Winter is fast approaching, and parents may be concerned about how to keep your child’s bedroom warm. If you happen to live in an older home or a drafty house, your heating system may not be as efficient as you want. Keeping a constant temperature throughout your entire house is troublesome, and your baby’s room might be the short end of the stick.
Vornadobaby Tempa Nursery Heater – Best Nursery Space Heater
Honeywell HZ-7304U Deluxe EnergySmart Cool Touch Heater – Best Energy Efficient Heater
Honeywell HCE200W UberHeat Ceramic Heater – Best Ceramic Heater
Keynice Electric Table Heater – Best for Small Spaces
DeLonghi EW7707CM Safe Heat 1500W ComforTemp Heater – Best Oil Space Heater
Is a Space Heater Safe for a Nursery?
If you use the heater correctly, most space heaters are safe for a nursery. It’s important to pick a heater that is UL or ETL tested, which means they were used and tested to see if any flaws are present.
However, it’s best that the heater is switched off when you aren’t present. Turning it off is important if you use a heater with a fan because those can dry out the air. If you want to heat up the room for night sleeping, turn the heater on before bedtime, and switch it off completely once the desired temperature is reached.
Then, just close the bedroom door, which you should do anyway for optimal fire safety. Make sure windows are closed and consider adding blackout curtains that also block out the cold air coming in from the window.
What’s The Best Temperature for Baby’s Room?
Experts recommend that the temperature in a baby’s room stay between 68 and 72 degrees F (20 to 22 degrees C). Keeping an indoor thermometer in your child’s room can ensure it stays at the right temperature.
A good rule is to keep the temperature at a comfortable level for a lightly clothed adult. If you think the room is too cold for you, then it’s too cold for your baby. In these situations, you either need to turn the heat up or you need to use a space heater for baby’s room. If the room is too warm for you, it’s too warm for the baby.
Overheating is dangerous for a baby, so parents must be vigilant to ensure their child’s room never gets too hot. If your baby is sweating, has damp hair, flushed cheeks, rapid breathing, or a heat rash, it might be too hot for your baby. Don’t overbundle a baby either. There is no need for a baby to wear three layers of clothes, no matter what grandma tells you!
Types of Space Heaters
You’ll notice some of these terms throughout these reviews, so it’s best to learn about the types of space heaters for baby’s room.
Important Note: Kerosene, Paraffin, and Gas Heaters Shouldn’t Be Used in Baby’s Room! These heaters release carbon monoxide, which is odorless, colorless, and hazardous to your baby’s health. Exposure to carbon monoxide can cause many health issues.
Convection Space Heaters
A convection space heater disperses the unit using air convection currents. These types of heaters do take longer to heat up a room, but the heat lasts longer. Convection heaters are more energy efficient because they don’t have any moving parts.
Radiant Space Heaters
Radiant space heaters have heated liquid inside the pipes, and the heat comes out of the unit. These units will heat a room quickly, but the heat doesn’t spread well. Radiant heaters are large and expensive.
Conductive Space Heaters
Conductive space heaters are known as electric space heaters, and they use metal heating elements to warm the air. A fan circulates the warm air. Electric space heaters are often the cheapest units you can buy.
Some safety features you might want in a space heater includes:
- Cool to the Touch
- Unable to Fit Fingers into the Slats or Grate
- Automatic Shut Off, which prevents the room from becoming too hot and stops the unit from overheating.
- Shut Off if Tips Over
- Wide Base, which stops it from tipping over.
Aside from safety features, there are other things you might want to see in a space heater, such as:
- Design: Space heaters come in different styles. Some have features that save space. You might like ones that are easy to install or can be wall-mounted. You might prefer a quiet heater. Other options include a vertical, space-saving design, or small heaters designed to be portable and compact.
- Size of the Unit: The size of the heater is typically related to its heating capacity. Looking for an efficient heater will help keep the electricity bill low. On average, you need 10 watts for every square foot. So, 1,500 watts will heat 150 square feet of space.
- Price: Budget is important for every purchase you make. If you want all the features, expect to pay a bit more. However, you can find reasonably priced space heaters that are safe and offer desirable features.
- Warranty: Companies that offer nice warranties stand behind their products. Look for a warranty that will cover failing mechanics or parts that break.
The 5 Best Space Heater for Baby’s Room
1. Vornadobaby Tempa Nursery Heater
Space heaters have a bad reputation for being a dangerous item to use, so if you are worried, use a space heater that designed specifically for that purpose. The Vornadobaby Tempa is meant for a baby’s nursery.
It’s made for parents and kids with houses that have little kids running around. This space heater has more safety features than most choices. Some of the best features are:
- No sharp edges or pinch points
- No dangling cords – it features a hidden and covered cord storage compartments.
- Tip over protection
- Safety shut off if it gets too hot
- Cool touch exterior
- Closed grate so little fingers can’t touch the moving or hot areas
- Non-skid, gripped rubber bottom
One of the best features of the Vornadobaby Heater is the child safety control locks. This company thought of everything. There is a little childproof switch that you can place over the power controls. Only parents can decide when the heater turns on, rather than the curious toddler.
What’s a space heater without the heat? Vornadobaby offers two different heat settings, along with a thermostat that measures between 1 to 7. 7 is the hottest. The thermostat allows you to operate the heat and fan controls independently. Parents can pick from a continuous fan mode when it runs all the time, or an auto fan mode, that will circulate air until your desired temperature is reached.
The downside to the Vornadobaby is that it only works at 900 watts, so it’s not the most powerful space heater on our list. However, most nurseries aren’t gigantic, so it should work well if you are just heating a small space. Also, while the child lock is inventive and helpful, it only works for the power switch, not the other controls. The price is higher, but you are getting a lot of fantastic features for the price, especially for nervous parents.
| The Pros |
|---|
| Child Locks on Switch |
| Tons of Safety Features |
| Designed for Nurseries |
| Independent Heat and Fan Controls |
| 5-Year Warranty |
| Quiet |
| The Cons |
|---|
| Only 900 Watts |
| Pricier Than Other Space Heaters |
| Only for a Small Space |
2. Honeywell HZ-7304U Deluxe EnergySmart Cool Touch Heater
Your baby’s room might be a bit chilly, but who wants to increase your already outrageous electric bill? Space heaters are known for costing a fortune to run, and your bill already feels like you have to pay an arm and a leg. The Honeywell Deluxe EnergySmart gives parents what they want – a warmer room and a lower energy bill.
The EnergySmart earns this name because Honeywell claims that it can save you up to 35% on your energy bill when compared to other space heaters. How does it achieve such amazing claims?
Well, the EnergySmart regulates the amount of energy that it uses when in thermostat mode. The digital screen on the front will display how much energy is used on a low to high scale. If you feel as if you are using too much energy, simply adjust the heater.
Honeywell didn’t forget the safety features either. It comes equipped with tip-over protection, overheat protection, an extra-wide base for better stability, and a cool housing exterior. These safety features are some of the best on the market, and parents say that they are comfortable leaving their child around the unit.
Even Grandma will be able to operate this unit – it’s so easy! On the front of EnergySmart, a digital LED display glows, so that you can see it in the dark. The buttons are easy to use, and you can pick the exact temperature you want. You can also just turn the heat to low or high for a quick fix. Best of all, the fan can oscillate, heating the entire room.
The downsides can be serious. It is a 1,500-watt heater, and some parents note it has tripped their breakers and a few coils have melted. Some parents question whether the unit is truly “safe for kids” as Honeywell claims.
To avoid these problems, make sure that you plug it into a grounded outlet with the right power supply. Do NOT use an extension cord. The other negative is that this unit is noisy, so your baby might be disturbed unless he enjoys white noise.
| The Pros |
|---|
| Energy Efficient – Saves You Money |
| Tip-Over and Overheat Protection |
| Easy to Use Controls |
| Can Heat an Entire Room |
| The Cons |
|---|
| Might Trip a Breaker |
| Noisy |
| Fingers Can Fit into Grate, But Fan is Far Away |
3. Honeywell HCE200W UberHeat Ceramic Heater
Don’t let its small size fool you; the Honeywell heater works well and will heat your baby’s room quickly. It might not have all of the fancy features like other space heaters, but its ability to heat a room is unquestionable.
One look at the Honeywell UberHeat will make you fall in love. It looks like a vintage alarm clock, and it’s tiny. The heater only measures around nine inches wide and ten inches tall. You can place it on a child’s dresser, so it’s not an eyesore. Placing it on a dresser also keeps it out of your toddler’s reach.
Honeywell didn’t add any lights, aside from the red power indicator light, so it won’t disturb your child’s sleep. They sell this heater in white and black, so you can pick the one that best matches the decor.
It’s small but mighty. The motor works at 1,500 watts. That’s A LOT of power for such a small unit. At the highest setting, it will heat the entire room, or you can turn it on the lowest setting and just warm your child’s room. The UberHeat has a thermostat dial that lets you pick the level of warmth that you want. Once this temperature is reached, the unit will shut down, which prevents it from overheating.
Safety matters, especially in your child’s room. Honeywell added a safety feature that will turn the heater off if it tipped over, preventing a house fire. In the event that it does overheat, the unit will shut off. The exterior housing of the unit is cool to the touch, so you never have to worry that your baby will get burned.
All of this sounds great, but there are always catches. First, it’s loud. It’s very similar to a hair dryer, and that amount of noise might disturb your child.
The second downfall is the heat. For such a small unit, the UberHeat generates a lot of heat, and it’s really concentrated when it comes out of the unit. So, if you place the unit on high, the grill and airspace in front will become very hot.
| The Pros |
|---|
| 3-Year Warranty |
| Powerful with a 1,500 Watt Motor |
| Heats Entire Room |
| Shuts Off if Tipped Over or Overheats |
| Small Size |
| Affordable |
| The Cons |
|---|
| Very Loud |
| Very Hot in Front of The Unit – Too Much Heat! |
4. Keynice Electric Table Heater
The Keynice Electric Table Heater works well as a personal heater. It’s small enough to be decent and not take up too much space, but it still gets the job done. Also, it works as a fan also, which is a nice feature!
The three modes make the Keynice a great choice: high (950 watts), low (450 watts), and nature wind mode that is like a light breeze. An oscillating fan allows it to rotate at a 90-degree angle in each direction. One of the benefits of using a ceramic heating mechanism is that it’s really quiet, only reaching a maximum of 30 decibels.
It’s small, yet safe, size makes it a great choice for a nursery. Keynice advertises this heater as a table heater, measuring only 8 inches by 5 inches. You can set it on any surface. For safety, keynice added a few safety features, such as overheating protection and tip-over protection. The heater will shut down if it senses something is wrong, which is comforting for parents.
One drawback is that it only runs at a maximum of 950 watts, which is only powerful enough to heat small spaces. Also, it’s an off-brand heater that isn’t UL or ETL listed, so that does make parents a bit wary to give it a try.
| The Pros |
|---|
| Three Modes |
| Oscillating Fan |
| Small Size |
| Overheating and Tip-Over Protection |
| The Cons |
|---|
| Only 950 Watts |
| Not Certified by the UL or ETL |
5. DeLonghi EW7707CM Safe Heat 1500W ComforTemp Heater
The DeLonghi is a popular choice by parents, and it’s one of the best radiant heaters on the market. DeLonghi is a well-known brand with a solid reputation, so you can feel comfortable using these heaters in your child’s room.
Unlike the other picks on our list, DeLonghi is an oil-filled heater, so the inner oil workings are permanently sealed. Don’t worry; you don’t have to worry about refilling the oil or leaks. It works at 1,500-watts, heating on three different settings, so it can heat up a decent sized room.
For easy moving, DeLonghi added wheels, so you can wheel it from room to room. Another nice feature is how quiet the heater is! A ComforTemp button makes the heater run until it reaches the optimal temperature. Then, the unit shuts off, saving you energy and money, but it also helps to prevent overheating and a house fire. A thermostat increases the efficiency of this unit as well.
This radiant heater is meant to be used constantly, so DeLonghi included crucial safety features parents appreciate. This heater shuts off automatically if it reaches a high temperature. It also has an anti-freeze feature that stops the pipes from freezing if it’s not running.
So, parents have to know the drawbacks to this unit. While it has a mechanism that reduces the surface temperature, it is hot to the touch. You must be cautious about keeping this unit in a nursery. Also, because it’s a radiant hater, it will take time to heat the room.
| The Pros |
|---|
| Sealed to Prevent Leaks |
| 1,500 Watts |
| Three Heat Settings |
| Wheels for Portability |
| Included Safety Features |
| ComforTemp Button |
| The Cons |
|---|
| Takes Time to Heat Room |
| Hot to Touch |
Safety Tips for Using a Space Heater in a Nursery
Space heaters bring risks, and parents must be cautious. Portable space heaters can heat up a room quickly without exposing your child to carbon monoxide, so it’s a great way to ensure your child is warm. However, small kids should be kept out of range. Here are some safety tips.
- Use Certified Space Heaters. Always make sure the space heater you select has been certified by a recognized testing laboratory, such as the Underwriter’s Laboratories (UL) or the Electrical Testing Laboratories (ETL).
- Place the Heater on the Floor. Unless the space heater is designed for the use of furniture, the safest place for it is on the floor.
- Don’t Allow Kids to Use. If you have older kids, don’t allow them to touch or move the heater. Never encourage your infant or toddler to adjust the controls. Try to keep it out of range the best that you can.
- Keep It Away from Upholstered Furniture. Space heaters should be kept at least 3 feet away from any upholstered furniture, drapes, bedding, or other combustible materials. You also don’t want to place it anywhere that towels or clothes might fall on it.
- Never Use An Extension Cord. If you do HAVE to use an extension cord, make sure it’s NOT a light-gauge, household one. Only a heavy-gauge extension cord can be used for a space heater. Don’t place the cords under carpeting or rugs, and don’t coil up the cords. Bundled up cords can cause the heat to build up, melting the insulation and causing a fire.
- Turn Them Off. Turn the space heater off when you leave the house or you won’t be able to monitor well.
What Space Heater Will You Pick?
Keeping your little one safe is of utmost importance, especially if you want to use a space heater in his room. Don’t opt for the cheapest ones, because they typically don’t offer the safety features necessary. Make sure you read reviews by other parents to determine the safest and most efficient space heater for baby room.
