What is a Halogen Heater Anyway?
There seems to be a lot of confusion about halogen heaters, especially trying to figure out the difference between a halogen heater, a quartz heater and a tungsten heater.
These three terms, though, are pretty much always referring to the same thing. Halogen refers to a group of elements – fluorine, chlorine, bromine, iodine, and astatine – which help increase safety and longevity in a halogen bulb with a tungsten filament.
The most common term, and the one you will see most often when shopping, is “halogen heater” – but you may also see “quartz heater,” “halogen quartz heater” or “tungsten heater.”
Along these lines, you may also wonder what is the difference between an infrared heater and a halogen heater, or what is the difference between a radiant heater and a halogen heater? This is also much more simple than people make it out to be.
All halogen heaters are radiant heaters, and infrared and radiant refer to the same thing and can be used interchangeably.
And, if you have ever felt the heat from a quartz halogen radiant heater, you already know how wonderful it feels, regardless of what we call it!
How can I choose a Halogen Heater?
How does all of that help you make a decision about which halogen heater is best for you? Well, it doesn’t. It’s just to say that if you are trying to decide between a tungsten heater, a halogen heater or a quartz heater, don’t worry – they’re the same thing, and in our 2022 buyer’s guide for best halogen heaters we will consider all three without distinction.
So, if you are wondering any of the following:
- What is the best quartz heater in 2022?
- What is the best tungsten heater in 2022?
- What is the best halogen heater in 2022?
- What is the best radiant heater in 2022?
- What is the best-infrared heater in 2022?
…please read on – we will help you make the best decision possible!
What are the advantages of halogen heaters?
Halogen heaters offer real advantages and are a great choice in many situations. The chief advantages of halogen heaters include:
- Energy Efficiency: Halogen heaters are up to 85% efficient – a remarkable figure for an electric heater, and much better than most other types.
- Value: Halogen heaters can be quite inexpensive, and their durability, effectiveness and efficiency make them an even greater value.
- Quick Heating: Halogen heaters produce heat almost as soon as they are powered up.
- Portability: Many halogen heaters tend to be small and easily set up, providing real flexibility in use.
- Safety: Good halogen heaters include important safety features and will be cool to the touch, and they have no emissions or smoke.
- Money-Saving: Halogen heaters are so good for warming small areas that using them for your space, and turning down your home’s furnace, can save you a considerable amount of money!
- Gentle Humidification: Many heaters really dry out your room, and your sinuses, while some other heaters make your home way too damp, but a quartz halogen heater will provide a balanced healthy humidification effect.
Is a halogen heater right for my room?
Are there disadvantages of halogen heaters as well?
Sure, and halogen heaters are not good for every situation. Because they employ radiant heat (a method which radiates heat directly from the bulbs, without using fans or convection for circulation) they tend to struggle in larger spaces. In small spaces, though, they are amazingly effective – directly heating you without wasting heat or energy on the space around you.
In fact, many people consider radiant heat – and especially a good halogen heater – to be the very best choice for heating a bedroom, office, bathroom or other small room or space – they are fast to heat, easy to set up and put away, and offer a deep heating effect other heaters cannot manage.
Which halogen heater is best for my home?
In this article – Best halogen heaters: How To Choose One (2022) – we will look at 5 outstanding halogen heaters, discussing what makes each of them such a good choice and offering the information and specifications you need to decide which is best for your room and your application.
We are basing our choices on our own experience, the experiences and feedback of our friends and colleagues, as well as reviews from actual verified customers.
All of this to make your research and shopping easier, and to ensure that you will end up with the very best halogen heater for your own needs.
We will include the following categories of best halogen heaters in 2022.
- Best Halogen Heater for Small Spaces in 2022
- Best Halogen Heater for Medium Spaces in 2022
- Best Halogen Heater for Large Spaces in 2022
- Best Halogen Heater for Garages in 2022
- Best Halogen Heater Fireplace Insert in 2022
What is the Best Halogen Heater for Small Spaces in 2022?
Air Choice Portable Radiant Heater
A remarkably high-quality halogen heater for the money, the Air Choice portable warms up immediately and can effectively heat a space up to 80 square feet.
This makes the Air Choice halogen heater a perfect choice for an office or a bedroom – not to mention that its ultra-quiet operation will not disturb your sleep or your study, and its safety features – tip-over switch and overheating sensor – make it easy to fall asleep next to (arguably more of a plus in a bedroom than an office!).
The Air Choice halogen radiant heater is portable, and can move with you from room to room – this allows you to turn your home’s furnace down and really save money – and its two heat settings allow it to work great in different spaces.
A great value for the money, the Air Choice Portable Radiant Heater is our choice for best halogen heater for small spaces in 2022.
Features and Specifications
- Maximum Output: 500 Watts
- Maximum Effective Heating Area: 80 Square Feet (about 7.5 square meters)
- Safety Features: Tip-over Protection and Overheat Protection
- Two Heat Settings – 250 Watts and 500 Watts
- Two Radiant Halogen Heating Elements
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What is the Best Halogen Heater for Medium Spaces in 2022?
Costway Portable Infrared Halogen Heater
The next heater in our 2022 buyer’s guide and review of the best halogen heaters is the Costway portable halogen heater.
Another great value from Costway – a brand that keeps popping up on our lists – this infrared halogen heater has more than twice the heat output of the Air Choice halogen heater listed above, and for not that much more money.
This added output allows the Costway portable halogen heater to warm spaces up to 160 square feet (~15 square meters), and its radiant heating system will warm you down to your bones without wasting energy on the surrounding space.
With tip-over sensors and overheat sensors, the Costway infrared halogen heater will immediately shut off if there is a problem, making it totally safe to use in your home.
With high performance, safety, material quality and reliability, the Costway Portable Infrared Halogen Heater is our choice for best halogen heater for medium-sized spaces in 2022.
Features and Specifications
- Maximum Output: 1,200 Watts
- Maximum Effective Heating Area: 160 Square Feet (around 15 square meters)
- Safety Features: Tip-over Protection and Overheat Protection
- Two Heat Settings – 600 Watts and 1200 Watts
- Built-in Thermostat
What is the Best Halogen Heater for Large Spaces in 2022?
Heat Storm Phoenix Infrared Space Heater
A true leader in radiant heating technology, Heat Storm produces some of the finest quartz halogen heaters on the market, including our choice for best halogen heater for large spaces in 2022: the Heat Storm Phoenix.
A really affordable heater, the Phoenix has only a slightly larger wattage rating than the last heater listed in our 2022 buyer’s guide for the best halogen heaters – the Costway portable – but given Heat Storm’s innovative heating technology the Phoenix’s extra power seems to make an inordinately big difference – it can heat a 200+ square foot space nicely and is super-effective in keeping several people warm and cosy in even very cold conditions.
The Heat Storm Phoenix includes both wall mounting hardware and feet for standing on the floor and has a built-in thermostat, nice LCD control panel and remote control, making it flexible, efficient and easy to use in any room or any space.
A well-built unit with superior performance and great safety features, the Heat Storm Phoenix Infrared Space Heater is our choice for best halogen heater for large spaces in 2022.
Features and Specifications
- Maximum Output: 1,500 Watts
- Maximum Effective Heating Area: 200+ Square Feet (around 19 square meters)
- Safety Features: Tip-over Protection and Overheat Protection; Cool-Touch; Fully ETL Safety Certified
- Two Heat Settings – 750 Watts and 1500 Watts
- Built-in Thermostat
- Includes Remote Control
Best Halogen Heater for Garages in 2022
Heat Storm HS-1500-TT Tripod Mount Halogen Infrared Garage Heater
It is no real surprise that Heat Storm makes two of the heaters on our 2022 buyer’s guide and review of the best halogen heaters – they do, after all, make some of the best heaters money can buy, and consistently offer the best value as well.
And the Heat Storm HS-1500 is no exception. More of a bare, industrial-looking unit – in contrast with the more attractive heaters elsewhere on our list – the HS1500 is as serious as it looks.
With full, direct 1,500 watts of infrared heating output, the Heat Storm can be set either close to or at a distance from your work area and still keep you plenty warm, even when it is really cold outside (or really cold in your workshop).
The Heat Storm HS-1500 comes with a nice, stable steel tripod for easy placement and flexibility, and is also available in a Wall-Mount version and a Roll Cage version.
The Heat Storm halogen garage heater is fully rated for indoor or outdoor use and is both waterproof and dustproof, and it is just as rugged and reliable as you would expect from a Heat Storm product.
Safe, effective and extremely high quality, the Heat Storm HS-1500-TT Tripod Mount Halogen Infrared Garage Heater is our choice for best halogen heater for garages in 2022, and our choice for best halogen heater for patios and decks as well.
Features and Specifications
- Maximum Output: 1,500 Watts
- Maximum Effective Heating Area: 200+ Square Feet (around 19 square meters)
- Safety Features: Tip-over Protection and Overheat Protection; Fully ETL Safety Certified
- Fully IPX4 Rated – Waterproof and Dustproof
- Includes Steel Tripod
What is the Best Halogen Heater Fireplace Insert in 2022?
Duraflame Electric Fireplace Insert Halogen Heater
We love to list details, features and specifications in our heater and air conditioner buyer’s guides, because it helps you make better choices and because we are, admittedly, a bit geeky – especially when technology and product design actually lead to comfort, safety and a nicer home.
But while the Duraflame halogen fireplace insert offers all of the features and qualities of the other home space heaters on our list of best halogen heaters available in 2022, with this one it is all about the aesthetics.
Yes, the Duraflame has a full 1,500 watts output, and the way it can use the fireplace as a backdrop makes it even more effective at heating a room than other 1,500-watt halogen heaters.
Yes, it is an infrared radiant heater, which means it offers the same kind of satisfying deep-down warming of any heater on our list.
And yes, it has a built-in thermostat, a remote control, full safety features and cool-touch operation.
But the Duraflame fireplace insert offers something none of the others in our quartz halogen heater buyer’s guide has – it is simply beautiful to watch. The softly moving flames, the warm red glow and the realistic look make us feel like we are even warmer, and gives a home a quaint, lovely vibe.
Still, at the end of the day, the Duraflame Electric Fireplace Insert Halogen Heater is a great, high-performance halogen radiant heater, which is built well and should offer exceptional reliability and is our choice for best halogen heater fireplace insert for 2022.
Features and Specifications
- Maximum Output: 5,200 BTU
- Maximum Effective Heating Area: 1000 Square Feet (around 92 square meters)
- Beautiful Rolling Flame Effect – With or Without Heat
- Includes 4 Function Remote Control
- Simple Installation – Set in Fireplace, Plug-In and Turn On
Final Thoughts: Is a Halogen Heater Right for Me and My Home?
Halogen heaters are absolutely wonderful for what they do. As radiant heaters, they will not heat a large room from corner to corner, but they are an extremely efficient and cost-effective way to heat small areas and to make a person feel really, deeply, satisfyingly warm.
If you’re still wondering is a halogen heater expensive to run, no it isn’t – and in fact, it can save you plenty on your heating bill by selectively warming yourself and your personal space and turning your furnace down.
And halogen heaters really do offer a kind of deep down warmth that seems to go to the bone, and somehow just feels better than many convection heaters.
They are inexpensive, quiet and completely safe, they will last for a long time, and they offer a kind of warm glow that in itself is imminently satisfying.
So, yes, if you want a small, affordable and effective electric space heater, a quartz halogen radiant heater may well be a perfect choice.
And you can feel confident that any of the heaters in our buyer’s guide – Best Halogen Heaters: How To Choose One (2022) – will be the best choice you can make for its size and price range and will keep you warm all winter long.
