• Radiant heaters are personal heaters. They radiate heat from a red-hot heating element.
• Convection and panel heaters draw cold air over an electric heating element. The warmed air then leaves the heater and rises towards the ceiling, while cooler air moves in to replace it. This includes oil-filled column heaters.
• Fan heaters are specifically designed to blow hot air – the fan is a key part of the heater design, rather than a booster as on other heater types. Their fans are usually more powerful and can project hot air a reasonable distance into the room.

This is the basic form factor of the heater, such as panel, column, tower, fan or radiant. We include whether the heater has a ceramic heating element; these cool faster than metal elements and can be safer, but we've found they don't necessarily make for better heating performance.

We recommend heaters with a CHOICE Expert Rating of at least 70% and at least 70% for heating performance. We don't recommend models that fail any of our safety tests.

The CHOICE Expert Rating is made up of heating (70%) and ease of use (30%). We don't recommend any models that fail any of our safety tests.

Based on heating speed, heat distribution and thermostat performance.

Equally weighted between labelling and use of controls, the heater's mobility and stability on hard surfaces and carpet, and ease of cleaning.

The number of kWh used over two hours with the heater on max. You can multiple this by your own electricity cost to get a more local cost to you.

A comparative rating, based on power used versus temperature rise achieved in the performance test. The better models usually rate as 'good' or better; acceptable models are 'OK'; and 'borderline' means mediocre. Note that some models might have good efficiency but still perform poorly in other respects (e.g. they may use little energy, but don't deliver their heat effectively). See our article on how we test electric heaters for details.

40dBA is very quiet, while 60dBA is equivalent to normal conversation and enough to be disruptive when watching TV, for example. Most fans have one fan setting, apart from a few which have 10. We measure on the maximum fan setting. 'N/A' refers to heater models without a fan.

Our testers check electrical safety, measure surface temperatures, and carry out a tilt test. They also check which heaters continue heating when on their sides, as if they'd been knocked over. See our article on how we test electric heaters for details.

Shop Ethical rates the environmental and social impact of the company (not the product) using independent sources. This rating is not included in our total score. The rating ranks from A (highest) to F (lowest). N/A means there is no rating for that company.

Stated warranty of the heater. You're still covered by the Australian Consumer Law regardless of the manufacturer warranty.

Where the heater was manufactured, though parts may have been sourced from other places.

'Tested model' refers to heaters that are currently available in shops and online, while 'Discontinued model' refers to heaters that are no longer available in shops, but may be available second-hand.

Recommended or typical retail price at the time of publication.

How much the heater costs to run over 2 hours, based on running at the highest heat setting, with electricity at 40c/kWh.

Based on running the heater for 500 hours during winter (approximately 6 hours a day for 3 months), with electricity at 40c/kWh.

The number of settings the fan has when used with a heater.

Weight in kilograms, rounded.

Length of the power cord in metres, rounded.

As far as we can discern, the owner of the brand.

Whether the heater has a fan to help spread the heat around the room.

Whether this model has a remote control.

Whether this model has castors or wheels to make it easier to move about.

Whether this model has one or more carry handles to make it easier to move about.

Whether this heater has a oscillate function, moving the air flow side to side or up and down, to spread the heat through the room.

Some heaters have the option of being permanently mounted on a wall. Check the good points to see if a wall-mount kit is included or an optional extra.

Whether this model has a lock function, to prevent the heater being turned on by children or by accident.

Useful for colder climates where the temperature could drop below 0°C, the frost watch feature is claimed to maintain a temperature of around 5°C, avoiding frost or freezing in the room and with relatively little power consumption. We don't test this feature.

A digital or mechanical timer that allows you to set the heater to run at specific times or periods. Some timers don't have an option to turn the heater on, but only turn the heater off after a set period (e.g. so that it won't run all night).

Whether you can control the heater via an app on your smartphone.

Prevents the heater from overheating and potentially causing damage or even a fire.

Maintains a pre-set temperature.

Switches the heater off if it tilts over or falls. We've found some models that don't state whether they have one, but still turn off when pushed over.

For models with a built-in fan, can the fan be used on its own without heating? This is handy for cooling in summer. N/A = not applicable (this heater has no fan).

Whether the power cord can be neatly stored, such as on hooks on the heater, when moving or packing away the heater.