preferred setting. They usually have adjustable energy settings and timers so you can turn the heat down if you want to, or limit your heater's running time.As you might expect, interest in electric heaters reaches its peak in the winter months. Over the last few years they've flown off the shelves as the nights have drawn in, even after having their prices hiked up rather than cut. It is also very important that you work out just how much heat is required to warm the size of room to a comfortable temperature. For example, if a room requires 4kw of heat input to warm it to 21c, then you are unlikely to be able to heat it adequately by using a single 2kw or 3kw convector heater. To produce the 4kw required to heat the room comfortably, you would be advised to use (2x) 2kw convector heaters which would work out very expensive. (This calculation doesn’t apply to Halogen Heaters as they are not warming the entire room). So a 2000 Watt Convector heater would use 2 units of Electricity for every hour that it is run, and at 30p per Electricity unit it would cost 2x 30p = 60p per hour to run

We've found that convector heaters and oil radiators can take more than half an hour to raise a room's temperature significantly, but a good fan heater can do this in half the time.With that in mind, you won't be surprised to hear that you'll need to run it for a bit longer than other heaters to benefit from the heat it gives out. In our tests, we set every heater to run at full blast so you can see the maximum amount it cost to heat our medium-sized test room. If you have the thermostat of your heater set to a desired temperature, the heater will toggle on and off once it reaches that temperature – depending on what's needed to maintain it. The heater won't operate continuously, so won't cost you as much to run. Are electric heaters cheaper to use than central heating?

On average, most electric heaters run at a maximum output of 2kW. In other words: if you run your 2kW electric heater at full blast for one hour, you'll be paying around 55p. For just half an hour, it'll cost you around 27p. Not necessarily. Heaters are highly efficient at turning electricity into heat regardless of their price. You don't necessarily need an expensive heater to get 'more' out of the electricity you draw.

This story was first published on 7 October 2021 and is updated regularly to reflect new heaters we've tested as well as changing prices and availability of heaters. We're not able to show every retailer and cheaper prices may be available. Prices and availability last updated 26 October 2023. Tagged as: However, many of the 2kW electric heaters we've tested tipped above and below that power output over the course of an hour's use in our tests, resulting in costs from 9p - 83p. 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.