Best Electric Heaters in Ireland (2026): Oil-Filled Radiators, Convectors, Fan and Bathroom Heaters

Every plug-in electric heater turns electricity into heat at close to 100% efficiency, so a 2kW oil-filled radiator, a 2kW convector and a 2kW fan heater all use the same 2kWh in an hour at full power. The type you choose changes how the heat arrives and how well it can be controlled, not the price of each unit of heat. That is the key to choosing well: match the type to the room and to how long you will be in it, then pick a model with a thermostat and lower power settings so it is not running flat out all evening.

• Sitting in one room for hours (home office, bedroom, evenings on the sofa): an oil-filled radiator gives silent, steady heat and keeps radiating after the thermostat clicks off.
• Warming a cold room fast: a convector heats the air quickly and spreads it around the room.
• A quick burst in a small space (utility room, a cold kitchen first thing): a ceramic fan heater is fastest, but noisy and only warm while it runs.
• Permanent heating on a wall (an extension, a granny flat, a room without central heating): a wall-mounted panel heater with a proper timer.
• A bathroom: a fixed, IP-rated heater or heated towel rail wired in by an electrician. Never a plug-in heater.

Before buying any heater, it is worth asking whether you need to heat the room at all. An electric blanket costs a cent or two to warm a bed, and draught-proofing a door or window can make a cold room feel warmer with no running cost at all. Our winter home essentials guide covers those cheaper options. If you do need a heater, read on.

Oil-filled radiators heat sealed oil inside the fins, which then radiates and convects heat into the room. They are slow to start but keep giving heat after the thermostat switches the element off, which evens out the temperature and suits a room you will be in for hours. Convectors heat air directly and push it out of the top grille, so they warm a cold room faster but cool down sooner. Some add a "turbo" fan for an even quicker start.

Ceramic fan heaters blow air over a hot ceramic element. They are compact and cheap to buy, and they warm the space right in front of them within a minute, but the fan is audible, the heat stops the moment they switch off, and running one at 2kW or more for hours adds up quickly. Panel heaters are essentially convectors in a slim case that can usually be wall-mounted. If you are fitting one as permanent heating, look for a model with an electronic thermostat and a 7-day timer; since 2018, EU ecodesign rules (often called Lot 20) have pushed makers to fit fixed electric heaters with electronic thermostats and extra controls such as a weekly timer.

The sum is simple: watts ÷ 1,000 × hours × your unit rate. We have used 32c per kWh including VAT, a typical standard unit rate in Ireland at the time of writing. Your rate may be higher or lower, standing charges are on top, and if you are on a smart time-of-use plan, the 5pm–7pm peak is usually the dearest time of day, which is exactly when most people switch a heater on. Check your bill for your own figure.

A worked example: a 2kW heater used for four hours on a winter evening costs up to about €2.56 if it never switches off. If the thermostat keeps it on for about 60% of the time once the room is warm, that falls to around €1.54. Over 100 evenings, that is the difference between roughly €256 and €154, which is why a thermostat and lower power settings matter more than the type of heater. The small 650W radiator running flat out for the same four hours costs about 83c, but it will only keep a small room comfortable.

Bathrooms are treated as special locations under the Irish wiring rules, because water and electricity are a dangerous mix. A portable plug-in heater should never be used in a bathroom or shower room, and an extension lead should never be run in from the landing. The right answer is a fixed heater or electric towel rail designed for bathrooms, installed in a permitted position by a qualified electrician.

• Check the IP rating. The second digit shows protection against water: IPX4 means protected against splashing from any direction, and the manual will say which bathroom zones the heater can go in. Higher ratings are needed closer to the bath or shower.
• Use a Registered Electrical Contractor. Electrical work in a bathroom is classed as "controlled work" in Ireland, so it should be done and certified by a contractor registered with Safe Electric. That includes wiring in a bathroom heater that arrived with a plug fitted.
• Controls out of reach. Wall-mounted bathroom heaters usually use a pull cord or are positioned so they cannot be reached from the bath or shower.
• Consider a towel rail. An electric towel rail draws far less power than a 2kW fan heater, takes the chill off a small bathroom and dries towels, which also helps with damp.

• Size it to the room. Manufacturers quote a room size: around 10m² for a 650W radiator and up to about 20m² for many 2kW heaters. Treat these as a guide for a reasonably insulated room, and allow more for an older, draughty house or a room with a lot of glass.
• Several power settings. Three settings (for example 800W, 1,200W and 2,000W) let you warm the room at full power and then hold it on a lower one. This saves more money than any other feature.
• A thermostat. Essential. Dial thermostats are marked in numbers rather than degrees, so you find the right setting by trial and error; digital thermostats hold a set temperature more precisely.
• A built-in timer. A 24-hour or 7-day timer lets you warm a room before you get up or come home. Use the heater’s own timer: many heater manuals warn against plugging them into a separate timer or smart plug that could switch them on when nobody is there.
• Frost protection. An anti-frost setting switches the heater on at around 5°C to stop pipes freezing in a garage, utility room or holiday home over a cold snap.
• Tip-over switch and overheat cut-out. Do not buy a heater without both, especially with children, pets or a busy hallway.
• An Irish/UK 3-pin plug. Some heaters sold online are EU models with a two-pin plug. Running a 2kW heater through a travel adaptor for hours is a fire risk, so choose a listing with a fused 3-pin plug and check the plug type on the product page. We explain why we only list Amazon.ie stock separately.
• Buy before the cold snap. Heaters sell out quickly when the first frost arrives. Some are discounted around Black Friday, but if you need one now, the money saved is rarely worth weeks of a cold room.

• Keep heaters at least a metre from curtains, bedding, sofas and anything else that can burn.
• Never dry clothes on or over a heater, and never cover one. For laundry, a dehumidifier is safer and cheaper; see our dehumidifier guide.
• Switch portable heaters off when you go to bed or leave the house, particularly fan heaters.
• Stand heaters on a flat, stable floor where they will not be knocked over, and keep them out of the way of doors and walkways.
• Make sure you have working smoke alarms, and test them regularly.

Everything on this page is limited to stock sold and dispatched by Amazon.ie, so there are no UK import charges at the door and your EU consumer rights apply. For more ideas, see all our home guides, the Home & Kitchen category, or our smart home guide, which covers smart plugs with energy monitoring for working out what lower-power appliances cost to run.