BLAUPUNKT Blaupunkr ASF501 Floor fan 40 cm diameter, power 55W

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Instead, the best reason to get this fan is that it pushes so much air out over such a high and wide area, thanks to the sheer size of the fan, a 2.4m/sec maximum airflow and an 80˚ degree oscillation feature. It’s just a shame that it’s noisy, putting out 46dB at its highest settings and 40dB even in Sleep mode, while the Natural mode is plain distracting, constantly revving up and revving down the fan speed. Still, if you want a fan for a large space and noise doesn’t matter, this one’s a keeper, and one of the few tower fans we’ve tested that can rival a pedestal fan on reach and range. It doesn’t take up as much space, yet it’s a serious tower of power. We buy all the electric heaters we test. We put the bestselling heaters from popular UK retailers through these tests: Heating speed, evenness, and accuracy Nearly all have some kind of carry handle for moving about and many have a safety cut-out feature, which will switch off the heater if it gets dangerously hot. As the name suggests, this fan also has basic smart features through the Climate Wizard smartphone app, but these don’t extend beyond remote control functions and a timer. Enable the Alexa or Google Home skills, and you can also turn it on or off or change the speed using voice controls, but you can’t switch between the Normal, Sleep and Natural modes.

For reasons of hygiene and safety, personal grooming products, cosmetics or items of intimate clothing cannot be returned.

Where quality becomes a brand — Blaupunkt

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: 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. This isn’t the perfect fan for sleepers, as even on its lowest setting it’s far from silent, but it’s fine for cooling down a small living room or taking some heat out of the bedroom before sleep. Looking for maximum cooling for a minimal cost? The Igenix is pretty hard to beat. Key specs – Dimensions: 107 x 30 x 30cm; Weight: 5.7kg; Oscillation angle: 60˚; Cord length: 1.8m; Warranty: 2yr; Power: 45W

The oil in the radiator acts as a heat reservoir, which stays hot for some time after the heater's switched off. Some are called 'oil-free' and function in a comparable way, just with an internal heating element instead of any oil. And a fourth user put forth the following question: “@bmstores Would you be willing to donate some fans to be shared around to the various children’s wards at Southampton Children’s Hospital? They are crying out for them like a sauna up on the kids’ wards and paediatric emergency dept.” Other features include two 300ml freezable water tanks, three speed settings to control the temperature, seven coloured LED mood lights, a machine washable filter, 1.5 m USB cable and a main adapter. 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. Portable electric heaters use electricity, which costs 27.35p/kWh under the current energy price cap. Depending on how effective the heater is, they can take anything from 30 minutes to an hour to notably raise the temperature of a medium-sized room, so if you're only planning on using it until the room gets up to temperature, it will likely cost you between 28 and 55p.Decided that a tower fan is for you? Well, now your choice comes down to size and features. Generally speaking, the larger and taller the fan, the higher the airflow and the bigger the room it can cool, with the added bonus that you might not have to push it so hard to have the same effect. This means you can run the fan at a slower speed with – usually – less noise. That’s handy, as noise is the second-biggest factor. A noisy tower fan can be distracting in the daytime, but a real issue if it stops you dropping off to sleep at night. A third added: “Bought three of these yesterday, so needed in this heat” with a fire emoji, while a fourth chimed in: “I definitely need one of these - 35 weeks pregnant in this heat” Some modern options also have smart features so you can program them via companion apps and smart speakers. Key specs – Dimensions: 54 x 15 x 14cm; Weight: 2.4kg; Oscillation angle: 90˚; Cord length: 1.6m; Warranty: 2yr; Power: 18W The fan has an adjustable tilt, three speeds settings and an oscillating feature to make you and your surroundings more comfortable, what's more it fits perfectly onto a table. Home Bargains

Cold air setting Some fan heaters can help cool you down too. They're not nearly as effective as a dedicated air conditioner, but a light breeze of cold air is better than nothing. We set up each heater in the centre of our test room and run it on the maximum settings, with the room starting at a cool temperature. We monitor how much the room temperature changed over the course of an hour using temperature probes. We found the most drastic changes happen in the first half an hour and increases in temperature become more incremental after that. 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. Under current energy prices, a run-of-the-mill plug-in electric heater can cost approximately 40p to 65p per hour to run on full blast. Adjustable thermostat Using this function, a portable heater will heat the room and when the desired temperature is reached, it will try to maintain the room at that temperature. Most of the cheaper, simpler heaters we tested have a dial thermostat that doesn't let you choose specific temperatures in °C. You'll likely need to buy a more expensive model for that. Our tests also found that they're rarely 100% accurate and will probably think the room is a couple of °C warmer or cooler than it is.

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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. 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. Unwanted Food or Drink Products - Once supply conditions are broken, there are a number of factors outside of our control that can affect the quality of a product. Therefore perishable goods such as food and drink cannot be returned. These can still be bought, but they aren't as popular or widely available as fan or convector heaters.

Pinning down an exact comparison of how much central heating and electric heaters cost to run is nigh-on impossible, as the factors below are just some of the variables that play a part: You can never bank on getting hot weather in the UK but, when it does come, it can come with a thump. When the mercury rises and the air stays still, it’s almost impossible to escape the humidity and heat, yet – for most of us – air conditioning is overkill. Get hold of a fan, however, and you can get a breeze going inside your home and make the temperature a bit more bearable. Put one in the lounge and you can properly chill out; get one in the bedroom and you might just get some sleep. Our fan tests start with a battery of airflow tests, where we measure the speed of the air pushed through the fan at a distance of 1m with an anemometer. We test at maximum and minimum fan speed settings, plus a medium setting in-between. We also measure sound levels at these settings, along with power consumption at the highest and lowest. From there, we use the fan in a selection of different rooms to gauge how effectively they work in different situations and layouts. We also try out any special modes and get to grips with both the built-in controls and the remote control, if supplied. What controls and features should you look for? Although the comparison might make your electric heater look cheaper to run, bear in mind that it will only be heating a much smaller area, whereas your central heating will be aiming to heat your whole home. Oscillation is the other key feature. Nearly all tower fans oscillate, turning slowly from side to side to cover a larger area, but they differ in how wide the angle of oscillation is. Again, the bigger the space you want to cool, the wider you want it – and you can always turn oscillation off if you just want to keep yourself comfortable. How we test tower fansFrost 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. If you were to try replacing the use of your central heating by putting an electric heater in each room, it will definitely end up costing much more. Keen to optimise home heating? See our advice on boiler controls and thermostats , smart meters , and loft insulation 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.