However, the AVH10 didn’t distribute its hot air as evenly throughout the space as the VH200 did, and it also tends to cost $30 to $50 more. Still, it’s a great alternative to our top pick if you find it for a good price, or if you prefer its extra features. Retailing around $100, the Lasko Ceramic Heater with Remote Control is among the more moderately priced space heaters on the market.
The Lasko FH500 towers above its competition both in features and in stature, providing an even, vertical distribution of air. It definitely stands out in a room, but at least it looks good. “I love this little heater!! I’ve used [it] on average five days a week for about eight to 10 hours every day,” one wrote.
Like Prince Robot IV, the Glide took a while to warm up, and it was just kind of fine overall, with decent but uneven heat and very basic functionality. Instead of a standard tip-over switch, the Glide relies on a level indicator inside the unit. This actually makes it easier to tip the Glide halfway over or lean it on two legs—but please don’t, because that makes it a safety concern (also like Prince Robot IV). In our tests, the Solaris Slim H3 was surprisingly good at maintaining the temperature after warming the room. Over the course of the first hour, it raised the ambient room temperature from 76 degrees Fahrenheit to 88 degrees, and then it spent the next hour slowly creeping up toward and hovering around 90, the target we had set.
But when we measured the temperature at 6 feet away, out of the fan’s direct line of sight, it had risen by only 4 degrees in that same amount of time. By the end of the hour, we saw a 10-degree difference between our measurements at 3 feet in front of the fan and at 6 feet on an angle. This uneven heat distribution shouldn’t be a problem if you plan on placing the Vheat directly in front of you. Like any oil-filled radiator, the TRD40615T does not provide instantaneous heat for the room. But unlike ceramic heaters, which cool off immediately after powering down, oil-filled radiators like the TRD40615T are designed to retain enough thermal mass that they keep emitting heat even after you turn them off. In our tests the TRD40615T did this well—starting at 80 degrees Fahrenheit and then building up to 89 degrees over two and a half hours, without dropping back to 80 degrees for almost four hours after that.
As the tower heater oscillated, it emitted a low, gentle whooshing sound that was too quiet for us to measure beneath the hum of the urban streets outside. Unlike most of the other models we tested, the FH500 has three built-in heating settings, so it offers more heating flexibility for maximum comfort. The Dreo Solaris Slim H3 (DR-HSH003) stands out not only for its stylish appearance but also because it’s the rare oscillating heater that actually succeeds at spreading the warm air evenly around the room. It can’t warm you up quite as quickly as some of our other picks can, but its steady arc of motion creates comfortable and uniform heating throughout your space. It also just looks great, with a sleek design and simple controls that let you choose between basic heat settings or a specific, dialed-in temperature.
I only used it in my basement, because it a little chilly in the winter time. One day I went down to my basement and discovered lasko tower heater that it did not work any longer. I did a little research online to see if someone else was having this issue.
Despite its metal exterior, the Vheat also remained surprisingly cool to the touch, reaching only about 100 degrees Fahrenheit on the sides and 140 degrees on the grille and cooling down even further within minutes of our shutting it off. And though its low, gentle humming sound is louder than the sounds of some of our other picks—about 56 dbA from 3 feet away or 57 dbA from 6 feet away, about the same as a refrigerator’s noise levels—it was still pleasant enough that we didn’t mind. The Vornado VH200 heated a room faster and more evenly than other models we tested, offering the best combination of power, comfort, and quietness. If you want to be able to set your heater to turn off automatically, choose one with a timer. This year alone, we bought 8 Lasko Space Heaters and 6 Lasko fans….
However, its flat, articulated exoskeleton helps ensure that the exterior is much cooler to the touch than the exposed fins inside. It still gets to about 180 degrees Fahrenheit on the outside, but that’s much cooler than the 230 degrees we measured on the inside. That doesn’t mean the TRD40615T is safe to touch—any object with a temperature above 160 degrees Fahrenheit burns skin upon lasko ceramic heater contact, so you still need to be careful. But at least this heater is moderately safer than traditionally designed radiators like the Pelonis NY A and the De’Longhi EW7707CM, both of which have reached exterior temperatures of 225 degrees Fahrenheit when we’ve tested them in previous years. The VH200 has a slim, lightweight design that makes it easy to tuck under a desk or in a corner.